Municipal waste recycled in Denmark
Denmark: Municipal waste recycled was 2.10 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
2.10 million tonnes
Change on year
down 6.5%
World rank
22nd
of 90 countries
All-time high
2.53 million tonnes
in 2019
All-time low
1.27 million tonnes
in 2001
Years of data
23
2000–2023
Municipal waste recycled in Denmark, 2000–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2023, municipal waste recycled in Denmark stood at 2.10 million tonnes.
The figure is down 6.5% on the previous year and up 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Denmark peaked at 2.53 million tonnes in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1.27 million tonnes, in 2001.
That places Denmark 22nd out of 90 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in Denmark, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.31 million tonnes | — |
| 2001 | 1.27 million tonnes | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 1.34 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 2003 | 1.48 million tonnes | +10.2% |
| 2004 | 1.54 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 1.64 million tonnes | +6.2% |
| 2006 | 1.68 million tonnes | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 1.91 million tonnes | +13.5% |
| 2008 | 2.19 million tonnes | +14.7% |
| 2009 | 2.05 million tonnes | -6.2% |
| 2011 | 2.04 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 1.91 million tonnes | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 1.98 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 2.07 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 2.21 million tonnes | +7.0% |
| 2016 | 2.30 million tonnes | +3.9% |
| 2017 | 2.25 million tonnes | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 2.35 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 2.53 million tonnes | +7.5% |
| 2020 | 2.13 million tonnes | -15.5% |
| 2021 | 2.29 million tonnes | +7.5% |
| 2022 | 2.25 million tonnes | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 2.10 million tonnes | -6.5% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 2.10 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 2.2× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 2.10 million tonnes is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.06 million tonnes, 2.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.64 million tonnes | 1.27 million tonnes | 2.19 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.18 million tonnes | 1.91 million tonnes | 2.53 million tonnes | 9 |
| 2020s | 2.20 million tonnes | 2.10 million tonnes | 2.29 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More environment data for Denmark
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.66 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.67 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.696 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.29 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.75 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0189 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in Denmark?
- Municipal waste recycled in Denmark was 2.10 million tonnes in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 2.53 million tonnes in 2019.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.27 million tonnes in 2001.
- How does Denmark rank for municipal waste recycled?
- Denmark ranks 22nd out of 90 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).