About data collection from enterprises

65 statistics based on mandatory reporting

Statistics Denmark carries out recurrent mandatory data collection from private enterprises for roughly 65 different statistics, that we are mandated to produce according to both EU legislation and national legislation. Some statistics are published once every year or every second year, while others are published quarterly or monthly. The number of reports per survey per year depends on how often the results of the statistic must be published.

Around 50,000 private enterprises receive requests for mandatory reports

There are around 420,000 active private enterprises in Denmark. In 2025, around 50.000 (circa 12 per cent) of these enterprises received requests for mandatory reports to one or more statutory statistics. Of these, around 30,000 enterprises were obliged to report to one survey, around 15,000 were obliged to report to two or three surveys, and around 5,000 enterprises were obliged to report to four or more surveys. The smallest enterprises report the least, and the largest enterprises report the most. Around 370,000 enterprises (approx. 88 per cent) did not receive any requests to report to Statistics Denmark. Read more here: Small enterprises report the least.

Distribution of obligations to report among the 420,000 active enterprises in 2025

An illustration will be provided soon

270,000 mandatory reports in 2025

In 2025, Statistics Denmark received around 270,000 mandatory reports from just under 50,000 private enterprises.

The monthly data collection for International trade in goods (Intrastat) makes up around 25 per cent (65.000 reports) of all mandatory reports. The modernisation of Intrastat has resulted in almost halving the number of enterprises that must report their international trade in goods compared to 2020.

Approx. 25,000 of the reports from private enterprises concern the Earnings statistics (Lønstatistik) og Absence from work statistics (Fravær). A large portion of these reports are sent automatically through the enterprises’ payroll services agencies.

The number of reports submitted to surveys concerning agriculture and horticulture – as well as to some less that yearly data surveys – varies from year to year depending on regulatory requirements.

Number of mandatory survey reports per year - distributed by statistical domains

An illustration will be provided soon

0.4 per cent of the total administrative reporting burden on the business sector

In 2004, the business sector’s total administrative burden related to mandatory reporting to Statistics Denmark was calculated using the AMVAB method (in Danish) - a variant of the Standard Cost Model. Based on on-site interviews with 80 enterprises, the total time expenditure was calculated at around 575,000 work hours per year. This equals 360 full-time equivalents or 168 million DKK per year.

Since 2020, Statistics Denmark has calculated the administrative burden based on the enterprises’ self-reported time expenditure per report. In 2025, the enterprises’ total time spent on survey reports to Statistics Denmark was calculated to equal around 130,000 work hours. This equals approx. 100 full-time equivalents.

Mandatory survey reports to statistics make up approx. 0.4 per cent of the total administrative reporting burden on the business sector, which Danish Industry (Dansk Industri) and other private trade organisations has estimated to equal 25,000 full-time equivalents or 23.5 billion DKK.

Increased use of data from administrative registers and other administrative sources, digitalisation and automation, as well as modernisation of the Intrastat survey have all contributed to a decrease in the reporting burden. Read more here: The total time expenditure in the business sector is continuously reduced .

Time expenditure depends on the activity

When enterprises report via a digital reporting solution, they have the option to also report their time expenditure. Some reports typically take 5-10 minutes, while others are more time-consuming. Time expenditure across enterprises typically depends on the scope of the activity surveyed in the enterprise. Read more here: Time spent on reporting in enterprises .

Business surveys play an important role in society

We produce statutory statistics about trends and development in employment, earnings, energy usage, transportation, manufacturing, purchases, sales, prices, etc. The statistics we produce are used as an underpinning for policy making, regulation and legislation in Denmark and the EU. Statistics are also used by trade organisations, enterprises, researchers, journalists, and others who need information about current developments in the business sector and national economy. Statistics also play an important role regarding public awareness, education, and the regulation of laws and activities in society.

See a current overview of the Danish economy

Reports from enterprises are necessary for comprehensive statistics

We collect as much data as possible from administrative registers and other central systems, and we only request information from enterprises that we are unable to collect from any other sources. When enterprises report their data, they contribute towards ensuring that decisions by and about the business sector are made on informed and factual grounds covering all types of enterprises.

Everyone has access to information about our data collection

At the bottom of each start page, the latest key results from each survey, as well as links to more information about the individual statistics, can be found. Everyone has access to the statutory statistics we produce.

See start pages for all data collections

Our statistics have a wide reach

In 2025, Statistics Denmark was referenced by the media 32,782 times. Publications about the price index had the largest presence in the news cycle. In 2025, our users retrieved a total of approx. 26 million data extractions from Statistikbanken.dk and Statistikbanken’s application interface (API).

Mandatory business surveys

EU legislation obliges all EU countries to produce statistics about the business sector. Danish legislation gives Statistics Denmark the authority to collect necessary data from enterprises to be able to produce around 65 legally mandated statistics.

In accordance with Act on Statistics Denmark (sections 8-12a) all enterprises must report information if Statistics Denmark requests it. In cases where EU legislation obliges Denmark to produce statistics about topics that are not covered by sections 8-12a, the responsible departmental ministry may establish the necessary rules to comply with EU legislation (see section 3a).

Reporting is mandatory by law to ensure the necessary quality and coverage of the statistics, and failure to report – or the deliberate reporting of incorrect information – may result in a fine.

Read more about legislation concerning statistics production

Statistics Denmark’s Supervisory Board decides on data collection from enterprises

Statistics Denmark’s Supervisory Board decides the scope and method of data collection from the business sector, to comply with EU legislation and national legislation. This means that all new or modified mandatory surveys must be presented to and approved by the Supervisory Board before they are initiated.

Read more about the Supervisory Board

An advisory committee for business data collection represents the interests of enterprises

Statistics Denmark’s Supervisory Board has set up an advisory committee for business data collection with the purpose of maintaining a close dialogue and inclusion of all user types involved in or affected by the work of Statistics Denmark – including the enterprises that are reporting to our surveys.

The members of the advisory committee for business data collection hail from different business organisations and authorities that represent the interests of enterprises in different trades and sectors. The committee aims to contribute towards Statistics Denmark becoming one of Europe’s most data delivery friendly institutions to the benefit of reporting enterprises and other stakeholders.

The committee assembles twice a year with the purpose of discussing and proposing initiatives for easing administrative burdens and improving contact with the reporting enterprises. Statistics Denmark holds hearings with the advisory committee for business data collection ahead of proposals to Statistics Denmark Advisory Board about new statistics that will add to the reporting burden in private enterprises.

Read more about Statistics Denmark’s advisory committee for business data collection (in Danish)

Some surveys are voluntary

Statistics Denmark can request that enterprises participate in voluntary surveys, for example to be able to produce statistics about trends and development in expectations for the future in different trades. If a survey is voluntary, this will be clearly noted in the communication about the survey.

Reported data is treated confidentially

Statistics Denmark treats all reported data as confidential. Read more about our data protection policy here: Information security and data confidentiality.

Business surveys must cover all trades and all types of enterprises

There are roughly 420,000 active private enterprises in Denmark. Around 65 different mandatory statistics describe the activity and development of these enterprises. In 2025, approx. 12 per cent (just under 50,000 enterprises) were required to report to one or more mandatory surveys, while around 370,000 enterprises (approx. 88 per cent) were exempt from reporting.

The largest enterprises typically account for the majority of many of the activities that the business surveys aim to illuminate. Consequently, reports from the larger enterprises are weighted higher in the statistics. However, business surveys must cover the conditions and development in all areas of the business sector and all types of enterprises – including the many smaller enterprises in Denmark. Therefore, we collect information from enterprises of all sizes and all trades.

The number of reports depends on the size of the enterprise

The smallest enterprises have the fewest administrative resources and are, to the greatest possible extent, exempt from reporting – with due consideration to the quality and coverage of the statistics. To ensure that reporting tasks are proportional to size, Statistics Denmark has imposed a cap on the number of surveys to which enterprises in different size categories can be requested to report.

The caps or upper limits ensure that enterprises with 0-9, 10-19, and 20-49 employees (full-time equivalents – or a corresponding revenue) can, respectively, be obliged to report to a maximum of 3, 5, or 8 statistics per year.

In practice, a total of around 5,500 enterprises were obliged to report to more than 3 surveys in 2025 – of which 750 of the largest enterprises were obliged to report to 10 or more surveys.

Number of enterprises with obligation to report in 2025 – distributed across size (full-time equivalents) and number of surveys

An illustration will be provided soon

The largest enterprises typically have recurring reporting obligations

The largest enterprises typically have a leading role in their trade or sector, and thus their reports carry a significant weight in the statistics.

For the selection of representative samples for business surveys, the so-called “stratification” or “cut-off” method is generally used. This means that all enterprises are divided into subcategories (strata) – for example based on revenue or number of employees.

Enterprises across various strata hold different levels of importance for a valid description of overall business activity. Consequently, enterprises in different strata are selected using varying probabilities:

• The very smallest enterprises may be selected with a probability of 0, i.e. never.
• Large enterprises can be selected with a probability based on their size group's impact on a representative description of total business activity. These companies “take turns” reporting and may be exempted from reporting during certain periods.
• The largest enterprises with a revenue, number of employees, or similar above a fixed limit (“cut-off”) for a specific survey are selected based on a probability of 1, i.e. always. For example, enterprises with 50 or more employees (full-time equivalents) will always be included in the sample for the Business Accounts Statistics. Enterprises selected based on a general cut-off value cannot be intermittently exempt from reporting.

A note regarding enterprises in the industrial sector

On average, private enterprises in the industrial sector have relatively high numbers of employees and relatively large revenues compared to the average across all sectors. This is especially true for the larger industrial enterprises with 20-49 and 50+ employees/FTEs.

Since enterprises in the industrial sector are relatively large, they are also selected for a relatively high number of mandatory surveys compared to enterprises in other trades. Of the approx. 1,000 enterprises selected to report to 8 or more mandatory surveys in 2025, almost 70 per cent were industrial enterprises. The 1,000 largest industrial enterprises, with 50 or more employees, report to an average of ten mandatory surveys per year.

Number of mandatory surveys by size group

Overview of recurrent reports and due dates for larger industrial enterprises

Statistics Denmark has compiled an overview of the surveys that the largest industrial enterprises frequently report to, and an overview of the due date for each individual report.

Read more about survey reports for larger industrial enterprises (in Danish)

We only request the necessary information

We collect as much information as possible from administrative registers and central data delivery services. We only make direct requests from enterprises if we are unable to obtain the necessary data from another source. We request as little information as possible from individual enterprises to ensure comprehensive statistics. The number of questions in our digital reporting solutions is automatically customized based on the individual enterprise’s activities. For example, if an enterprise answers “No” to having e-sales, all questions about e-sales in the survey will be automatically hidden for that specific enterprise.

We ask as few enterprises as possible

We sample as few enterprises as possible for each individual survey. Business surveys must, however, cover enterprises across all trades, business types, sizes, and revenue. For most statutory statistics, we select enterprises in so-called representative samples from all types of enterprises, making the statistics representative of all areas in the business sector. The samples are typically not selected at random. Enterprises are selected with different levels of probability based on size, revenue, significance, etc.

The smallest enterprises are typically obliged to report to a specific survey for a time-limited period only, after which they may typically be exempted for a while and replaced by other enterprises in the same sector, size group, etc.

However, this only applies if the company's reporting can be dispensed without risking the quality of the statistics. Small companies that play a dominant role in their industry generally cannot be exempted.

Large enterprises typically cannot be exempted from reporting corporate activities for statistical purposes without compromising data quality. Consequently, they are, as a rule, always included in the statistical samples for specific surveys.

One report usually represents several enterprises

When we use representative samples, we can describe the conditions in all areas of the business sector with reports from only a small selection of enterprises. Conversely, each individual report represents a larger number of enterprises of the same type. As a consequence, just one single missing report may negatively affect the quality of the statistic.

Why do we ask enterprises in all trades?

Our business surveys must cover all areas of the business sector. For example, when we examine the extent and development of innovation or IT use in Danish enterprises, the surveys need to cover all trades and new trends within the various trades. During the COVID lockdowns, for example, several enterprises introduced marketing activities and developed online services that had not previously been used widely in their trades.

Why must both small and large enterprises report?

Our business surveys must cover all types of enterprises in the business sector. The largest enterprises hold the biggest share of many activities in the business sector, but just around 93 per cent of all enterprises in Denmark have fewer than 10 employees, and scale-up enterprises typically start as small enterprises. Our statistics must also describe conditions, activities, and development in the many small enterprises.

When we collect data from enterprises in different size categories, we ensure that the statistics uncover the developments, trends, and impact of new initiatives in enterprises in all size groups.

Why must enterprises report on activities they do not have?

A “No” or a “0” is also an important piece of information when producing comprehensive statistics – for example about the number of job vacancies, use of IT, innovation, or environmental protection activities in the different trades and types of enterprises in the business sector. Statistics about different activities in the business sector must illuminate both where these activities are present and where they are not present. They should also elucidate new trends, for example when new activities or conditions spread to new trades or types of enterprises.

In some cases, we can identify in advance the enterprises that have the activities which a statistic is intended to illuminate. For example: With the help of industry codes, we sample only industrial enterprises for industrial surveys and agricultural enterprises for surveys on agriculture. We use VAT information to identify enterprises who have international trade and are thus obliged to report to Intrastat.

A number of surveys are intended to shed light on activities that may occur in all industries – for example IT use or innovation. There is typically no pre-existing information available about which enterprises engage in which activities. This is why we have to ask enterprises in all trades when we examine, for example, the extent, scope, and development of IT use and innovation across the entire business sector.

Enterprises usually only have to answer a few questions if they receive a request for reports regarding activities which they do not have.

Total time expenditure on mandatory reporting

The total time spent by private enterprises on the approximately 270,000 mandatory reports to Statistic Denmark in 2025 is estimated to be around 130,000 hours, averaging about 20 minutes per active enterprise per year. This corresponds to just under 100 full-time equivalents in total.

The average time expenditure among the just under 50,000 enterprises that were selected for mandatory reporting in 2025 was calculated to be around 3 hours per enterprise per year. However, the largest enterprises with the biggest share of mandatory reports spend significantly more time.

The calculations are based on the enterprises’ self-reported time expenditure per report.

Enterprises may report their time spent per submission

In the digital reporting solutions, enterprises can voluntarily report their time expenditure per report – including time spent on getting access, retrieving and entering data, complete the questionnaire as well as getting support if needed. The time expenditure can be logged in intervals between 5 minutes to 3 hours or more. More than half of all reporters for our annual data collections report their time expenditure when completing a report. For the monthly and quarterly data collections, fewer enterprises report their time expenditure for each report.

Typical self-reported time expenditure can be found on the start page for each survey

The enterprises’ typical self-reported time expenditure for specific surveys may give companies that are new to reporting an idea of how much time they should expect to spend on their report. This is why we show the enterprises’ typical time expenditure on the start pages of each survey. We use the middle observation of the self-reported time expenditure as the measure for the typical time spent by enterprises. This means that at least half the enterprises have reported spending the typical amount of time or less. Currently, we have no means to report typical time use for a number of smaller survey reports using file uploads.

Time expenditure varies from statistic to statistic

The typical self-reported time expenditure for monthly reports is, for example, 5 minutes per month for the survey Retail turnover (Detailhandlens omsætning), 15 minutes per month for Production and turnover in the industrial sector (Industriens produktion og omsætning), and 45 minutes per month for Intrastat. The monthly report to International trade in services (Udenrigshandel med tjenester) is the most time-consuming report, with enterprises typically spending circa 60 minutes per month.

Typical self-reported time expenditure for annual reports is, for example, 10 minutes for Activities in small enterprises (Små virksomheders aktiviteter), 20 minutes for Research and development in the business sector (Udviklingsaktiviteter i erhvervslivet), 30 minutes for ICT usage in enterprises (It-anvendelse i virksomheder), 1 hour for Business Accounts Statistics (Regnskabsstatistik), and 3 hours for the statistics Absence from work (Fravær) and Purchases of goods and services in the industrial sector (Industriens køb af varer og tjenester).

Time expenditure varies from enterprise to enterprise

The typical self-reported time expenditure per survey is generally indicative of the scope and extent of the reporting task related to that specific survey. However, typical time expenditure does not account for potentially significant variations in time expenditure across enterprises.

In several reporting solutions, the number of questions displayed depends on the presence or absence of certain activities in individual enterprises. Consequently, some enterprises only have to answer a few questions, while others must answer several more.

This dynamic approach utilizes conditional logic (or "skip logic") to tailor the questionnaire. By showing or hiding follow-up fields based on previous answers, the reporting process becomes faster and more enterprise centric.

In other reporting solutions, each enterprise must report several lines of data for each employee, each performance, or each purchase, sale, or affiliate, among others. Here, the time expenditure depends on the number of employees, affiliates, et cetera, in the individual enterprise.

Examples of enterprises’ self-reported time expenditure distributed across intervals

Examples will be provided soon

The administrative burden associated with mandatory reporting to business statistics has been more than halved since 2004

The total administrative burden placed on private enterprises for mandatory reporting to Statistics Denmark has been systematically assessed since 2004. In the 2004 baseline measurement, the total time expenditure was calculated at 575,000 working hours or approximately 360 full-time equivalents. This corresponds to a total administrative burden of 168 million DKK per year.

By 2025, the enterprises’ total time expenditure (based on self-reported time use) had been reduced to around 130,000 working hours. This amounts to approximately 100 full-time equivalents per year.

Mandatory reporting to Statistics Denmark accounts for approx. 0.4 per cent of the total administrative reporting burden in the business sector, which Danish Industry (Dansk Industri) has estimated at 25,000 full-time equivalents or 23.5 billion DKK per year.

Total annual time expenditure distributed across statistical areas (in hours and full-time equivalents of 1,300 hours)

An illustration will be provided soon

More statistics with less time expenditure

While the total time spent on reporting by private enterprises has been significantly reduced over the past 20 years, the number of statutory statistics that Statistics Denmark is obliged to produce using data collected from enterprises has risen – from around 50 statistics in 2004 to around 65 statistics in 2025. New statistics serve to track corporate activities related to research, innovation and sustainability, outsourcing and affiliates abroad, as well as absence from work and job vacancies.

The number of active private enterprises to be covered by the statistics, and among whom the reporting burden can be distributed, has also increased by approximately 30,000 from 2004 to 2025.

As such, more statistics have been produced over the past 20 years in accordance with new regulatory requirements that cover new statistical domains and more enterprises – while at the same time significantly reducing the business sector’s total time expenditure.

We are continuously working towards producing more in-demand, relevant, and timely statistics – with a reduced burden on enterprises. The business sector’s total time expenditure on survey reports since 2004 has been reduced through an increased use of data registers and data from central providers, reduced samples, digitalisation and automation, increased data reuse and pre-fill of known information, as well as user-friendly reporting solutions and manuals which are continuously updated based on feedback from our reporters.

Modernisation of Intrastat contributes towards reduced burdens

Intrastat – our overall most time-consuming survey report – has since 2020 undergone a thorough modernisation, which has contributed towards a significant reduction in the overall burden on the business sector related to statistical reporting. Since 2020, the number of enterprises obliged to report to Intrastat has been approximately halved, and the number of reports has been reduced by approx. 35 per cent, from around 100,000 in 2020 to approx. 65,000 in 2025.

The development in the number of enterprises reporting to Intrastat:

Read about the processing of data concerning individuals and enterprises

Read about information security and data confidentiality in Statistics Denmark

Statistics Denmark’s policy regarding data collection from enterprises, etc.

Statistics Denmark is an independent government agency that produces and disseminates factual statistics on the social and economic condition of society. This is only possible if Statistics Denmark has access to relevant and valid data. As much information as possible is re-used, as it is collected from administrative registers, but in numerous cases, Statistics Denmark is dependent on enterprises reporting information, that cannot be obtained from other sources.

A brief presentation of Statistics Denmark’s policy for data collection from enterprises:

1. Statistics Denmark collects data in accordance with Acts on Statistics Denmark. It is, therefore, generally mandatory by law for enterprises to report to Statistics Denmark. In some cases, surveys are voluntary, which will be clearly noted in the material provided.
2. Statistics Denmark places great importance on being service minded towards the enterprises that must report information to a statistic.
3. Statistics Denmark treats data concerning enterprises and individuals confidentially. Data collected for statistical use is not shared with other authorities.
4. Statistics Denmark strives to make it as easy as possible to report and works continuously towards providing the most user-friendly reporting solutions, such as digital questionnaires.
5. Statistics Denmark has as a goal that as much data as possible is reported digitally.
6. Statistics Denmark includes feedback from reporters as part of qualitative or quantitative methods used to develop or redesign surveys. This ensures that the surveys are as easy to fill out as possible.
7. Statistics Denmark uses a standardized and consistent procedure to send reminders in case of missing reports. This is necessary for Statistics Denmark’s ability to publish factual and valid statistics based on reports from representative samples of enterprises including as few enterprises as possible.
8. Statistics Denmark reviews the reported data. In case of evident reporting errors or insufficient data, it may be necessary to contact the enterprises again to ensure the coverage and quality of the statistics.
9. Enterprises with 0-9, 10-19, and 20-49 full-time equivalents can at most be requested to report to 3, 5, and 8 different statistics per year, respectively.
10. Statistics Denmark continuously works towards reducing the number of enterprises included in representative samples, while still maintaining the quality of the statistics.