Denmark Denmark

Next Country: Finland

Overall score 2009: 6.7
Change since 2003: –0.2 (using 2009 methodology)

Denmark ranks 2nd overall in 2009. Denmark gives a large amount of high-quality foreign aid and has a relatively good environmental record from the perspective of developing countries. Denmark also contributes a large amount of personnel and finance to international peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions, and encourages research and development. Denmark’s performance is, however, somewhat negatively affected by its barriers against agricultural imports from developing countries and its lack of policies that promote productive investment in poor countries.

Denmark Scores 2003-2007

2003: 15.9 2003: 5.8 2003: 3.4 2003: 7.2 2003: 4.8 2003: 8.2 2003: 4.6 2003: 7.1 2004: 14.9 2004: 5.8 2004: 3.4 2004: 7.2 2004: 6.6 2004: 7.9 2004: 4.5 2004: 7.2 2005: 13.4 2005: 6.4 2005: 4.5 2005: 6.9 2005: 2.5 2005: 7.5 2005: 4.6 2005: 6.6 2006: 11.5 2006: 5.8 2006: 4.2 2006: 6.6 2006: 4.7 2006: 7.2 2006: 5.6 2006: 6.5 2007: 13.0 2007: 5.8 2007: 4.6 2007: 5.7 2007: 4.8 2007: 6.7 2007: 5.3 2007: 6.6 2008: 11.3 2008: 5.5 2008: 4.8 2008: 5.5 2008: 6.5 2008: 6.7 2008: 5.2 2008: 6.5 Denmark

CDI site with animation

 

Denmark's 2009 Country Reports

2009 Results

Aid

What it measures

Aid quality is just as important as aid quantity, so the CDI measures gross aid as a share of GNI adjusted for various quality factors: it subtracts debt service, penalizes “tied” aid that makes recipients spend aid only on donor goods and services, rewards aid to poor but relatively uncorrupt recipients, and penalizes overloading poor governments with many small projects.

Denmark Overall

  • Score: 12.2
  • Rank: 2

Denmark Strengths

  • Very high net aid volume as a share of the economy (0.77%; rank: 3)
  • Prevents project proliferation; large average project size (rank: 1)
  • Selectivity: large share of aid to poor and relatively democratic governments (rank: 4)

Denmark Weaknesses

  • Small amount of private charitable giving attributable to tax policy (rank by share of GDP: 13)

Trade
What it measures

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against exports from developing countries.

Denmark Overall

  • Score: 5.6
  • Rank: 16

Denmark Weaknesses

  • High tariffs on agricultural products (38.7% of the value of imports; rank: 13)
  • High agricultural subsidies (equivalent to 16.3% tariff; rank: 21)

Investment
What it measures

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can transfer technologies, upgrade management and create jobs. The CDI includes a checklist of policies that support healthy investment in developing countries.

Denmark Overall

  • Score: 4.7
  • Rank: 16

Denmark Strengths

  • Employs foreign tax credits to prevent double taxation of corporate profits earned abroad

Denmark Weaknesses

  • Political risk insurance also given to inefficient, import-substituting projects
  • Does not allow domestic investors to take advantage of developing country tax incentives
  • Does not actively participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
  • Does not provide support for outflows of portfolio investment

Migration
What it measures

The movement of people from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income and knowledge. This increases the flow of money sent home by migrants abroad and the transfer of skills when the migrants return.

Denmark Overall

  • Score: 5.2
  • Rank: 12

Denmark Strengths

  • Large increase during the 1990s in the number of unskilled immigrants from developing countries living in Denmark (rank by share of population: 5)
  • No tuition fee for foreign students

Environment
What it measures

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources, and poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration, so the CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries and biodiversity.

Denmark Overall

  • Score: 7.0
  • Rank: 4

Denmark Strengths

  • Greenhouse gas emissions grew little in 1997–2007 despite rapid GDP growth (average annual growth rate/GDP, –3.1%; rank: 6)
  • High gas taxes ($1.20 per liter; rank: 8)
  • High compliance with mandatory reporting requirements under multilateral environmental agreements relating to biodiversity (rank: 2)

Denmark Weaknesses

  • High greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita (12.0 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; rank: 15)

Security
What it measures

Since security is a prerequisite for development, the CDI rewards contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, rewards military protection of global sea lanes, and penalizes arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments.

Denmark Overall

  • Score: 6.5
  • Rank: 5

Denmark Strengths

  • Significant financial and personnel contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions over last decade (rank by share of GDP: 7)
  • Few arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments (rank by share of GDP: 5)

Technology
What it measures

Rich countries contribute to development through the creation and dissemination of new technologies. The CDI captures this by measuring government support for R&D and penalizing strong intellectual property rights regimes that limit the dissemination of new technologies to poor countries.

Denmark Overall

  • Score: 5.5
  • Rank: 6

Denmark Strengths

  • High government expenditure on R&D (rank by share of GDP: 5)
  • High tax subsidy rate to businesses for R&D (rank: 8)
  • Low share of government R&D expenditure on defense (0.0%; rank: 7)

Denmark Weaknesses

  • Offers patent-like proprietary rights to developers of data compilations, including those assembled from data in the public domain
  • Imposes strict limitations on anti-circumvention technologies that can defeat encryption of copyrighted digital materials