Demographics of Denmark

Demographics of Denmark
Population pyramid of Denmark in 2020
Population	5,982,117 (2024 1 Sept. est.)
Growth rate	1.0085% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	9.85 births/1,000 population
Death rate	10.02 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy	81.66 years
• male	79.74 years
• female	83.71 years
Fertility rate	1.55 children born/woman (2022) [1]
Infant mortality rate	3.04 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	2.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	16.42%
65 and over	19.91%
Sex ratio
Total	0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.07 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.7 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Dane
Major ethnic	Danish
Language
Spoken	Danish

Demographic features of the population of Denmark proper, part of the Danish Realm, include ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects.

Population

See also: Danes

Since 1980, the number of people of Danish descent, defined as having at least one parent who was born in Denmark and has Danish citizenship, has remained constant at around 5 million in Denmark, and nearly all the population growth from 5.1 up to the 2018 total of 5.8 million was due to immigration. ^[2]

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019. ^[3] Population numbers until 2100 will be increasing. ^[4]

• One birth every 8 minutes
• One death every 9 minutes
• One net migrant every 34 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 24 minutes

Population of Denmark, 0-2021

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1870	1,784,741	—
1880	1,969,039	+0.99%
1890	2,172,380	+0.99%
1901	2,449,540	+1.10%
1911	2,747,076	+1.15%
1921	3,267,831	+1.75%
1930	3,550,656	+0.93%
1940	3,844,312	+0.80%
1950	4,281,275	+1.08%
1960	4,585,256	+0.69%
1970	4,937,579	+0.74%
1980	5,122,065	+0.37%
1990	5,135,409	+0.03%
2000	5,330,020	+0.37%
2010	5,534,738	+0.38%
2020	5,822,863	+0.51%
Source: Statistics Denmark 2020 estimate [5]

^[6]

Year [7]	Population
1769	797,584
1787	841,806
1801	929,001
1834	1,230,964
1840	1,289,075
1845	1,356,877
1850	1,414,648
1855	1,507,222
1860	1,608,362
1870	1,784,741
1880	1,969,039
1890	2,172,380
1901	2,449,540
1906	2,588,919
1911	2,757,076
1916	2,921,362
1921	3,267,831
1925	3,434,555
1930	3,550,656
1935	3,706,349
1940	3,844,312
1945	4,045,232
1950	4,281,275
1955	4,448,401
1960	4,585,256
1965	4,767,597
1970	4,937,579
1971	4,950,598
1972	4,975,653
1973	5,007,538
1974	5,036,184
1975	5,054,410

Fertility

The natural growth of the population (births minus deaths) was negative in 2022, that is, minus 1005 people. The previous last year there was a negative natural increase in the population was in 1988. During 2022, 58,430 children were born, 5,043 fewer than in 2021. In 2022, 59,435 people died, there were 2,283, or 4.0% more than in 2021. The total population in the age group 80 and over grew by 12,844 people, or 4.4%., from 2022 to 2023. ^[8]

During 2022, the Danish population grew by 59,234 people, so the population on January 1, 2023, consisted of 5,932,654 people. It was a population increase of 1.0 percent, which is higher than in 2021, when the population increase was 0.6 percent. ^[8]

In 2022, Denmark had a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.55 children per woman in 2022. ^[9] It is the first time in history that immigrant women from non-Western countries now have fewer children on average than women of Danish roots in Denmark. On average, immigrant women have 1.76 children, the descendants have an average of 1.75 children, while women of Danish roots have 1.78 children. ^[10] This is because Ukrainians, who are categorized as non-Western, have come to Denmark in large numbers. In the same year, immigrant women from Syria had the highest TFR, they gave birth to an average of 3.7 children. They are followed by women from Somalia and Pakistan, 2020 figures show. ^[10]

In 2021 the number of childless women aged 50 was the highest in seven years; 12.3 percent of women aged 50 have never had a child, while 19.5 percent of 50-year-old men do not have children. ^[11]

Historical fertility rates

TFR of Denmark over time to 2016

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation. ^[12]

Year	1850	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860 [12]
Total fertility rate in Denmark	4.24	4.06	4.48	4.27	4.41	4.31	4.37	4.44	4.48	4.53	4.4

Year	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870 [12]
Total fertility rate in Denmark	4.27	4.17	4.17	4.06	4.21	4.32	4.09	4.18	3.96	4.1

Year	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880 [12]
Total fertility rate in Denmark	4.06	4.09	4.16	4.17	4.31	4.4	4.36	4.27	4.3	4.28

Year	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890 [12]
Total fertility rate in Denmark	4.34	4.36	4.29	4.5	4.39	4.37	4.28	4.25	4.21	4.11

Year	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899 [12]
Total fertility rate in Denmark	4.18	4	4.16	4.1	4.09	4.11	4.02	4.08	4.01

Total fertility rate

1.78 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 152nd

Average age of the mother at her first birth

In 2021 the average age of the mother at her first birth in Denmark was of 29.8 years, and the father is of 31.5 years. ^[11]

Life expectancy

Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

1775–1950

Years	1775	1835	1836	1837	1838	1839	1840	1841	1842	1843	1844	1845	1846	1847	1848	1849	1850 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	33.0	38.4	40.0	41.5	43.1	41.9	41.1	42.6	42.5	43.9	44.0	43.4	40.4	40.4	40.8	39.5	43.5

Life expectancy in Denmark since 1775

Years	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	44.5	43.0	38.5	44.7	46.1	46.7	42.5	40.0	44.4	45.1

Years	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	47.6	47.6	47.2	40.2	39.8	42.9	44.9	45.6	46.1	46.0

Years	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	46.1	47.2	47.5	46.0	44.4	45.8	47.3	47.5	46.2	44.8

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	48.3	46.7	48.5	48.5	49.6	49.0	48.7	46.7	47.8	47.2

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	46.8	47.4	47.1	49.4	50.8	52.9	51.8	53.1	50.6	51.9

Years	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	52.6	54.7	54.8	55.7	54.3	56.5	56.1	54.9	57.4	58.0

Years	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	57.0	58.0	58.9	58.5	58.4	56.9	57.3	56.3	57.0	57.6

Years	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	61.7	60.6	61.2	61.1	61.9	61.7	61.2	61.9	61.9	62.3

Years	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	61.8	62.7	63.6	64.1	62.9	63.5	64.0	65.0	65.8	66.3

Years	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950 [13]
Life expectancy in Denmark	66.0	67.1	67.4	66.4	66.1	67.2	68.5	70.1	70.1	70.3

1950–2015

Life expectancy in Denmark since 1960 by gender

Period [14]	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	71.1	1985–1990	74.8
1955–1960	72.1	1990–1995	75.2
1960–1965	72.4	1995–2000	76.1
1965–1970	72.9	2000–2005	77.3
1970–1975	73.6	2005–2010	78.6
1975–1980	74.2	2010–2015	80.2
1980–1985	74.4

Population pyramid from 1950 to 2020

Age structure

0-14 years: 16.57% (male 493,829 /female 468,548)

15-24 years: 12.67% (male 377,094 /female 358,807)

25-54 years: 39.03% (male 1,147,196 /female 1,119,967)

55-64 years: 12.33% (male 356,860 /female 359,264)

65 years and over: 19.42% (male 518,200 /female 609,737) (2018 est.)

Median age

total: 41.9 years. Country comparison to the world: 35th

male: 40.8 years

female: 42.9 years (2018 est.)

Ethnic and origin groups

People of Danish descent as a proportion of the population regionally and nationally in 2021

Persons of Danish origin over time from 1980 to 2020

See also: Immigration to Denmark, Faroese people in Denmark, Greenlandic people in Denmark, Armenians in Denmark, Chinese people in Denmark, Greeks in Denmark, History of the Jews in Denmark, Arabs in Denmark, Iraqis in Denmark, Pakistanis in Denmark, Turks in Denmark, Romani people in Denmark, German minority in Denmark, and Council for Ethnic Minorities

Non-indigenous ethnic minorities include:

• Afghans
• Inuit (Greenlandic) from the territory of Greenland
• Turks (including Gagauz)
• Arabs (i.e. Palestinians, followed by Moroccans, Syrians, Lebanese, Yemenis, Egyptians, Iraqis and Jordanians)
• Vietnamese
• Thai
• Jews
• Chinese
• Pakistanis
• Iranians (including Kurds and Lurs)
• Somalis
• Eritreans
• Sudanese
• Indians
• Chileans (the most numerous of Latin American nationalities)
• Bosniaks
• Poles
• Albanians
• Bangladeshis
• Roma
• Filipinos

Historic minorities

Ethnic minorities in Denmark include a handful of groups:

• Approximately 15,000 people ^[15] in Denmark belong to a German minority traditionally referred to as tysksindet meaning "German-minded" in Danish, and as Nordschleswiger in German. This minority of Germans hold Danish citizenship and self-identify as Germans. Many of them speak German or Low German as their home language. There are also several thousand German citizens and other ethnic Germans residing in Denmark with no historical connection to this group.
• An estimated 23,000 people ^[16] in Denmark proper are ethnic Faroese, while 19,000 Greenlanders reside permanently in Denmark. ^[17] Many of these use the Faroese and Greenlandic languages, respectively, as their first language. All residents of the Kingdom (viz. Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland) holds Danish citizenship, unless they inherit or otherwise receive a foreign citizenship.
• The Danish Jews number around 6,000 in 2020 according to the organisation Jewish Community in Denmark, around 1,700 being card-carrying members of the organisation. ^[18]
• There are close to 10,000 Roma in Denmark. ^[19]

Modern minorities

A person has Danish origin if he or she has at least one parent who is both a Danish citizen and born in Denmark. Neither immigrants nor descendants have one parent who is both a Danish citizen and born in Denmark. The difference between immigrants and descendants is that immigrants were born abroad, while descendants were born in Denmark.

For asylum seekers and other persons applying for a residence permit in Denmark, there is no unambiguous connection between the time of a granted residence permit and immigration for the person who has been granted the residence permit. The number of residence permits granted in a quarter cannot be interpreted as the quarter's immigration. Citizens of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden do not need a residence permit to live, work or study in Denmark.

Statistics Denmark

Population pyramid of Denmark by origin group in 2023

Danish and foreign born population pyramid in 2023

In the modern minorities, Statistics Denmark counts first-generation immigrants, second-generation (Descendants in Danish statistics classification) and third-generation (Children of descendants in Danish classification). Children of descendants can be either of "Danish origin" (if both of their parents were born in Denmark with Danish citizenship) and of "foreign origin" (if one of their parents is a second-generation immigrant and another first-generation). Therefore, this table included all people of the respective background, people who are classified as of "foreign background" and third-generation immigrants, who classified as of "Danish origin". ^[20] Statistics Denmark denotes an immigrant's group based on their country of birth, it does this usually off of the immigrant or descendents parents, if only one such parent is known, then the group is determined by that or if no parents are known then it is assumed if the person is an immigrant that their country of origin is their country of birth. ^[20]

Statistics Denmark also has specific classification bands which it uses to separate different immigrant groups. As an example, for 'Western' immigrants and 'Non-western', the classification band is as follows:

• Western countries: All 28 EU countries and Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican State, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
• Non-western countries; All other countries.

According to 2021 figures from Statistics Denmark, 86% ^{[21] [22]} of Denmark's population of over 5,840,045 was of Danish descent. ^{[23] [21]} The remaining 14% were of a foreign background, defined as immigrants or descendants of recent immigrants. With the same definition, the most common countries of origin were Turkey, Poland, Germany, Iraq, Romania, Syria, Somalia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Yugoslavia and its successor states.^{[ citation needed ]} More than 817,438 individuals (14%) ^{[21] [22]} are migrants and their descendants (199,668 second generation migrants born in Denmark ^[22] ).

Of these 817,438 ^[21] immigrants and their descendants:

• 294,798 (36.1%) ^[22] have a Western background (Norway, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, UK, Poland, Romania and Iceland; definition: EU countries, non-EU Nordic countries, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican State, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand).
• 522,640 (63.9%) ^[22] have a non-Western background (Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Thailand and Somalia; all other countries).

There were 121,183 immigrants in 2022, of these 31,381 were Ukrainian citizens, people with Ukrainian citizenship accounted for 26 percent of all immigration. ^[8] The total population of Denmark increased in 2022 by 59,234 people, and the net immigration of Ukrainian people amounted to 45 percent of this population growth. ^[8]

Rank	Country of origin [24]	Population (2008)	Population (2021) [25]	Population (2023)	Population (2024)
1.	Turkey	59,960	75,072	77,845	79,373
2.	Poland	21,118	49,369	55,122	57,070
3.	Romania	3,681	34,997	44,221	46,036
4.	Syria	3,367	44,326	45,000	45,641
5.	Ukraine	5,105	15,595	42,482	44,825
6.	Germany	28,412	35,141	39,528	41,516
7.	Iraq	28,417	34,217	35,101	35,476
8.	Pakistan	21,217	31,175	32,246	33,050
9.	Lebanon	23,343	30,435	31,700	32,269
10.	Iran	14,773	22,408	24,364	26,276
11.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	21,861	23,449	23,625	23,659
12.	Afghanistan	11,880	19,957	21,380	21,784
13.	Somalia	16,561	21,338	21,486	21,653
14.	India	5,666	15,595	19,296	21,268
15.	United Kingdom	12,593	17,651	18,190	18,442
16.	Sweden	14,789	17,095	17,726	17,999
17.	Norway	15,747	17,481	17,691	17,735
18.	Vietnam	13,459	16,307	16,906	17,448
19.	China	8,574	14,841	15,836	16,549
20.	Lithuania	3,646	15,231	16,439	16,357
21.	former   Yugoslavia [fn 1]	18,151	15,903	15,356	15,016
22.	Thailand	8,280	13,166	13,693	14,029
23.	Morocco	9,808	13,170	13,708	13,937
24.	Bulgaria	1,194	–	13,503	13,840
25.	Philippines	7,199	–	12,760	13,098
26.	Sri Lanka	10,494	–	12,692	12,996
27.	Italy	3,994	–	11,684	12,313
28.	USA	7,151	–	10,786	11,293
29.	Russia	4,389	–	9,517	9,946
30.	Iceland	8,421	–	9,513	9,765

Population groups	Year
	1981 [26]		1991 [26]		2001 [26]		2011 [26]		2021 [26]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Danish descent	4,968,337	96.96%	4,920,267	95.6%	4,953,265	92.59%	4,998,111	89.88%	5,022,607	86%
Immigrants	136,229	2.65%	189,649	3.68%	308,674	5.77%	428,904	7.71%	617,770	10.57%
EU-27	59,808	1.16%	61,279	1.19%	74,565	1.39%	124,092	2.23%	205,731	3.52%
Europe outside EU-27	45,148	0.88%	55,797	1.08%	98,042	1.83%	116,300	2.09%	131,189	2.24%
Africa	5,033	–	9,710	0.18%	28,190	0.52%	33,135	0.59%	46,376	0.79%
North America	6,312	–	6,525	–	7,008	–	9,068	0.16%	10,890	0.18%
South and Central America	2,987	–	4,263	–	6,248	–	9,826	0.17%	17,430	0.29%
Asia	16,200	0.31%	50,556	0.98%	91,731	1.71%	133,261	2.39%	202,625	3.46%
Oceania	571	–	811	–	1,314	–	2,277	–	2,905	–
Stateless	9	–	373	–	367	–	480	–	352	–
Unknown	170	–	335	–	1,209	–	465	–	272	–
Descendants	19,423	0.37%	36,553	0.71%	87,273	1.63%	133,613	2.40%	199,668	3.41%
EU-27	6,763	0.13%	6,949	0.13%	9,679	0.18%	13,097	0.23%	28,273	0.48%
Europe outside EU-27	6,831	0.13%	15,302	0.29%	32,237	0.60%	46,291	0.83%	59,309	1.01%
Africa	895	–	2,414	–	10,258	0.19%	16,608	0.29%	25,188	0.43%
North America	985	–	926	–	1,004	–	929	–	1,029	–
South and Central America	275	–	363	–	605	–	902	–	1,571	–
Asia	3,535	–	10,420	0.20%	33,045	0.61%	55,260	0.99%	83,815	1.43%
Oceania	93	–	88	–	129	–	149	–	196	–
Stateless	29	–	56	–	109	–	237	–	154	–
Unknown	17	–	35	–	207	–	140	–	133	–
Total	5,123,989	100%	5,146,469	100%	5,349,212	100%	5,560,628	100%	5,840,045	100%

• Population pyramids of selected origin groups in 2023
• 
  Persons of Danish origin
• 
  Western immigrant
• 
  Non-Western immigrant
• 
  Western descendant
• 
  Non-Western descendant

Vital statistics

Births and deaths in Denmark over time

Live births and deaths over time

Crude birth rate and death rate over time

The population density is higher in Denmark than in the other Nordic countries.

Data according to Statistics Denmark, which collects the official statistics for Denmark. ^[27]

	Average population (January 1)	Live births	Deaths	Nat. change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Nat. change (per 1000)	Crude migration change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate [fn 2]
1900	2,432,000	72,129	40,891	31,238	29.7	16.8	12.8	-6.6	4.16
1901	2,447,000 [28]	73,219	38,786	34,425	29.7	15.7	14.0	-1.7	4.14
1902	2,477,000	72,839	36,424	36,391	29.2	14.6	14.6	-2.9	4.05
1903	2,506,000	72,351	36,956	35,403	28.7	14.6	14.0	-3.6	3.96
1904	2,532,000	73,692	35,903	37,788	28.9	14.1	14.8	-3.7	3.97
1905	2,560,000	73,082	38,598	34,484	28.4	15.0	13.4	-2.1	3.87
1906	2,589,000	74,217	35,231	38,986	28.5	13.5	15	-2.6	3.87
1907	2,621,000	74,324	37,275	37,049	28.2	14.1	14.1	-2.3	3.81
1908	2,652,000	76,233	39,072	37,161	28.6	14.6	13.9	-0.7	3.83
1909	2,687,000	76,301	35,837	40,464	28.2	13.3	15.0	-2.0	3.78
1910	2,722,000	75,299	35,184	40,013	27.5	12.9	14.6	-1.7	3.67
1911	2,757,000	73,933	37,236	36,697	26.7	13.4	13.2	-2.0	3.60
1912	2,788,000	74,659	36,486	38,173	26.6	13.0	13.6	-2.1	3.58
1913	2,820,000	72,475	35,364	37,111	25.6	12.5	13.1	-2.1	3.43
1914	2,851,000	73,294	35,921	37,373	25.6	12.5	13.0	-0.7	3.42
1915	2,886,000	70,192	37,174	33,018	24.2	12.8	11.4	0.7	3.23
1916	2,921,000	71,559	39,265	32,294	24.4	13.4	11.0	1.7	3.23
1917	2,958,000	70,306	39,224	31,082	23.7	13.2	10.5	0.7	3.11
1918	2,991,000	72,505	39,038	33,467	24.1	13.0	11.1	0.9	3.16
1919	3,027,000	68,722	39,590	29,132	22.6	13.0	9.6	1.6	2.96
1920	3,061,000	78,230	39,841	38,389	25.4	12.9	12.5	54.1	3.29
1921	3,265,000	78,815	36,215	42,600	24.0	11.0	13.0	-0.4	3.11
1922	3,306,000	73,899	39,452	34,435	22.3	11.9	10.4	-0.1	2.87
1923	3,340,000	74,827	37,903	36,924	22.3	11.3	11.0	-1.1	2.85
1924	3,373,000	73,836	38,091	35,778	21.8	11.2	10.6	-0.8	2.78
1925	3,406,000	71,897	37,083	34,814	21.0	10.8	10.2	-0.5	2.66
1926	3,439,000	70,734	38,093	32,641	20.5	11.0	9.5	-1.4	2.58
1927	3,467,000	68,024	40,190	27,834	19.6	11.6	8.0	-2.2	2.44
1928	3,487,000	68,516	38,484	30,032	19.6	11.0	8.6	-1.7	2.43
1929	3,511,000	65,297	39,486	25,913	18.6	11.2	7.4	-1.7	2.30
1930	3,531,000	66,303	38,174	28,129	18.7	10.8	7.9	-0.5	2.29
1931	3,557,000	64,266	40,578	23,688	18.0	11.4	6.6	2.7	2.20
1932	3,590,000	64,650	39,701	24,949	17.9	11.0	6.9	1.5	2.17
1933	3,620,000	62,780	38,287	24,493	17.3	10.5	6.7	1.9	2.10
1934	3,651,000	65,116	38,050	27,066	17.8	10.4	7.4	1.4	2.15
1935	3,683,000	65,223	40,816	24,407	17.7	11.0	6.6	1.0	2.12
1936	3,711,000	66,418	40,919	25,499	17.8	11.0	6.9	0.4	2.14
1937	3,738,000	67,440	40,442	26,998	18.0	10.8	7.2	0	2.16
1938	3,765,000	68,463	39,058	29,407	18.1	10.3	7.8	-0.1	2.18
1939	3,794,000	67,914	38,535	29,379	17.8	10.1	7.7	0.7	2.16
1940	3,826,000	70,121	39,730	30,391	18.3	10.4	7.9	-1.9	2.22
1941	3,849,000	71,306	39,756	31,550	18.5	10.3	8.2	0.4	2.24
1942	3,882,000	79,545	37,527	42,018	20.4	9.6	10.8	0.5	2.50
1943	3,926,000	84,319	37,982	46,337	21.4	9.6	11.7	0.3	2.65
1944	3,973,000	90,641	41,087	49,554	22.7	10.3	12.4	0.2	2.84
1945	4,023,000	95,062	42,298	52,764	23.5	10.5	13.0	-0.1	2.98
1946	4,075,000	96,111	42,013	54,098	23.4	10.2	13.2	-1.2	3.02
1947	4,124,000	91,714	40,043	51,671	22.1	9.7	12.5	-1.8	2.90
1948	4,168,000	84,938	35,981	48,957	20.3	8.6	11.7	-1.4	2.71
1949	4,211,000	79,919	37,793	42,126	18.9	8.9	10.0	-0.3	2.58
1950	4,252,000	79,558	39,300	40,258	18.6	9.2	9.4	-1.6	2.57
1951	4,285,000	76,559	37,960	38,599	17.8	8.8	9.0	-2.0	2.50
1952	4,315,000	76,943	39,173	37,770	17.8	9.0	8.7	-0.8	2.53
1953	4,349,000	78,261	39,350	38,911	17.9	9.0	8.9	0.3	2.60
1954	4,389,000	76,365	39,885	36,480	17.3	9.1	8.3	-0.3	2.55
1955	4,424,000	76,845	38,789	38,056	17.3	8.7	8.6	-1.8	2.58
1956	4,454,000	76,725	39,588	37,137	17.2	8.9	8.3	-2.7	2.61
1957	4,479,000	75,264	41,730	33,534	16.8	9.3	7.5	-2.6	2.57
1958	4,501,000	74,681	41,560	33,121	16.5	9.2	7.3	-0.4	2.55
1959	4,532,000	73,928	42,159	31,769	16.3	9.3	7.0	0.5	2.52
1960	4,566,000	76,077	43,681	32,396	16.6	9.5	7.1	-1.0	2.57
1961	4,594,000	76,439	43,310	33,129	16.6	9.4	7.2	0.6	2.55
1962	4,630,000	77,808	45,334	32,474	16.7	9.8	7.0	0.8	2.58
1963	4,666,000	82,413	45,773	36,640	17.6	9.8	7.8	0.1	2.64
1964	4,703,000	83,356	46,811	36,545	17.7	9.9	7.7	0.4	2.60
1965	4,741,000	85,796	47,884	37,912	18.0	10.1	8.0	-0.4	2.61
1966	4,777,000	88,332	49,344	38,988	18.4	10.3	8.1	0.5	2.62
1967	4,818,000	81,410	47,836	33,574	16.8	9.9	6.9	0.4	2.35
1968	4,853,000	74,543	47,290	27,253	15.3	9.7	5.6	-0.7	2.12
1969	4,877,000	71,298	47,943	23,355	14.6	9.8	4.8	1.4	2.00
1970	4,907,000	70,802	48,233	22,569	14.3	9.7	4.6	4.4	1.95
1971	4,951,000	75,359	48,858	26,501	15.2	9.8	5.3	-0.3	2.04
1972	4,976,000	75,505	50,445	25,060	15.1	10.1	5.0	1.4	2.03
1973	5,008,000	71,895	50,526	21,369	14.3	10.1	4.3	1.3	1.9170
1974	5,036,000	71,327	51,637	19,690	14.1	10.2	3.9	-0.3	1.8968
1975	5,054,000	72,071	50,895	21,176	14.2	10.1	4.1	-1.9	1.9188
1976	5,065,000	65,267	54,001	11,266	12.9	10.6	2.2	0.4	1.7472
1977	5,078,000	61,878	50,485	11,393	12.2	9.9	2.2	1.5	1.6598
1978	5,097,000	62,036	52,864	9,172	12.2	10.4	1.8	1.1	1.6685
1979	5,112,000	59,464	54,654	4,810	11.6	10.7	0.9	1.1	1.6016
1980	5,122,000	57,293	55,939	1,354	11.2	10.9	0.3	0.1	1.5464
1981	5,124,000	53,089	56,359	-3,270	10.4	11.0	-0.6	-0.4	1.4371
1982	5,119,000	52,658	55,368	-2,710	10.3	10.8	-0.5	-0.1	1.4273
1983	5,116,000	50,822	57,156	-6,334	9.9	11.2	-1.2	0.4	1.3774
1984	5,112,000	51,800	57,109	-5,309	10.1	11.2	-1.0	0.8	1.4001
1985	5,111,000	53,749	58,378	-4,629	10.5	11.4	-0.9	1.9	1.4472
1986	5,116,000	55,312	58,100	-2,788	10.8	11.3	-0.5	2.3	1.4819
1987	5,125,000	56,221	58,136	-1,915	11.0	11.3	-0.4	1.2	1.4977
1988	5,129,000	58,844	58,984	-127	11.5	11.5	-0.0	0	1.5618
1989	5,129,000	61,351	59,397	2,047	12.0	11.6	0.4	0.8	1.6212
1990	5,135,000	63,433	60,926	2,545	12.3	11.9	0.5	1.6	1.6696
1991	5,146,000	64,358	59,581	4,777	12.5	11.6	0.9	2.2	1.6844
1992	5,162,000	67,726	60,821	6,905	13.1	11.8	1.3	2.4	1.7648
1993	5,181,000	67,369	62,809	4,560	13.0	12.1	0.9	2.2	1.7512
1994	5,197,000	69,666	61,099	8,567	13.4	11.7	1.6	2.1	1.8091
1995	5,216,000	69,771	63,127	6,644	13.3	12.1	1.3	5.4	1.8097
1996	5,251,000	67,638	61,043	6,595	12.9	11.6	1.3	3.3	1.7535
1997	5,275,000	67,648	59,898	7,750	12.8	11.3	1.5	2.3	1.7562
1998	5,295,000	66,174	58,453	7,721	12.5	11.0	1.5	1.9	1.7252
1999	5,313,000	66,220	59,179	7,041	12.4	11.1	1.3	1.9	1.7383
2000	5,330,000	67,084	57,998	9,086	12.6	10.9	1.7	1.9	1.7742
2001	5,349,000	65,458	58,355	7,103	12.2	10.9	1.3	2.3	1.7450
2002	5,368,000	64,075	58,610	5,465	11.9	10.9	1.0	2.0	1.7249
2003	5,384,000	64,599	57,574	7,025	12.0	10.7	1.3	1.3	1.7599
2004	5,398,000	64,609	55,086	9,523	12.0	10.2	1.8	0.6	1.7852
2005	5,411,000	64,282	54,962	9,320	11.9	10.1	1.7	1.3	1.8021
2006	5,427,000	64,984	55,477	9,507	12.0	10.2	1.7	2.2	1.8476
2007	5,448,000	64,082	55,604	8,478	11.7	10.2	1.6	3.5	1.8435
2008	5,476,000	65,038	54,591	10,447	11.8	9.9	1.9	4.5	1.8888
2009	5,511,000	62,818	54,872	7,946	11.4	9.9	1.4	3.0	1.8396
2010	5,535,000	63,411	54,368	9,043	11.4	9.8	1.6	3.1	1.8712
2011	5,561,000	58,998	52,516	6,482	10.6	9.4	1.2	2.4	1.7524
2012	5,581,000	57,916	52,325	5,591	10.4	9.4	1.0	2.9	1.7292
2013	5,603,000	55,844	52,428	3,416	9.9	9.3	0.6	3.7	1.6687
2014	5,627,000	56,870	51,340	5,530	10.1	9.1	1.0	4.9	1.6912
2015	5,660,000	58,205	52,555	5,650	10.2	9.2	1.0	7.3	1.7136
2016	5,707,000	61,614	52,824	8,790	10.7	9.2	1.5	5.9	1.7854
2017	5,749,000	61,272	53,261	8,011	10.6	9.2	1.4	4.2	1.7519
2018	5,781,000	61,476	55,232	6,244	10.6	9.5	1.1	3.2	1.7297
2019	5,806,000	61,167	53,958	7,209	10.5	9.3	1.2	1.7	1.6994
2020	5,822,763	60,937	54,645	6,292	10.4	9.4	1.0	2.0	1.6747
2021	5,840,045	63,473	57,152	6,321	10.8	9.7	1.1	4.6	1.7241
2022	5,873,420	58,430	59,435	-1,005	9.948	10.119	-0.171	10.3	1.5529
2023	5,932,654	57,469	58,384	-915	9.686	9.841	-0.155	5.0	1.4959
2024	5,961,249

In 2022, 45,922 (78.6%) babies were born to mothers of Danish origin, 10,039 (17.2%) to immigrant mothers and 2,469 (4.2%) to mothers who are descendants of immigrants. ^[29]

Current vital statistics

Period [30]	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January – June 2023	28,360	29,240	-880
January – June 2024	28,168	28,656	-488
Difference	-192 (-0.68%)	-584 (-2%)	+392

Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2021): ^[31]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 910 605	2 939 584	5 850 189	100
0–4	159 616	151 094	310 710	5.31
5–9	153 902	145 996	299 898	5.13
10–14	172 489	163 504	335 993	5.74
15–19	174 065	166 351	340 416	5.82
20–24	190 440	182 547	372 987	6.38
25–29	205 462	196 996	402 458	6.88
30–34	190 728	182 907	373 635	6.39
35–39	167 754	163 263	331 017	5.66
40–44	174 967	173 743	348 710	5.96
45–49	196 490	197 259	393 749	6.73
50–54	199 625	197 330	396 955	6.79
55–59	203 904	202 673	406 577	6.95
60–64	173 413	176 026	349 439	5.97
65–69	156 575	163 852	320 427	5.48
70–74	149 499	162 406	311 905	5.33
75–79	125 586	142 076	267 662	4.58
80–84	69 552	88 329	157 881	2.70
85–89	33 148	50 931	84 079	1.44
90–94	11 095	23 783	34 878	0.60
95–99	2 113	7 469	9 582	0.16
100+	182	1 049	1 231	0.02
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	486 007	460 594	946 601	16.18
15–64	1 876 848	1 839 095	3 715 943	63.52
65+	547 750	639 895	1 187 645	20.30

Urban areas

Main article: List of urban areas in Denmark by population

Urban area of Copenhagen outlined with red line.

Metropolitan area of Copenhagen.

East Jutland Metro.

The urban area of Copenhagen consists of the contiguously built-up area of the capital of Denmark. The Copenhagen metropolitan area consists of 34 municipalities. The East Jutland metropolitan area includes 19 municipalities.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Denmark

The Church of Denmark (Den danske folkekirke) is state-supported and, according to statistics from January 2022, accounts for the religious affiliation of 73.2% of the population. ^[32] Denmark has had religious freedom guaranteed since 1849 by the Constitution, ^[33] and numerous other religions are officially recognised, ^[34] including several Christian denominations, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and other congregations as well as Forn Siðr, a revival of Scandinavian pagan tradition. ^[34] The Department of Ecclesiastical Affairs recognises roughly a hundred religious congregations for tax and legal purposes such as conducting wedding ceremonies.

In 2013, just under 20% of the Danish population identifies as atheist. ^[35]

Islam is the second largest religion in Denmark. ^[36] In 2020, an estimated 4.4% of the Danish population were Muslims. ^[37]

For historical reasons, there is a formal distinction between 'approved' (godkendte) and 'recognised' (anerkendte) congregations of faith. ^[34] The latter include 11 traditional denominations, such as Roman Catholics, the Reformed Church, the Mosaic Congregation, Methodists and Baptists, some of whose privileges in the country date hundreds of years back. These have the additional rights of having priests appointed by royal resolution and to christen/name children with legal effect.

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran (official) 74.8%, Muslim 5.3%, other (denominations of less than 1% each, include Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Serbian Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Baptist, and Buddhist) 19.9% (2017 est.)

Employment and income

Economy of Denmark

Unemployment in Denmark over time

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

total: 12% (2016 est.) Country comparison to the world: 109th

male: 13.1% (2016 est.)

female: 10.9% (2016 est.)

Taxation and benefits

Main article: Taxation in Denmark

Although the level of taxation in Denmark is among the highest in the world, the labor market participation rate is still high compared with other Western countries. Municipal income tax makes up the largest part of taxation in Denmark, with central government income tax topping it up. These income taxes are higher than in other OECD countries. These direct taxes make up two thirds of the taxation on private households with indirect taxes of the central government, and municipalities (property tax), making up one third, i.e. with motor vehicles (passenger cars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles) sold from VAT registered dealerships – because of the registration fee – being among the most expensive in the world, with prices in Norway at the same level, and the most expensive in Singapore. Also VAT in Denmark is not reduced from the current 25%. The 25% are paid on all goods and services where VAT is applied. Indirect taxes are about average compared with other European OECD countries. Payroll taxes (Danish sociale afgifter) are much lower than in other OECD countries. The tax structure ensures a broad tax base across the whole population. However, revenue from corporate taxes is lower compared with other European countries. Municipalities and the central government (regions are not allowed to levy any taxes, as they are financed by central government, and municipal block grants) redistribute a large amount of their tax income in transfer payments to municipalities with a low tax base and/or few tax payers. It is normal for children to be in nurseries, which requires a partial payment of the costs or is free of charge for low income households, and in kindergartens owned and operated, or financed, by the public sector. Child benefit is paid to parents for each child. The service to old age pensioners, and handicapped is extensive.

Denmark ranks high in the Corruption Perceptions Index, although the index is criticized for being limited in scope.

Homelessness

This section is an excerpt from Homelessness in Denmark.[ edit ]

Homelessness in Denmark is considered a significant social issue in the country. ^{[38] [39]} Since 2007, comprehensive counts have been performed every other year in week six (early February). The latest, from 2017, counted 6,635 homeless people in Denmark. ^{[40] [41]} The total number of people experiencing homelessness at some point in 2017 was estimated at 13,000, ^[40] while earlier estimates have placed it between 10,000 and 15,000. ^[42] Roughly half the homeless are in the Capital Region. ^[41] When compared to many other countries, such as the United States, the rate of Denmark's homeless is significantly lower, which has been linked to the relatively comprehensive welfare system. ^[43]

The number of homeless people in Denmark has risen in recent decades, but this has been most pronounced in people that are between 18 and 29 years old (although 30 to 59 years old remains the largest age group, at 70%), women (although men remains the largest group, at 75%) and immigrants (although Danish citizens remain the largest group). ^{[40] [41] [44] [45]} Among the foreign, a high percentage are Eastern or Southern European men that seek work in Denmark. ^[45] Many of these only stay in Denmark during the summer, returning to their respective countries during the relatively cold Danish winter. ^[46]

Based on the comprehensive count in February 2017, roughly one-tenth of homeless people in Denmark are "street sleepers" (which also includes people sleeping in stairways, sheds and other places not intended for human habitation), with the remaining sleeping in the homes of friends/family, in hotels/hostels, in shelters or alike. ^{[40] [41]} The number of street sleepers is higher during the summer, ^[40] and homeless foreigners are overrepresented among them. ^[46] Among homeless in Denmark, the primary issue is psychiatric disease at 36% (24% receive treatment), drug addiction at 27% (17% receive treatment) and alcohol addiction at 23% (9% receive treatment). Overall it is estimated that more than half of all homeless people have mental health issues. ^[41] Compared to many other countries such as the United States, a higher percentage of Denmark's homeless have mental health issues or substance abuse, as countries with weaker welfare systems tend to have higher homeless rates but the homeless will more likely to include from a wide range of groups. ^[43]

The government of Denmark's approach to homelessness include commissioning national surveys on homelessness during the last decade that allow for direct comparison between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ^[47] The three countries have very similar definitions of homelessness, with minor variations. ^[48]

See also

• Denmark portal

• Demographics of the Faroe Islands
• Demographics of Greenland
• Religion in Denmark
• List of urban areas in the Nordic countries

Notes

1. Former Yugoslavia enumerates otherwise unspecified countries that made-up SFR Yugoslavia, i.e. the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.
2. In developed countries, fertility rates 2.1 and above is a stable population and have been marked blue, 2 and below leads to an aging population and a reducing population.

References

1. Christian W (15 February 2022). "Women having more children in Denmark". cphpost.dk.
2. Parallelsamfund i Danmark / Økonomisk Analyse nr. 30 (in Danish). Ministry for economic affairs and the interior. February 2018. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
3. "Denmark Population 2019", World Population Review
4. "Population prognosis 2100", Institut National D'Etudes Demographiques
5. "Population and population projections" (in Danish). Statistics Denmark. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
6. Note: Crude migration change (per 1000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). As average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not end of the year.
7. "Statistikbanken". Statistikbanken.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
8. "Ukrainere stod for 45 pct. af befolkningstilvæksten". Danmarks Statistik .
9. "Fertility". www.dst.dk. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
10. Ritzau (21 February 2022). "Indvandrerkvinder føder færre børn end danske kvinder". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish).
11. Nikolaj Kesting (17 February 2022). "Gennemsnitsalderen stiger for førstegangsfødende". seoghoer.dk (in Danish).
12. Max Roser (2014), "Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries", Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation , archived from the original on 2019-01-19, retrieved 2019-01-18
13. "Life expectancy". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
14. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
15. "Willkommen bei der deutschen Minderheit in Dänemark". Nordschleswig.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
18. "Dansk jødisk historie". Mosaiske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
19. "Romaer til Danmark". Folkedrab.dk (in Danish). 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
20. "Documentation of statistics: Immigrants and Descendants – Statistics Denmark". 2017-06-06. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
21. ^[ dead link ]
22. "Immigrants and Their Descendants". Dst.dk. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
23. ^[ dead link ]
24. Immigrants by country of birth, descendants and children of descendants (those, who are classified of Danish origin)
25. "Immigrants and Descendants, 1 January 2020". Statistics Denmark.
26. "Population 1. January by sex, age, ancestry, country of origin and citizenship – StatBank Denmark – data and statistics". www.statbank.dk. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
27. "Statistikbanken". Statistikbanken.dk. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
28. Statistics Denmark, Population 1. January by sex and time, visited September 2023
29. "Births — Statistics Denmark". www.www.dst.dk/en.
30. "Statistikbanken". www.statbank.dk.
31. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
32. "NYT: Laveste antal udmeldinger af folkekirken i 15 år". www.dst.dk.
33. "Denmark – Constitution : Part VII – Section 70". Servat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 29 August 2017. No person shall for reasons of his creed or descent be deprived of access to complete enjoyment of his civic and political rights, nor shall he for such reasons evade compliance with any common civic duty.
34. Freedom of religion and religious communities in Denmark Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine – The Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs – May 2006. Km.dk
35. Rekling, Therese (7 October 2013). "Næsten hver femte dansker kalder sig ateist". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
36. "Denmark Religions – Demographics". www.indexmundi.com. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
37. "Hvor mange muslimer er der i Danmark?". Tjekdet.dk (in Danish). 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
38. "Yes, Even Denmark Has A Homelessness Problem". 11 September 2012.
39. "Homelessness on the rise in Denmark". 16 September 2015.
40. "Hvor mange er hjemløse?" [How many are homeless?]. Hus Forbi. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
41. "Hjemløshed i Danmark 2017 — National kortlægning" [Homeless in Denmark 2017 — National mapping](PDF). sfi.dk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
42. "Homelessness In A Welfare State: Perspectives From Copenhagen by Rasmus Christensen, Nicole Kirkwood - Humanity in Action". Humanity In Action.
43. Benjaminsen, Lars, and Stefan Bastholm Andrade. "Testing a Typology of Homelessness Across Welfare Regimes: Shelter Use in Denmark and the USA." Housing Studies 30, no. 6 (2015): 858-876.
44. Strategies to Combat Homelessness. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. UN-HABITAT. 2000.
45. "Mange udenlandske hjemløse er i Danmark i over et år" [Many homeless foreigners are in Denmark in more than a year]. Jyllands Posten. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
46. "Rekordmange udenlandske hjemløse i København" [Record There are more than 7,000 homeless people. In Denmark, the percentage of homeless people in Denmark is less than 0.1 percent. number of homeless foreigners in Copenhagen]. TV2 Lorry. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
47. Busch-Geertsema, Volker. "Defining and measuring homelessness." Homelessness Research in Europe: Festschrift for Bill Edgar and Joe Doherty (2010): 19-39.
48. Benjaminsen, Lars, and Evelyn Dyb. "The Effectiveness of Homeless Policies–Variations among the Scandinavian Countries." European Journal of Homelessness 2 (2008).

 This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.

External links

• Danish Demes Regional DNA Project ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
• National statistics
• Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs – List of recognised denominations (in Danish)
• Statistic info on recognised denominations (in Danish; Muslim congregations not listed)
• Interactive population pyramid 1980-2070 or Befolkningsfremskrivning or google (etc.) "dst.dk pyramide", then click with your mouse on top (1st) search result. Population pyramid: women (right), men (left), click with mouse on year wanted, or, on blue rectangle, hold mouse down, slide rectangle to the top, then click on "LÅS" ("LOCK"). Silhouet of year 2070 appears. Do that with any year. Then click on circle with triangle in on lower right hand side of population pyramid. English version:click on upper right hand corner: "ENGLISH".
• Institut National D'Études Démographiques Population pyramids until 2100