Denmark Economy
According to andyeducation, Denmark comprises the Jutland peninsula (Jylland) and some 400 islands, 82 of which are uninhabited. The two largest are Funen (Fyn) and Zealand (Sjælland). Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the Danes were known as Vikings. Together with the Norwegians and Swedes they colonized, plundered, and traded across much of Europe. Today’s Danes are proud of their country as a model of the welfare state, where comprehensive social protection is guaranteed for all.
Denmark has a large fishing industry and a considerable merchant fleet. In the manufacturing sector, food, chemical products, machinery, metallurgy, electronic and transport equipment and the beer, paper and wood industries stand out. Tourism is also an important economic activity. It is an industrialized country. The standard of living is one of the highest in the world and the difference between rich and poor is smaller than in many of the countries with which it is traditionally compared.
Member of the European Union. From an economic and political point of view, the closeness of Germany has always oriented the country towards the south, although the close cooperation with Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland, countries with which Denmark has created a passport union, also unites it. with the Nordic countries.
Denmark has traditionally been an agrarian country and agriculture is still a key economic sector, contributing 19.3% of export earnings. Since the end of World War II, however, industry and services have gained in importance; absorb 24% and around 73% of the country’s labor force respectively (according to 2005 data), while employment in agriculture (including forestry and fishing) is 3%, compared to the estimated 14% in 1965. Industry and services contribute 26% and 72.4% respectively to gross domestic product (GDP), which was $ 275,366 million in 2006, and agriculture does so only 2%. Danish vessels, operating in foreign waters, contribute substantially to the economy.
The country is also involved in productive foreign investment, especially in shipbuilding and in the foreign construction sector.
The 2006 annual budget estimated about $ 99.259 million in revenue and $ 88.684 million in expenses. The gross national product (GNP) in 2004 (according to an estimate by the World Bank) was $ 220,218 million, equivalent to $ 52,110 per capita, one of the highest in the world.
Farming
Danish state policy favors small properties and does not encourage the merging of small properties into larger ones. About 85% of farms in Denmark are less than 50 ha and most are family-owned. Of the 2,244,000 ha under cultivation, around 60% are dedicated to cereals, mainly barley, oats, wheat and rye ; the rest goes to fodder and other crops, such as flax, hemp, hops and tobacco.
Agricultural production in 2006 was mainly 8,632,300 t of cereals, of which 4,801,600 t were wheat; 252,862 t of vegetables ; 32,200 t of legumes ; and 1,361,200 t of potatoes. The meat and dairy industries are very important and export oriented. Denmark is the world’s leading producer of pig products; in 2006 it had about 12.6 million head of pigs, 1.57 million cattle, 206,000 sheep and 52,882 horses.
A prominent feature of agriculture in Denmark is the influence of the cooperative movement. Cooperatives are especially dedicated to daily consumption products and by-products derived from pork, a large part of which are also marketed through cooperatives; Most of these are organized into national associations, which are part of the Agricultural Council, a central agency of cooperatives that establishes contacts with the government and other industries and establishes the strategy in foreign trade.
Cattle raising
The cattle hut is of high quality. Cattle predominate, followed by sheep, pigs and horses. Also avian farms are of great importance. It is an important fishing power. Although it fishes all over the world, its traditional fishing grounds are in the Norwegian Sea, and in Greenland.
Fishing
The large Danish fishing fleet (347 vessels) plays an important role in the economy. In 2005 the total annual catch reached 949,625 tonnes (almost all marine fishing). The most important catches are herring, salmon and cod.
Industry and Commerce
All Danish underground resources are owned by the state. The kaolin is located on the island of Bornholm, but deposits are not of high quality and are used in the production of objects and brick thick mud. The natural gas and oil are obtained from platforms located offshore in the North Sea since the early 1970s.
Crude oil production reached 157,000 barrels per day in the early 1990s and in 2004 it was 375,047 barrels per day. 5% of imports in 2003 were fuel. Oil reserves are estimated at more than 700,000 trillion barrels. Other commercially exploited minerals are limonite, lignite, cryolite, limestone, chalk and marl. Large amounts of salt have been discovered in Jutland.
Denmark’s main industries are in food processing, steel and metal production, chemical and pharmaceutical products, graphic arts, machinery, electronic goods and specific transport machinery (especially diesel engines for ships and locomotives). Danish furniture has been in demand around the world since the 1920s. Other notable industries are iron smelting, shipbuilding, brewing, textile and fabric production, cement, chemicals, electronic equipment, pottery, porcelain, kitchens, bicycles,and paper.
Denmark produces more than half of its energy needs, thanks to oil and gas deposits in the North Sea and savings measures established by the government.
