Denmark Country Performance, Nation Brand Strength and Reputation

Denmark: how good is the country’s business environment for investors? How competitive is it in terms of talent? What about its soft power internationally? Let’s explore how Denmark positions itself on the world stage, drawing insights from data provided by TPBO partners and other reputable institutions.

Let’s take a closer look at:

• Denmark’s soft power and brand strength
• Its appeal to skilled labor, investors and visitors
• The country’s global contribution to peace and wellbeing
• How well it fares in terms of happiness and sustainability

Denmark’s soft power and brand strength

How does Denmark compare in terms of reputation and brand value globally? 

In the Global Soft Power Index 2023 by Brand Finance, Denmark secures the 18^th spot, slightly trailing the Netherlands (16^th) and Norway (17^th). Impressively, Denmark’s score has shown growth, rising from 48.8 in 2022 to 51.8 this year. Despite this improvement, the nation remains in 18th overall position. 

In the U.S. News Best Countries 2023 ranking, Denmark secures the 13^th position, behind Norway (11^th) and France (12^th). Notably, Denmark excels in two key areas: social purpose (5^th) and open for business (6^th). However, Denmark dropped three positions from 2022, with lowest scores in movers and power factors.

Denmark’s appeal to digital nomads, business, trade and travel 

What is the global perception of Denmark as a destination for living, conducting business, and tourism?

The Expat Insider 2023 ranks Denmark in 41^st position out of 53 countries, below Ireland (39^th) and Hong Kong (40^th). However, Denmark ranks 4^th in the Safety and Security metric and 3^rd in the Work and Leisure metric.

The Bloom Consulting biannual Country Brand Ranking Trade Edition 2022-2023 assesses investment-related variables, emphasizing perceptions of a country’s trade-specific brand and evaluating branding performance. Regionally, Denmark placed 20th behind Norway (18^th) and the Czech Republic (19^th). This is a drop in five positions for the country, the most significant in the region. New rules and regulations on screening and the approval of FDI might affect investors’ interest and growth projections of FDI in Denmark. Globally, Denmark secures the 53^rd position.

In addition, the Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking Tourism Edition 2022-2023 places Denmark at the 33^rd global position. Regionally, Denmark now holds the 17^th position, experiencing a jump of two positions, falling behind Sweden (15^th) and Iceland (16^th). 

In the IMD 2023 World Competitiveness Ranking, Denmark continued to secure the 1^st position. In terms of specific characteristics, Denmark’s economic performance dropped two positions to the 15th spot in 2023. It holds the 5^th position for government efficiency, ranks 1^st for business efficiency, and holds the 2^nd spot for infrastructure.

According to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023, Denmark belongs to the first group, Innovation Leaders, alongside Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Denmark has become the most innovative Member State, overtaking Sweden, which was leading for many years. This was partly due to much stronger performance on indicators of Non-R&D innovation expenditures and Sales of innovative products, and partly due to a decline in the innovation performance of Sweden between 2022 and 2023.

Denmark’s talent attraction and competitiveness 

What are the conditions for talent attraction and retention in Denmark?

The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index 2019 edition placed Denmark at the 10th position among 141 countries. However, it’s important to note that an updated version of this report hasn’t been released in the past five years, and rankings may have shifted since then.

Denmark, classified as a high-income country within the European regional group, currently holds the 4^th position in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2023. Notably, Denmark performs most remarkably in the Enable and Retain pillar where it holds the 2^nd position for both and its main challenge is the GK Skills pillar where it ranked 9th.

Peace and happiness in Denmark

Is Denmark a happy and safe place to invest time and money in?

The Global Peace Index 2023 ranks Denmark 2^nd, jumping one position from last years’ index. Denmark sits behind Iceland (1^st), and above Ireland (3^rd). Denmark falls under the very high sector of the ‘State of Peace’ spectrum as defined by the Institute for Economics & Peace.

The Institute for Economics & Peace similarly ranks France within the medium impact (orange) zone in terms of ‘Impact of Terrorism’ in the 2022 Global Terrorism Index. Denmark ranks 90^th, tying with Angola and Kosovo.

Meanwhile, the World Happiness Report 2023 which displays the Ranking of Happiness based on a three-year-average 2020–2022 ranks Denmark 2^nd.

Contribution to global wellbeing

In the Caf World Giving Index 2023, Denmark secured the 13^th position, jumping eleven positions compared to the previous year. Notably, Denmark performs admirably in the subfactor of donating money, with 64% of its adult population donating money.

In the Good Country Index, Denmark currently holds the 2^nd position overall, with notable subfactors as follows: Science & Technology (8^th), Culture (9^th), World Order (8^th), Planet & Climate (7^th), Prosperity & Equality (3^rd), and Health & Wellbeing (4^th). The country has maintained its previous positioning, although there has been an overall decline in most factors.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Democracy Index 2023, Denmark ranked in the dark blue zone (9-10 range) with a 9.28 out of 10. This is higher than Germany who scored 8.8 and Ireland 9.13 but lower than Norway and Sweden who scored 9.81 and 9.31.

The 2022 Corruption Perception Index, ranks Denmark 1^st with a score of 90/100. Denmark’s score has increased by two since 2021.

The Sustainable Development Report 2023 ranks Denmark in 3^rd position, it highlights that Denmark, although in the top 10, still has some challenges to overcome. However, the no poverty factor has achieved the status of SDG achievement with a continuous moderate increase, the Affordable and Clean Energy factor has reached the SDG achievement status and continues to be on track while the Gender Equality factor is on track.

Environmental performance 

How well does Denmark perform in terms of environmentally sustainable action-taking?

The 2022 edition of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks Denmark 1^st. The EPI analyzes the performance of 180 countries, scoring and ranking these countries on their environmental performance using the most recent year of data available as well as providing calculable changes in scores over the previous decade.Denmark has experienced a change in score of positive 77.9.

Last updated in October 2023. More country profiles here.

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