Overview: This modern economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark's new center-left coalition government will concentrate on reducing the persistent high unemployment rate and the budget deficit as well as following the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a current account surplus. In the face of recent international market pressure on the Danish krone, the coalition has also vowed to maintain a stable currency. The coalition hopes to lower marginal income taxes while maintaining overall tax revenues; boost industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms and increased research and development funds; and improve welfare services for the neediest while cutting paperwork and delays. Prime Minister RASMUSSEN's reforms will focus on adapting Denmark to the criteria for European integration by 1999; although Copenhagen has won from the European Union (EU) the right to opt out of the European Monetary Union (EMU) if a national referendum rejects it. Denmark is, in fact, one of the few EU countries likely to fit into the EMU on time. Denmark is weathering the current worldwide slump better than many West European countries. As the EU's single market (formally established on 1 January 1993) gets underway, Danish economic growth is expected to pickup to around 2% in 1994. Danish approval of the Maastricht treaty on EU political and economic union in May 1993 has reversed the drop in investment, further boosting growth. The current account surplus remains strong as limitations on wage increases and low inflation - expected to be around 2% in 1994 - improve export competitiveness. Although unemployment is high, it remains stable compared to most European countries.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $95.6 billion (1993)

National product real growth rate: 0.5% (1993)

National product per capita: $18,500 (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 11.8% (1993 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $48 billion
expenditures: $55.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)

Exports: $36.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment (shipbuilding), fish, chemicals, industrial machinery
partners: EC 54.3% (Germany 23.6%, UK 10.1%, France 5.7%), Sweden 10.5%, Norway 5.8%, US 4.9%, Japan 3.6% (1992)

Imports: $29.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities: petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, textiles, paper
partners: EC 53.4% (Germany 23.1%, UK 8.2%, France 5.6%), Sweden 10.8%, Norway 5.4%, US 5.7%, Japan 4.1% (1992)

External debt: $40 billion (1992 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate -2.5% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 11,215,000 kW
production: 34.17 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 6,610 kWh (1992)

Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding

Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP and employs 5.6% of labor force (includes fishing and forestry); farm products account for nearly 15% of export revenues; principal products - meat, dairy, grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish; self-sufficient in food production

Economic aid:
donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.9 billion

Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere
Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.771 (January 1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396 (1991), 6.189 (1990), 7.310 (1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Denmark on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Denmark Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Denmark Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.