Statistical presentation

Data description

The Statbank tables describing the economic importance of the cultural and creative industries highlight the contribution of Danish cultural and creative production, distributed across use-oriented categories of cultural and creative industries, within a national accounts framework.

The statistics are based on 6-digit activity codes from the Danish Industrial Classification 2007, where the first four digits correspond to NACE rev. 2. Weights for the 6-digit activity codes related to the cultural and creative industries are derived through the General Enterprise Statistics and statistics on Foreign Trade in Goods and Foreign Trade in Services. Their reflection in the National Accounts' three main accounts for goods and services, production and income generation is thereby calculated. In addition to these direct effects, the linkage with the Industry classification in the Danish National Accounts enables an analysis of the indirect effects of the individual cultural and creative industries on production in other industries using an input-output model. Therefore, the tables not only highlight the direct contribution of production within the cultural and creative industries, but also the proportion that arises as indirect production or imports in other sectors.

The fact that activity codes related to the cultural and creative industries are measured within a national accounting framework also ensures that the economic key figures are broadly comparable with other indicators of the Danish economy, such as production, export, import, gross value added and employment. These key figures serve as indicators of the cultural and creative industries' contribution to the Danish economy.

This documentation on the importance of the cultural and creative industries in the national economy regularly refers to the documentation of statistics for input-output tables, which provide more detailed descriptions of the methods and calculations behind the model. This documentation can be found on the subject page for Input-Output.

Classification system

For both the cultural and creative industries, existing definitions previously used in statistical contexts were considered the best possible foundation for establishing the statistics on their importance in the national economy. In both cases, the definitions are based on 6-digit activity codes from the Danish Industrial Classification 2007, where the first four digits correspond to NACE rev. 2. These 6-digits activity codes form the basis of the statistics.

The definitions of cultural and creative industries in the statistics are as follows:

• Cultural industries: The delimitation of activities used by Statistics Denmark in the statistics about Cultural Business Structure and Labour Market, as described in the documentation of statistics. This classification, consisting of 61 activity codes, was originally based on UNESCO's Framework for Cultural Statistics (2009), which also serves as a reference framework for discussions on industry classification in this statistics.

• Creative industries: The definition of creative industries developed by the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, used in initiatives such as the Growth Plan for the Creative Industries and in Creative Denmark’s ongoing work. This classification includes 62 activity codes.

Based on these sources, Statistics Denmark, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Danish Industry, Danish Chamber of Commerce, The Agency for Culture and Palaces and Creative Denmark, has revisited the definitions and developed a more current definition of the cultural and creative industries. This definition is based on a revised set of 6-digit activity codes. An overview of the classification, including the 63 cultural and 88 creative activity codes, as well as the cultural subjects included in the statistics, can be found in the attached document Delimitation of activities in the cultural and creative industries. At the bottom of the document, the 6-digit activity codes from the two definitions are combined into a unified classification of the cultural and creative industries, consisting of 112 activity codes.

The cultural and creative industries defined from the 6-digit activity codes are linked, through several different keys, with the national accounts' most detailed 117-industry classification, enabling analyses using the input-output tables. These are grouped into cultural themes and creative industries according to the following classification.

For questions regarding the classifications used in the statistical production, please refer to the documentation of the input-output tables. Since the input-output tables are closely integrated with the final national accounts, the classifications are identical.

Sector coverage

The statistics highlight the cultural sector and the creative sector. The sectors are defined by selected 6-digit activity codes from the Danish Industrial Classification 2007, which are grouped according to cultural subjects and creative industries and further divided whether the activity code is classified as "Core" or "Supporting". See the document Delimitation of activities in the cultural and creative industries.

Statistical concepts and definitions

Other non-market output: Refers to activities carried out by the public sector, organizations, associations, or private households, which are offered to others either free of charge or at a price covering less than half of the production costs. Since these activities do not have a defined market price, their production value is typically calculated as the sum of the costs associated with the production.

Gross Value Added (GVA): Gross domestic product at base prices. GVA is calculated for the individual business types as production at base prices minus intermediate consumption at buyer prices and is thus, also equal to the sum of other production taxes (net), compensation of employee, and surplus of production and mixed income. For society as a whole, gross value added can also be calculated as the gross domestic product at market prices minus net product taxes.

Market production: Refers to activities performed by businesses or other entities that produce goods and services for sale on the market, usually with the goal of making a profit. The production value is measured as the sales value of the goods and services produced. In practice, the concept of "output value" for market production in the national accounts largely corresponds to what is referred to as "turnover" in other statistics.

Statistical unit

The statistics on the importance of the cultural and creative industries in the national economy incorporate an input-output model. This model is constructed using approximately 2,350 product balances, similar to those found in the final national accounts, ensuring consistency in the relevant units. In the national accounts, the primary unit for industries is the local professional unit, the workplace, which is the smallest unit for which a production account can be established. This unit is referred to as the functional unit. It differs from the institutional unit, which is typically represented by the company, which is the economic and decision-making unit. While functional units are classified by industry, institutional units in the national accounts are classified solely by institutional sector.

This model is constructed using approximately 2,350 product balances, similar to those found in the final national accounts, ensuring consistency in the relevant units.

Statistical population

All units within the cultural and creative industries engaged in Danish economic activity within a defined set of 6-digit activity codes from the Danish Industrial Classification 2007.

Reference area

Denmark.

Time coverage

The time series for the statistics begins in 2014, with the latest finalized reference year being 2020. Additionally, the statistics have also been updated with preliminary figures for 2021 and 2022, which are estimated based on the slightly more aggregated 69-industry grouping in the national accounts, as opposed to the finalized figures, which are estimated using the 117-industry grouping.

Going forward, the statistics will be updated approximately 3 months after the release of a new reference year for the input-output tables and the finalized national accounts, which typically occurs at the end of June. Efforts will be made to update the statistics exceptionally with the finalized versions of the national accounts and input-output tables for 2021 and 2022, as well as the preliminary version for 2023, as soon as possible after the publication of the national accounts in June 2025.

Base period

Not relevant for these statistics.

Unit of measure

The Statbank tables regarding the importance of the cultural and creative industries in the national economy are presented in 1,000 DKK. The Statbank tables are provided both in current prices and chained values with a base year of 2020 (constant prices). In addition to the economic key figures for production, GVA, import, and export, employment is also published in terms of both the number of employed individuals and full-time employees (FTEs).

Reference period

Calendar year. The flow values in the statistics cover transactions that have taken place during the year. The employment data corresponds to the annual average.

Frequency of dissemination

Annually as the final annual national accounts.

Legal acts and other agreements

Data collection is based on Act on Statistics Denmark section 6.

Cost and burden

No direct burden since the table is derived from previously published statistics.

Comment

The statistics regarding the importance of the cultural and creative industries in the national economy fall under the subject "The Economy of the Cultural Sector", which has its own subject page. It uses a national account-based input-output model, which also has its own subject page. The subject page for input-output will be updated in the spring of 2025.

An introduction to both national accounts and input-output tables is also available in textbook form in Bent Thage & Annette Thomsen: "Nationalregnskabet", Serie: Erhverv og samfund, Handelshøjskolen Forlag, 2004, and in Christen Sørensen: "Nationalregnskab, betalingsbalance og udenrigshandel", Serie: Økonomisk samfundsbeskrivelse, Forlaget Systime Academic, 2003.

Further information can obtained by contacting Statistics Denmark.