17. Denmark
This country profile presents several entrepreneurship and self-employment indicators for women, youth, seniors and immigrants to benchmark rates and trends in Denmark against the European Union average. It also describes recent policy developments and current inclusive entrepreneurship policy issues.
The business entry and exit rates are above the European Union (EU) median in 2020, indicating an above average level of churn in the business population. Between 2013 and 2022, the self-employment rate was stable at about 8%, which was below the EU average (13% in 2022). The self-employment rate changed little over the past decade for women, youth (20-29 years old) and seniors (50-64 years old), but the share of working immigrants who are self-employed declined slightly from 10% to 8%. The share of the self-employed who employed others was marginally above the EU average in 2022: 36% vs. 32%. Seniors were the most likely group to have employees, but the share declined from 44% in 2015 to 36% in 2022.
In 2023, Denmark’s Business Promotion Board announced a decision to grant an additional DKK 46 million (approximately EUR 6.2 million) in support for key entrepreneurship programmes. This comprises DKK 36 million (approximately EUR 4.8 million) for the Entrepreneur Denmark initiative and DKK 10.2 million (approximately EUR 1.4 million) for the Nordic Female Founders programme, which aims to increase diversity in entrepreneurship by investing in diverse start-ups (aiming for an equal distribution of male and female founders) and providing women entrepreneurs with greater access to networks and role models. DKK 27 million (approximately EUR 3.6 million) of the extra funding for Entrepreneur Denmark initiative will come from the EU Social Fund.
Denmark’s entrepreneurship policy as a whole is focused on promoting innovation and growth, with few dedicated initiatives for specific groups of entrepreneurs. This emphasis likely benefits young entrepreneurs, particularly graduates and those in higher education. Entrepreneurship training is embedded at all stages of education, from primary school to PhD. This is co-ordinated through the Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship, which allocates funding for the development of education with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. The foundation also provides direct supports for youth entrepreneurs to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas, including through a micro grant scheme and networking events. Another important policy intervention relevant to youth entrepreneurs is Innovation Fund Denmark’s Innofounder programme, which is a 12-month entrepreneurship course for higher education graduates.
Note: In Panel a, the data for the EU median for SME lending excludes the following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and Romania. The EU median for the entrepreneurship skills indicator excludes: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia and Malta. Please see Chapter 10 for detailed notes on the figures.
Source: (Eurostat, 2023; OECD, 2023). Please see Chapter 10 for full citation.