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Once essentially an agricultural country and still possessing a visibly rural landscape, Denmark after 1945 greatly expanded its industrial base so that by the 1990s industry contributed over 25% of the gross domestic product and agriculture less than 5% (Denmark's other traditional industries of fishing and shipbuilding have also declined). Financial and other services, trade, transportation, and communication are also important.
The main commodities raised are livestock (pigs, cattle, and poultry), root crops (beets, kohlrabi, and potatoes), and cereals (barley, oats, and wheat). There is a large fishing industry, and Denmark possesses a commercial shipping fleet of considerable size. The leading manufactures include food products (especially meat and dairy goods), chemicals, machinery, metal products (made almost entirely from imported raw materials, since Denmark has practically no mineral resources), electronic and transport equipment, beer, textiles, and paper and wood products. Tourism is also an important industry.
Denmark's main exports are agricultural and industrial machinery, teak and oak furniture, meat, fish, and metals and metal manufactures; the chief imports are machinery, metals, motor vehicles, and fuels. The country's leading trade partners are Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, and other European Union countries as well as the United States. Denmark suffered severe economic problems throughout the 1980s, and in the 1990s it had a high unemployment rate, large public-sector expenses, and a massive foreign debt. However, tight fiscal and monetary policies combined with an increasing export base held some promise of economic recovery.
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