Balance of Payments

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External Economy
Maria José Alvarez Pelaez
+45 30 66 03 21

Get documentation of statistics as pdf

Balance of Payments 2023

Omlægning af tabeller om betalingsbalance og udenrigshandel i Statistikbanken juni 2024 (pdf) (in Danish only)

The balance of payments describes the economic transactions between Denmark and the rest of the world. The balance of payments for Denmark has been compiled since 1934, with a continuous time series available since 2005. Today the main emphasis is placed upon incomes and expenses in relation to foreign countries. Originally, the most important item was the foreign debt, which is compiled as part of the International Investment Position (IIP) – Denmark’s external assets and liabilities. Since 1991 the IIP has been compiled by Danmarks Nationalbank. The balance of payments statistics are compiled in cooperation between Danmarks Nationalbank and Statistics Denmark, the latter being responsible for publishing the consolidated statistics.

Statistical presentation

The balance of payments records the value of the economic transactions, which are made within a given period between the Danish balance of payments area and the rest of the world. There are three main accounts: the current account (trade in goods and services, primary and secondary income), the capital account and the financial account (arranging debts and receivables with foreign countries). The statistics shows the geographical distribution (counterpart countries). Danmarks Nationalbank compiles the financial account and the investment income of the balance of payments.

Statistical processing

The statistics are primarily compiled based on other statistics. The sources are used directly and as a basis for calculations of developments. Validation of the sources mainly occurs during the preparation of other statistics, but special validations are carried out across selected sources to ensure consistency between the sources. The validation particularly targets businesses' international organization of production. The sources are processed so that monthly balance of payments statements can be produced, even if some sources are compiled quarterly or annually.

Relevance

The publication of the balance of payments, particularly the monthly statement, often attracts significant public interest. The statistics are especially used by ministries, politicians, and economic stakeholders. The balance of payments is also used in the compilation of national accounts.

Accuracy and reliability

The compilation of the balance of payment is mainly based on other statistics. Accordingly, the accuracy of the balance of payments statistics is very much dependent upon these statistics. Most importantly, there will be uncertainty associated with the first compilations of a period, as important information only becomes available later. Coverage is high as there is a particular focus on coverage in the largest sources. The biggest source of error is measurement errors in the sources that are survey-based. Ongoing validation is performed, so the accuracy of the first publications is lower as it takes time to resolve the validations. The calculations and model assumptions in the compilation are not considered to affect the overall accuracy of the main items in the balance of payments.

Timeliness and punctuality

The statistics are published quarterly, approximately 40 days after the end of the reference period. Main results are published monthly, approximately 40 days after the end of the relevant month. The final statistics are published approximately three years after the end of the reference period. Punctuality is exceptionally high.

Comparability

The compilation of the balance of payments follows the IMF's manual and is compiled back to 2005. There is thus comparability with other countries following the same manual and back to 2005. For the detailed items, there is no comparability with the series before 2005. The statistics on International Trade in Services are directly included in the compilation of the balance of payments. For International Trade in Goods, there are methodological differences, so there is a discrepancy between the two statistics. The balance of payments is part of the national accounts and is directly included as the sector rest of the world in the sector account of the national accounts.

Accessibility and clarity

The latest figures are published in a monthly news article "Nyt from Statistics Denmark," and all figures can be found in the Statistics Bank. The balance of payments also has dedicated homepage.