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, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food. The center-left coalition government is concentrating on reducing the unemployment rate and the budget deficit as well as following the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a current account surplus. The coalition also vows to maintain a stable currency. The coalition has lowered marginal income tax rates while maintaining overall tax revenues; boosted industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms; increased research and development funds; and improved welfare services for the neediest while cutting paperwork and delays. Denmark chose not to join the 11 other EU members who launched the euro on 1 January 1999.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $127.7 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.3% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $23,800 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 27%
services: 69% (1997)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 20.5% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 2.896 million

Labor force - by occupation: services 71%, industry 25%, agriculture 4% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.7% (1999 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $59.7 billion
expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 1.5% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production: 40.277 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 90.8%
hydro: 0.07%
nuclear: 0%
other: 9.13% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 33.037 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 7.1 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 2.68 billion kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; beef, dairy products; fish

Exports: $49.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

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

Exports - partners: EU 66.6% (Germany 21.4%, Sweden 11.2%, UK 9.2%, France 5.3%, Netherlands 4.5%), Norway 6.0%, US 4.7% (1998)

Imports: $43.9 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, textiles, paper

Imports - partners: EU 72.5% (Germany 22.5%, Sweden 12.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.9%), Norway 4.6%, US 4.1% (1998)

Debt - external: $44 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $1.6 billion (1997)

Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 7.336 (January 2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996), 5.602 (1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year