Denmark Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Growth in 2004 was sluggish, yet above the scanty 0.3% of 2003. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $174.4 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $32,200 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 25.5%
services: 72.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
2.87 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 4%, industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6.2% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
24.7 (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.4% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $136.1 billion
expenditures: $133.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2004 est.)

Public debt:
42.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish

Industries:
iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills

Industrial production growth rate:
1.7% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
36.38 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
31.63 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
11.1 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
8.9 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
346,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
218,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
332,100 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
195,000 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
1.23 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
8.38 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
5.28 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
3.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
81.98 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$6.529 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$73.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills

Exports - partners:
Germany 16.9%, Sweden 14%, UK 6.9%, US 5.4%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.1%, Norway 4.8% (2004)

Imports:
$63.45 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods

Imports - partners:
Germany 22.9%, Sweden 12.4%, Netherlands 7.6%, France 5.6%, UK 5.4%, Norway 5%, Italy 4.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$37.98 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$21.7 billion (2000)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $1.63 billion (1999)

Currency (code):
Danish krone (DKK)

Exchange rates:
Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000)