Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Denmark

Denmark: Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita was 78.4% in 2011. ▲ Rising

Latest (2011)
78.4%
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
6th
of 44 countries
All-time high
78.4%
in 2011
All-time low
41.4%
in 1950
Years of data
62
1950–2011

Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Denmark, 1950–2011

020406080195019802011

Source: Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Denmark recorded 78.4% for share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in 2011. That is the highest value across all 62 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Denmark peaked at 78.4% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 41.4%, in 1950.

That places Denmark 6th out of 44 countries with data for 2011, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.

Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Denmark, year by year

Annual values for Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Denmark, 1950 to 2011.
Year % Change
1950 41.4%
1951 42.2% +1.9%
1952 42.9% +1.7%
1953 43.3% +0.9%
1954 43.4% +0.2%
1955 44.4% +2.3%
1956 44.6% +0.5%
1957 44.6% +0.0%
1958 45.5% +2.0%
1959 44.7% -1.8%
1960 44.7% +0.0%
1961 45.3% +1.3%
1962 45.9% +1.3%
1963 46.8% +2.0%
1964 47.1% +0.6%
1965 48.2% +2.3%
1966 48.7% +1.0%
1967 49.4% +1.4%
1968 50.3% +1.8%
1969 51.9% +3.2%
1970 53.1% +2.3%
1971 54.9% +3.4%
1972 56.0% +2.0%
1973 56.5% +0.9%
1974 57.9% +2.5%
1975 60.1% +3.8%
1976 60.8% +1.2%
1977 61.4% +1.0%
1978 62.1% +1.1%
1979 62.9% +1.3%
1980 64.0% +1.7%
1981 65.6% +2.5%
1982 66.4% +1.2%
1983 66.8% +0.6%
1984 66.2% -0.9%
1985 66.1% -0.2%
1986 66.1% +0.0%
1987 66.8% +1.1%
1988 67.7% +1.3%
1989 68.4% +1.0%
1990 68.8% +0.6%
1991 69.3% +0.7%
1992 69.8% +0.7%
1993 70.4% +0.9%
1994 71.0% +0.9%
1995 70.7% -0.4%
1996 71.2% +0.7%
1997 71.8% +0.8%
1998 72.3% +0.7%
1999 72.9% +0.8%
2000 73.3% +0.5%
2001 73.7% +0.5%
2002 74.3% +0.8%
2003 74.8% +0.7%
2004 75.5% +0.9%
2005 75.7% +0.3%
2006 75.9% +0.3%
2007 76.0% +0.1%
2008 76.1% +0.1%
2009 77.2% +1.4%
2010 78.0% +1.0%
2011 78.4% +0.5%

Denmark compared with similar countries

  • Denmark's 78.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 72.1%, 1.1× the median. (17 countries reporting)
  • Denmark's 78.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 74.5%, 1.1× the median. (10 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 43.7% 41.4% 45.5% 10
1960s 47.8% 44.7% 51.9% 10
1970s 58.6% 53.1% 62.9% 10
1980s 66.4% 64.0% 68.4% 10
1990s 70.8% 68.8% 72.9% 10
2000s 75.2% 73.3% 77.2% 10
2010s 78.2% 78.0% 78.4% 2

Countries ranked near Denmark

  1. 3 Netherlands 80.8% compare
  2. 4 United Kingdom 79.1% compare
  3. 5 Belgium 78.6% compare
  4. 7 France 77.0% compare
  5. 8 Argentina 72.9% compare
  6. 9 Japan 72.7% compare

See the full ranking of 44 places →

More work & labour data for Denmark

All data for Denmark →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Denmark?
Share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita in Denmark was 78.4% in 2011, according to Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in Denmark?
The highest recorded value was 78.4% in 2011.
What is the lowest share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita recorded in Denmark?
The lowest recorded value was 41.4% in 1950.
How does Denmark rank for share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita?
Denmark ranks 6th out of 44 countries with data for 2011.
Is share of workers employed in services vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Denmark?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Denmark data come from?
The figures come from Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita in Denmark. Statizoid, drawing on Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/gdp-vs-services-employment/denmark/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of workers employed in services vs. GDP per capita
Unit
%
Source
Herrendorf et al. and Groningen Growth and Development Centre (2015) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
44 places, 2,481 data points, 1801–2015
Last refreshed

The vertical axis shows historical estimates of the employment share in the service sector. The horizontal axis shows GDP per capita, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.