Land Accounts

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National Accounts, Economic Statistics
Michael Berg Rasmussen
+45 3917 3768

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Land Accounts 2021

These statistics concern the size of the land area of Denmark, how it is covered and how it is used. Land cover estimates how Denmark is covered by roads, buildings, crops, forests, lakes etc. Land use estimates for what purpose the land area of Denmark is used, e.g. for housing, industry, trade, recreation etc. Land accounts are part of the the Environmental-Economic Accounts (Green National Accounts).

Statistical presentation

Land accounts has three parts. Denmark's area in square kilometers in total and by municipalities and regions, land by land cover and land use by industry. Land by land cover and land use by industry are stated in square kilometers, square meter per capita and in percentage of the total land area, geographically divided by provinces and regions.

Statistical processing

The land cover accounts have been produced from consolidating a number of source maps, all of which shows aspects of Danish land cover. All the maps have been overlaid using GIS techniques and aggregated into one map. The main part of the GIS-related work has been carried out by DCE, Århus University.

The land use accounts have been produced by combining the Cadastral map with the registers on buildings, dwellings, businesses, municipal plans etc. The classifications from the registers have been combined and prioritized to create the classification of land by land use.

Relevance

The land accounts are relevant for users interested in how Danish land is used, and how this changes over time - including analyses of how different land covers and land uses may compete as demand for more urban land or more protected nature will have to mean less of other uses.

Accuracy and reliability

The statistics are well documented and transparent, building on all relevant map sources for the land cover of Denmark. Quality of the land use accounts is considered to be good, but the uncertainties are bigger than for the land cover. This is because the method is new and these accounts are the first published of their kind. As for many other statistics, the higher level of detail, the higher the uncertainties.

Timeliness and punctuality

Statistics on the size of Denmark's land area is published by the end of February, in the year following the reference year. On the other hand, land by land cover and land use by industry do not have a fixed publishing rhythm, but have so far been published at years intervals. These statistics are published without delay, with reference to the announced time of publication in the release calendar.

Comparability

The land cover accounts is fully compatible between2011, 2016, 2018 and 2021. Compatibility with older statistics on land cover is limited, as there have been major changes to sources as well as methods. Land use has so far only been measured for one reference year.

Accessibility and clarity

Statistics on the size of Denmark, land by land cover and land use by industry are published in the StatBank under Area and Natural ressources. Furthermore, Land accounts is part of the Environmental-Economic Accounts (Green National Accounts).