That dollar amount results from a 24.2% rise from $109.9 billion five years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of Danish exports advanced 5.2% compared to $129.8 billion in 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Danish krone depreciated by -3.3% against the US dollar since 2019 but appreciated by 2.6% from 2022 to 2023. Denmark’s weaker local currency after 2019 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Denmark’s top 5 most valuable exported products are medication mixes in dosage, blood fractions including antisera, pork, refined petroleum oils, and cars. Collectively, that cohort of leading Danish exports generated about one-fifth (20.3%) of Denmark’s overall export revenues during 2023.
Denmark’s Most Valuable Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that about two-thirds (66%) of products exported from Denmark was bought by importers in: Germany (15.8% of Denmark’s global total), Sweden (9.3%), Netherlands (6.7%), Norway (5.59%), United States of America (5.58%), United Kingdom (4.8%), Poland (4.6%), France (4%), mainland China (2.9%), Italy (2.5%), Spain (2.1%) and Finland (2%).
From a continental perspective, 75.5% of Denmark’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 12.9% was sold to importers in Asia. Denmark shipped another 7.2% worth of goods to North America.
Denmark is also a member of the European Union. EU members bought 71.3% of Danish exports sold in 2023.
Tinier percentages went to buyers in Latin America (1.54%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Oceania (1.5%) led by Australia, Marshall Islands and New Zealand, then Africa (1.3%).
Given Denmark’s population of 5.89 million people, its total $136.5 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $23,200 for every resident in the northern European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $21,900 per capita one year earlier in 2022.
Denmark’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Danish global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Denmark.
- Pharmaceuticals: US$21 billion (15.4% of total exports)
- Machinery including computers: $16.4 billion (12%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $13.4 billion (9.8%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $9.1 billion (6.7%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $4.8 billion (3.5%)
- Vehicles: $4.3 billion (3.1%)
- Fish: $4.1 billion (3%)
- Meat: $3.8 billion (2.8%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $3.5 billion (2.6%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $3.3 billion (2.4%)
Denmark’s top 10 exports accounted for 61.3% of the overall value of total Danish shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 30% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was vehicles via a 14.6% upturn.
Denmark’s shipments of fish posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 14.1%.
The leading decliner among Denmark’s top 10 export categories was furniture, bedding, lighting, signs and prefabricated buildings thanks to a -5.8% year-over-year drop.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, Denmark’s most valuable exported products are medication mixes in dosage (11.5% of total), blood fractions including antisera (3.5%), pork (1.9%), processed petroleum oils (1.8%), cars (1.6%), cheese and curd (also 1.6%), cruise or cargo ships and barges (1.4%), hormones and miscellaneous steroids (1.3%), live swine (also 1.3%), miscellaneous furniture (1.2%), then electric generating sets and converters (1.1%).
Products Generating Denmark’s Highest Trade Surpluses
Denmark earned an overall US$10.2 billion trade surplus in 2023, accelerating by 272.9% from the $2.7 billion in black ink one year earlier for 2022.
The following types of Danish product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Pharmaceuticals: US$15.6 billion (Up by 10.9% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: $2.7 billion (Up by 16.8%)
- Meat: $2.6 billion (Down by -5.6%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $2.2 billion (Up by 6.7%)
- Modified starches, glues, enzymes: $2.1 billion (Up by 0.6%)
- Live animals: $2 billion (Up by 69.1%)
- Organic chemicals: $1.2 billion (Down by -5.3%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $1.1 billion (Down by -0.9%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $636.1 million (Up by 111.5%)
- Other chemical goods: $591.9 million (Up by 62%)
Denmark has highly positive net exports in the international trade of drugs and medicines. In turn, these cashflows indicate Denmark’s strong competitive advantages under the pharmaceuticals product category.
Products Causing Denmark’s Worst Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Denmark that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Denmark’s goods trail Danish importer spending on foreign products.
- Vehicles: -US$7.3 billion (Up by 25.9% since 2022)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$3.4 billion (Down by -15.8%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$2.7 billion (Down by -18.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.6 billion (Down by -26.9%)
- Wood: -$1.5 billion (Down by -11.1%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$831.8 million (Up by 1.4%)
- Iron, steel: -$810.5 million (Down by -37.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$673.1 million (Up by 2.4%)
- Paper, paper items: -$565.6 million (Down by -25.3%)
- Inorganic chemicals: -$447.3 million (Down by -18.4%)
Denmark has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the vehicles category notably for cars, trucks, trailers, tractors and even bicycles.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Denmark’s competitive disadvantages in the international vehicles market, but also represent key opportunities for Denmark to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations on alternative transportation means.
Denmark’s Major Export Companies
Fourteen Danish corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000 for 2019. Below is a sample of the major Danish companies that Forbes included.
- A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (transportation, energy)
- Carlsberg (beverages)
- Coloplast (medical equipment, supplies)
- DSV (transportation, logistics)
- Novo Nordisk (pharmaceuticals)
- Novozymes (biotechs)
- TDC (telecommunications services)
- Vestas Wind Systems (electrical equipment)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Denmark. Selected examples are shown below.
- Arla Foods (dairy products)
- House of Amber (jewelry)
- Kopenhagen Fur (fur clothing, accessories)
- Lego Group (toys)
- Pharma Nord (pharmaceuticals)
- Royal Copenhagen (porcelain)
- Tuborg (brewery)
In macroeconomic terms, Denmark’s total exported goods represent 30.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($441.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 30.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 31.3% one year earlier. Those percentages suggest a decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Denmark’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Denmark’s unemployment rate averaged 5% during 2023, up from an average 4.45% for 2022 according to International Monetary Fund data.
Denmark’s capital city is Copenhagen.
See also Denmark’s Top 10 Imports, Denmark’s Top Trading Partners, Drugs and Medicine Exports by Country and Top Blood Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on April 7, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 7, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (National Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on April 7, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 7, 2024
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on April 7, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 7, 2024
Wikipedia, Denmark. Accessed on April 7, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 7, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Denmark. Accessed on April 7, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 7, 2024