Denmark’s economy grows in Q2 2024

Denmark’s economy rebounded in the second quarter of 2024, with a 0.6 per cent increase in GDP from the previous quarter, according to preliminary data from Statistics Denmark.

This growth was primarily driven by the pharmaceutical sector, which had previously caused a 1 per cent contraction in the first quarter.

The country’s drugmaking industry, highlighted by Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drugs and Bavarian Nordic A/S’s mpox vaccine, played a crucial role in this expansion.

Last year, the pharmaceutical sector was responsible for half of Denmark’s economic growth, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in Western Europe.

Palle Sorensen, chief analyst at Nykredit, noted that pharmaceutical companies have a “disproportionately large role” in Denmark’s industrial production, leading to significant fluctuations in GDP figures.

In the second quarter, production by Danish drugmakers surged by 8.5 per cent, following a notable decline in the previous quarter.