Copenhagen is the economic and financial centre of Denmark and also a strong business and economic centre in the Scandinavian-Baltic region. Around 3.5 million inhabitants live within a 50 km (31 mi) radius of Copenhagen, making the city centre of the most dense and populated area in Northern Europe. The region generates approximately 25 per cent of both Sweden's and Denmark's GDP. In 2008, Copenhagen was ranked 4th by Financial Times-owned FDi magazine on their list of Top 50 European Cities of the Future after London, Paris and Berlin. In 2006/07 FDi Magazine named Copenhagen Scandinavian City of the Future and in 2004/05 Copenhagen was named Northern European City of the Future ahead of other cities from Scandinavia, UK, Ireland and Benelux. In the 2008 Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index, published by MasterCard, Copenhagen was ranked 14th in the world and 1st in Scandinavia.Copenhagen is one of the cities in Western Europe attracting most regional headquarters and distribution centres. Among the international companies that have chosen to locate their regional headquarters in Copenhagen is Microsoft. There are 2,100 foreign companies located in the Copenhagen area, of which approx. 500 are Scandinavian head offices, representing a wide range of industries.
Copenhagen has a service oriented economy. An important sector is life science and research & development plays a major role in the economy of the city. The entire Oresund Region is in cooperation with Sweden being promoted as Medicon Valley. Major Danish biotech companies like Novo Nordisk andLundbeck, both of which are among 50 largest pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the World, are located in the greater Copenhagen area. The region also boasts the largest IT-cluster in Scandinavia with nearly 100,000 employees. Shipping is also an import business with Maersk, the World's largest shipping company, having their world headquarters in Copenhagen.
