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Comparability

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Research, Technology and Culture, Business Statistics Division
Søren Østerballe
+45 3917 3525

srb@dst.dk

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Public Funding for Cultural Purposes

Statistics on the state funding are comparable to the National Budget publication from the Ministry of Finance. Media License Fees are detailed in the annual budget record on determination of the Media License Fees. Lotto funds for cultural purposes are itemized in the annual Supplementary Funds record on the allocation of Lotto funds for cultural purposes. For municipal funds, statistics are partially comparable with statistics from Statistics Denmark's Budgets of municipalities and regions.

Comparability - geographical

No comparison between this statistics and similar international accounts have been made. Examples of Swedish accounts of society's cultural expenses may be seen at the Swedish Agency for Cultural Policy Analysis (in Swedish).

Comparability over time

Previously, the statistics was compiled by the Ministry of Culture and results were disseminated through the publication Kulturpengene. Time series from before 2007 can be found in this publication at the Ministry of Culture(in Danish only).

Comparisons of de public funding for cultural purposes may be made over time. However, attention should be given to e.g. the data break in 2012 that was a result of the transfer to the Ministry of Culture of activities concerning the General Education of Adults and Folk High Schools. New tables have been created with data from and including 2020 to facilitate an overview of the many individual items and to ensure unambiguous coherence between the individual items in the statistical bank tables and in the original sources, eg the National Budget and municipal budgets.

Comparisons over time could be hampered by the following factors:

  • Changes in the municipal or regional accounting nomenclature.
  • Task structure in the municipalities and regions can change over time.
  • Differences in accounting procedures between municipalities or regions.
  • Any changes to the fields of responsibility for the relevant central departments.

As of the 3rd of October 2011, the responsibility for grants pertaining to general education of adults as well as folk high schools was passed from the Ministry of Children and Education to the Ministry of Culture. Furthermore, the responsibility for the Architectural School of Aarhus, the Royal Art Academy's Schools for Architecture, Design and Conservation, The Design School of Kolding and the Royal School of Library and Information Science was transferred to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education. The responsibility for state castles and cultural estates was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Culture. Finally, the Center for Culture and Development was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the Foreign Ministry. All these changes were in effect from the 1st of January 2012.

As of 2017, funds for The Royal School of Library and Information Science/Department of Information Studies (University of Copenhagen) are no longer part of the statistics as it is no longer possible to determine the relevant figures.

Pursuant to the Royal Resolution of 28 November 2016, the responsibility for resource allocations for minorities in Danish border areas was transferred from the Ministry of Children, Education and Equality to the Ministry of Culture. The change in resources will have a budgetary effect from 2018.

As a result of the media policy agreement for 2019-2023, the media license will be abolished. The license will be phased out gradually from 2019 and will be fully phased out by 2022. The funding will be gradually converted to tax. As a result, the financial law appropriations in the Ministry of Culture will increase in 2019-2022.

Coherence - cross domain

To facilitate comparison with the original sources and seek out additional documentation, the individual items in the Statbank tables are supplemented with account / function code, which refers directly to the National Budget (FL) or municipal budgets (KB).

Coherence - internal

Not relevant for this statistics.