Prosperity per capita in Denmark takes huge tumble

GNP has fallen by 4 percent while the population has increased

Denmark may be known as one of the world's wealthy nations, but based on figures from the national statistics office Danmarks Statistik, it is quickly becoming a less prosperous country to live in.

The figures showed that since 2007 the Danish gross national product (GNP) has fallen by 4 percent and, because the population has increased by 3 percent (or 180,000 people), the total average prosperity per capita has dropped by 7 percent.

“It's the biggest downturn in recent times. You probably have to go back to the 1930's for a worse development,” Steen Bocian, the chief economist with Danske Bank, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

“The crisis we are experiencing now has been extremely deep and long-lasting.”

READ MORE: Denmark ranked fourth best country to live in

Down on rich list
Bocian added that people who had lost their jobs or had never been able to land a job had become significantly poorer.

Denmark's prosperity per capita is at 320,000 kroner, which is actually 28 percent higher than in 1990 and 56 percent higher than in 1980, so the nation's prosperity per capita is still in good shape. But prosperity per capita has increased in Germany by 6 percent, in Sweden by 2 percent and Great Britain by 1 percent.

Denmark's prosperity woes mean that it has taken a tumble from being the world's 11th richest nation in 2007 to the 20th richest now.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.