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Denmark’s GDP endures historic tumble

Christian Wenande
August 14th, 2020


This article is more than 4 years old.

The consequence of the Coronavirus Crisis on Denmark’s economy is proving to be considerably worse than the Financial Crisis of last decade

It’s been a rough first half of 2020 (photo: Pixabay)

According to new figures from the national statistics keeper Danmarks Statistik, the ongoing Coronavirus Crisis is having a significant impact on Denmark’s economy.

The figures showed that Denmark’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrank by 7.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020. 

That’s a considerably larger drop for one quarter than the 2.4 percent decrease in GDP that Denmark experienced when the Financial Crisis was at its worst in 2008.

“This shows that we are in the midst of a crisis of historic dimensions with massive economic challenges brought on by the coronavirus,” the finance minister, Nicolai Wammen, told TV2 News.

The employment indicator also revealed a historic drop in employment in Denmark for the quarter – down by 3.1 percent. 

READ ALSO: Government expects GDP to fall by over 5 percent

Still better than most
Despite the dour GDP reading, Denmark’s economy has actually performed better than most countries in Europe and beyond. 

The Danmarks Statistik figures showed that the average GDP drop in the EU was 11.9 percent, with countries like the UK (over 20 percent drop) seeing much higher decreases (see image below).

In general, the negative ramifications of the coronavirus have been much smaller in Nordic and Baltic countries. 

(photo: Danmarks Statistik)


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”