Natural resource accounts
How much nature is there in Denmark – and how large an area is used for agricultural crops? How much oil and natural gas is there in the North Sea, and how have the Danish forests and fish stocks changed over time? The resource accounts for oil, gas, fish and forests show stocks of Danish natural resources. The land accounts show land cover and how the land is used.
Selected statistics on Natural resource accounts
Land cover in Denmark
The compilation of statistics on land cover is based on a several maps on land coverage. The maps are all produced outside Statistics Denmark and are used for a variety of administrative purposes. Sources are:
- GeoDanmark - a Danish topographical map, maintained by the municipalities and the Agency for Data Supply and Infrastructure.
- The Danish Cadastral Map from the Danish Geodata Agency
- Fields and field blocks, an agricultural map from the Danish Agriculture Agency.
- Management plans state forests
- Management plans Danish Defense
- Map of Natura2000 habitat types
- Map of protected habitat types
- Corinne Land Cover and CLCplus Backbone
For land use, the sources used are:
- The Danish Cadastral Map from the Danish Geodata Agency
- The Danish register of buildings and dwellings
- The Danish register of businesses, as well as the register of agricultural establishments
- The civil registry
- Municipal plans
- The Danish Tax authorities register on properties
Number of inhabitants is from FOLK1A as of 1 Jan.
Natural gas reserves in the North Sea
The natural resource account for oil and natural gas is based on information obtained from the Danish Energy Agency as well as the statistics Energy Accounts for Denmark and the National Accounts.
Natural aquatic resources
The information on quotas and catches is compiled and registered by The Danish Agriculture and Fisheries Agency. The information is published in "Yearbook of Fishery Statistics 20xx" or online in Dynamic tables. Information on fish stocks is developed yearly by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The information is published as ”Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort” on species level and fishing area. The reports are available at the webbpage of ICES. Information aquaculture at plant level is compiled by The Danish Agriculture and Fisheries Agency.
Wood in Danish forests
The accounts are based on a number of sources:
- The Danish National Forest Inventory which is produced and annually published by the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen.
- The Danish reporting on forest land under Kyoto (LULUCF). This is available at UNFCCC and the European Environment Agency.
- A calculation of the area of undisturbed forest provided by the Agency for Green Transition and Aquatic Environment.
- The statistics on felling of wood in the Danish forests, published by Statistics Denmark. See the documentation of statistics for Felling of Wood in the Danish Forests.
- Market prices of timber products, collected from the Danish Forest Association.
On the statistics – documentation, sources and method
See the documentation of statistics to learn more:
The forest accounts are accounts for the Danish forests as a natural resource. The accounts comprise the forest land as well as the wood (timber) resource. The forest accounts were first published in 2017, as part of the Green National Accounts for Denmark. In 2021, the accounts have been extended back in time so all data series start in 1990.
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).
The purpose of this natural resource account is to analyze stocks and stock changes in oil and natural gas in the North Sea. The statistics is measured in both physical and monetary units. The time series are comparable from 1990 onwards.
The stock account for fish and shellfish shows the development in the natural aquatic resources and in aquaculture. The accounts document the development in stocks, growth in stocks, catch/harvest of fish and shellfish for consumption and export of living fish as well as reduction in stocks.