Factsheet: Danish Bioeconomy

Denmark’s bioeconomy spans food & agriculture, fishery, forestry, water, bioenergy and biomaterials, employing ~196,000 people with an added value of €41 billion. Primary agriculture employs ~62,000 (2.1% of the workforce), while the wider agri-bio chain employs ~188,000 (6.3%). The country counts 33,148 farms over 2.62 Mha (open-field crops 2.238 Mha, horticulture 20 kha). Livestock includes 567 k cows (incl. 82 k suckler cows), 13.16 M pigs (1.04 M sows), 135 k sheep and large poultry numbers. Forests cover 625 kha (14.5% of land), 75% privately owned across ~24,000 owners. Bioenergy supplies ~⅔ of renewable energy consumption via combustion, gasification, biogas and liquid biofuels; biogas output rose 40-45% (2016–2017) with 166 plants in operation. Exports (2020) total €37 billion (food 17% of national exports; bio-based 4%; agri-tech 2%). The timber sector contributes €4.2 billion GDP and 51,400 jobs. Policy targets include 30% renewable energy by 2025 and scaling advanced biofuels.