Territorial fiche Territorial patterns and relations in Denmark Economy Accessibility Environment Energy Social Urbanisation Interactive version: www.espon.eu/denmark Introductory remarks The content of the following overview is a summary of research results from different thematic applied research projects under the ESPON 2020 programme. Its main goal is to showcase the wide range of ESPON research and, by zooming-in on a specific country, raise interest for the scientific results at a national and regional scale. The indicators and analyses in this document represent the data availability at the time when the research was undertaken and are not based on the most recent data. In a few cases, for some rather basic indicators that could easily be reproduced, more up-to-date information was used. It is therefore important to note that this overview is mainly a collection of available findings with different time stamps and not an up-to-date, comprehensive analysis. 1 Economy | Accessibility | Environment | Energy | Social | Urbanisation Economy Regional innovation Gross value added of tourism Knowledge economy Tourism accommodation Micro-enterprises Tourism and climate change Small and medium enterprises Denmark is considered to be one of the most economically successful countries in Europe. This is also indicated in the following maps and descriptions. In terms of innovation, Denmark stands out as one of the leaders in Europe and has a remarkable span in the orientation of its innovative activities. In the knowledge economy, the Copenhagen area is leading in Denmark and is among the best in Europe. The share of persons employed in microenterprises (1-9 employees) is relatively low in Denmark, while the share of persons in small-medium sized enterprises (10-249 empoyees) is slightly above the European average. Tourism is a growing sector in Denmark, with a noticeable increase during the last few years and with projections that climate change might only have an overall marginal impact on Denmark. However, this is considered to be a balance between some sizeable negative and positive effects that need to be taken into account. 2 Economy | Accessibility | Environment | Energy | Social | Urbanisation The regional capacity to innovate is an essential parameter for Denmark is considered among Europe’s innovation leaders, meeting a range of fundamental challenges, such as climate and together with southern England, southern Germany, metropolitan demographic changes and transformation of energy and production Paris and Sweden. In Denmark, the regions of Copenhagen, sectors. There is a tradition in Europe of excellence in R&D and innovation, Sealand, North Denmark and Central Denmark are among the best in Europe, however this is unevenly distributed. Northwestern countries tend to be the and the Southern Denmark region is also considered a strong innovator. strongest innovators, while innovation in southern and eastern countries is Concerning the orientation of innovation, the regions of Copenhagen and comparatively modest. During 2007-2013 the gap between innovation Sealand are characterised as applied science areas, north and central leaders narrowed, with a convergence of innovation performance for all Denmark regions as smart technological application areas, and southern regions. However, from 2014 to 2016 innovation performance declined for all Denmark as a European science-based area. All regions in Denmark have regions, due to weakening in SME sectors. high levels of R&D intensity, which fosters a favourable environment for attracting start-ups and qualified personnel. 3 Economy | Accessibility | Environment | Energy | Social | Urbanisation The knowledge economy plays an important part in Europe’s In Denmark, the Copenhagen region is highly competitive and increasing reliance on technological development. A few well-situated in the European knowledge economy. The regions metropolitan regions in northern and western Europe have a high of central and southern Denmark are considered competitive and concentration of knowledge economy parameters, which implies high R&D well-related to the knowledge economy, while the regions of northern expenditure, high employment in technology sectors, and a capacity to turn Denmark and Sealand are less competitive and have further potential for innovation into regional growth. There is a clear core-periphery polarisation exploitation of the knowledge economy. Hence, there is some differentiation at the territorial level, resulting from existing mechanisms of producing in the Danish knowledge economy, ranging from advanced positions in knowledge. It is the already developed regions that tend to innovate and pharmaceuticals, science, and human capital, to networking approaches facilitate growth, which widens the development gap across Europe. relying more on external sources of knowledge, interactive learning and interaction in innovation. Integrated cross-border coorperation and a focus on functional regions to reduce the urban-rural divide is encouraged. 4 Economy | Accessibility | Environment | Energy | Social | Urbanisation . Micro-enterprises are a common part of Europe’s employment Denmark has a low share of persons employed in enterprises with profile. One-person enterprises or sole entrepreneurs without 1-9 persons. However, there are internal differences with the employees are often concentrated in the capital or tourism regions. lowest share in Copenhagen region, followed by central Enterprises with 1-9 persons employed show a less urbanised distribution Denmark, northern and southern Denmark, and finally Sealand with the pattern and have the highest share in the Mediterranean, Norway, Finland, largest share. Inside the central Denmark region, there is a hidden difference, Iceland, parts of UK, Switzerland, Poland, and Hungary. The relative with a low share to the east and a much higher share in the western part of importance of micro-enterprises has changed during 2008-2014, with the region. This demonstrates a common tendency for rural areas to have increases in Finland, the Baltic States, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic, higher shares than urbanised areas. During 2008-2014, East Jutland, Fyn Bulgaria, and Croatia, while it has decreased in many central parts of Europe. and northern Sealand experienced a slight increase, while the share was The changes are often associated with the general employment development reduced in the rest of Denmark. in a country. 5 Economy | Accessibility | Environment | Energy | Social | Urbanisation SME’s play a crucial role in economic growth, innovation, job Consistent with trends in the other Nordic countries, Denmark’s creation and social integration in Europe. SMEs account for a high capital region Copenhagen is home to fewer SMEs compared to employment share in many regions in Nordic and Baltic countries the rest of the country. The differences in the rest of Denmark are and parts of central Europe. The Mediterranean and parts of eastern Europe also noticeable with less than a 50% share in central Denmark, 55-60% in have comparatively low shares. On average, the evolution between 2008 and southern Denmark and Sealand, and more than 65% in northern Denmark. 2014 showed a decrease in the share of SME employment, except in central, This correlates with the general trend, that urbanised areas tend to have a and some northern and southeastern parts of Europe. Urban regions show lower share than rural areas. Interestingly, when considering the significantly lower SME employment in comparison to rural areas. This in development 2008-2014, the share of persons employed in SMEs in general depicts the opposite picture compared to microenterprises as shown Denmark has increased equally across the country with 0-2,5% per year. on the previous page. 6 Economy | Accessibility | Environment | Energy | Social | Urbanisation The tourism sector has a noticeable importance for European In Denmark, the estimated share of tourism as part of the overall economic development, especially in southern countries and some economy is 2,5-5% in North Denmark and less than 2,5% in the remote regions. In a few regions this plays an essential part of their rest of Denmark. Tourism, and the economic importance of socioeconomic profile. It should also be noted that tourism is a very location- tourism, is increasing in Denmark, with significant growth during 2009-2018. sensitive activity, which means that some localities inside many regions all Coastal and nature-oriented tourism accounts for the largest part, however, over Europe can be almost entirely dependant on tourism. This is often the lately tourism in larger urban areas has had the largest increase. In addition, case in peripheral places, which in particular puts those places in risk of tourism in Denmark is a very localised activity, which means that some places various factors with potential negative influence on tourism, such as have a much higher economic dependency on tourism and sensitivy to accessibility and transport costs. changes in tourism. ESPON studies in general indicate a good potential for eco-based tourism (Territorial Futures, 2017). 7 Economy | Accessibility | Environment | Energy | Social | Urbanisation A common indicator of tourism development is the number of nights Denmark is the largest tourist destination in Scandinavia with 27.6 spent in tourist accomodations. Here, coastal regions tend to million nights spent in tourist accomodations by international dominate in most parts of Europe, particularly