Facts and figures

Gross expenditure on research and development in Denmark is around 3% of GDP², about two thirds of which come from the private sector². The life science industry accounts for more than 50,000 jobs and around 22% of the Danish product export, making it one of the country’s largest export industries⁸.

Life science clusters, such as the Danish-Swedish Medicon Valley, bring together universities, clinics and companies, and allow access to the largescale research infrastructures MAX IV and European Spallation Source in nearby Lund, encouraging innovation and cross-disciplinary research in biomedicine and biotechnology⁹. Denmark carries out more clinical trials per capita than any other OECD country¹⁰. In a recently published strategy for life science, the Danish government reiterated the dedication to the sector with concrete initiatives to, for example, enhance sustainable growth and strengthen partnerships⁸.

Denmark has a high level of employment and secondary education attainment with 81% of adults having completed secondary school¹¹. It has 38 higher education institutions, including eight universities and seven university colleges⁶, and more than 600 courses taught in English¹². The University of Copenhagen is one of the largest research and education institutions in Scandinavia⁶. Teaching and learning in Danish higher education institutions emphasizes innovation and collaboration¹³. Higher education is free for students from the EU. Annual fees of around 6,000 – 16,000 euros apply for students coming from outside the EU, however, a limited number of scholarships is available, too¹⁴. Approximately 11% of students come from outside Denmark⁵.

Sustainability is also a large part of Danish life: The country has a national bike path network of 12,000 km¹⁵, 50% of the energy comes from renewable sources¹⁶, and the Danish government launched an ambitious green research and innovation strategy in 2020¹⁷.