News

High share of private sector works for foreign companies

Foreign companies made up just 3 percent of companies in Denmark, but employed over 300,000 people in 2019

According to new figures from Danmarks Statistik, a considerable portion of employees in the Danish private sector work for foreign companies.

The figures reveal that 21 percent of employees in the private sector worked for companies based abroad in 2019 – slightly more than in 2018.

The over 8,000 foreign companies made up just 3 percent of companies in Denmark, but employed 322,000 people, accounting for 27 percent of the total turnover in the private sector in 2019.

READ ALSO: Denmark sees highest consumer price hike in almost a decade

Swedes employ the most
In particular, the figures revealed that the information & communication sector led the way, employing 31 percent of those employed by foreign firms.

Industry, raw material extraction & utilities firms accounted for 29 percent, while trade & transport made up just over 25 percent (see chart below).

Swedish companies accounted for the biggest share of workers in foreign-owned companies with 22 percent overall, followed by Germany (14 percent) and the US (12 percent). 

In total, 70 percent worked for companies with owners from another EU nation.

(photo: Danmarks Statistik)

TOP STORIES

  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

  • Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Currently, around 170 people live on “tolerated stay” in Denmark, a status for people who cannot be deported but are denied residency and basic rights. As SOS Racisme draws a concerning picture of their living conditions in departure centers, such as Kærshovedgård, they also suggest it might be time for Denmark to reinvent its policies on deportation

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs