Economic Growth in Denmark
The Danish economy recorded an average growth rate of 2.1% in the decade to 2022. In 2022, real GDP growth was 2.7%. For more GDP information, visit our dedicated page.
Denmark GDP Chart
Note: This chart displays Economic Growth (GDP, annual variation in %) for Denmark from 2013 to 2022.
Source: Statistics Denmark.
Denmark GDP Data
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) | 2.0 | 1.5 | -2.4 | 6.8 | 2.7 |
| GDP (USD bn) | 357 | 346 | 355 | 405 | 400 |
| GDP (EUR bn) | 302 | 310 | 311 | 343 | 381 |
| GDP (DKK bn) | 2,253 | 2,311 | 2,321 | 2,551 | 2,832 |
| Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) | 2.8 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 9.9 | 11.0 |
Economy enters technical recession in Q3
The Danish economy undershot market expectations and contracted further in the third quarter of 2023, after falling in Q2. GDP decreased at a rate of 0.3% quarter on quarter in seasonally adjusted terms in Q3, according to a preliminary estimate. The result matched Q2‘s and was the second consecutive GDP drop and joint-worst reading since Q1 2022. Q3’s downturn was steeper than the Euro area average of -0.1%.
While detailed information is not yet available, the quarterly decline was likely due to a poor-performing industrial sector, particularly the pharmaceutical industry—–which accounts for roughly 5% of the Danish economy and previously supported growth—contracted over 10%. Specifically, Novo Nordisk, Europe’s most valuable company and producer of popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, sustained large manufacturing problems after growing over 30% year on year in H1 2023. Conversely, transport activity improved compared to the previous quarter. Elsewhere in the domestic economy, the employment indicator posted a 0.3% increase, which, coupled with Q3’s downward trend in inflation, will have supported private spending in the quarter. Meanwhile, year-on-year growth decelerated, coming in at 0.8% in the third quarter, below the 0.9% increase tallied in the prior quarter. The result was notably stronger than the Euro area’s 0.1% average rise. A more comprehensive release will be published on 30 November.
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Danish GDP projections for the next ten years from a panel of 18 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable GDP forecast available for Danish GDP.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Danish GDP projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Danish GDP forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.