Dansk erhvervsliv

Danmarks erhvervsliv er delt op i flere sektorer: landbrug, industri, søfart og serviceydelser. Handel med andre lande er meget vigtig for Danmark, som har en meget åben økonomi.

Denmark's business life is divided into several sectors: agriculture, industry, shipping and services. Trade with other countries is very important for Denmark, which has a very open economy.

Danmark har traditionelt været et landbrugsland, der sælger mange fødevarer til udlandet. Frem til 1960 var der næsten 200.000 selvstændige landmænd, og det var de mellemstore gårde, der dominerede. Siden da er antallet af landbrug faldet med omkring 80 procent. De små gårde er forsvundet, og i dag er der ca. 10.000 landmænd på fuld tid. Gårdene er nu store og meget effektive, og en del af jorden dyrkes økologisk.

Denmark has traditionally been a farming country that sells a lot of food abroad. Until 1960 there were almost 200,000 self-employed farmers, and medium-sized farms dominated. Since then, the number of farms has fallen by around 80 per cent. The small farms have disappeared, and today there are about 10,000 full-time farmers. The farms are now large and very efficient, and some of the land is farmed organically.

Fra 1880'erne startede landmændene mange små mejerier og slagterier, som de selv ejede i fællesskab. Det kaldes andelsselskaber, og her har hver landmand én stemme. I dag er de fleste samlet i to store koncerner: Arla og Danish Crown. De sælger til hele verden, men er stadig andelsselskaber. Siden år 2000 har Arla omfattet både danske og svenske mejerier, og i dag ejes Arla af landmænd fra flere lande.

From the 1880s, farmers started many small dairies and slaughterhouses which they owned together. These are called andelsselskaber (cooperatives), and in them each farmer has one vote. Today most of them have been merged into two large groups: Arla and Danish Crown. They sell all over the world, but they are still cooperatives. Since the year 2000 Arla has included both Danish and Swedish dairies, and today Arla is owned by farmers from several countries.

Dansk industri har traditionelt bestået af mange små og mellemstore virksomheder, men nogle er blevet meget store og kendte. Det gælder fx LEGO og medicinalfirmaet Novo Nordisk, som bl.a. laver insulin. Over en tredjedel af alle høreapparater i verden bliver lavet i Danmark. Danmark er også et af de førende lande inden for vedvarende energi. Den moderne vindmølleindustri startede i Danmark, og vindmølleproducenten Vestas har hjemme her. Andre kendte danske virksomheder er fx Rockwool, Grundfos, Danfoss og Velux.

Danish industry has traditionally consisted of many small and medium-sized companies, but some have become very large and well known. Examples are LEGO and the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which among other things makes insulin. More than a third of all hearing aids in the world are made in Denmark. Denmark is also one of the leading countries in renewable energy. The modern wind turbine industry started in Denmark, and the wind turbine maker Vestas is based here. Other well-known Danish companies include Rockwool, Grundfos, Danfoss and Velux.

Danmark er en vigtig søfartsnation, og Mærsk er et af de to største containerrederier i verden. Danmark har også produceret meget olie, men produktionen er faldet, og planen er, at den skal stoppe helt inden 2050. Inden for service har ISS mange ansatte over hele verden. Desuden er flere danske arkitektfirmaer kendt i hele verden, og mange ingeniørfirmaer giver råd i mange lande.

Denmark is an important seafaring nation, and Mærsk is one of the two largest container shipping companies in the world. Denmark has also produced a lot of oil, but production has fallen, and the plan is for it to stop completely before 2050. In services, ISS has many employees all over the world. In addition, several Danish architecture firms are known worldwide, and many engineering firms give advice in many countries.

Danmark importerer mest fra Tyskland og eksporterer mest til USA. Men samlet sælger Danmark klart mere til de andre EU-lande end til USA. I danske virksomheder får medarbejderne ofte meget ansvar. Man forventer, at de selv tager initiativ i samarbejde med lederen.

Denmark imports most from Germany and exports most to the USA. But overall, Denmark sells clearly more to the other EU countries than to the USA. In Danish companies, employees are often given a lot of responsibility. They are expected to take the initiative themselves, in cooperation with their manager.