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 fall slightly.[4]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
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]
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.
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]
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.
Population pyramid of Denmark by origin group in 2023Danish 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:
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:
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]
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]
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.
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 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]
^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.
^"Statistikbanken". Statistikbanken.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
^"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.
^ abBenjaminsen, 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.
^Strategies to Combat Homelessness. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. UN-HABITAT. 2000.
^ ab"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.
^Busch-Geertsema, Volker. "Defining and measuring homelessness." Homelessness Research in Europe: Festschrift for Bill Edgar and Joe Doherty (2010): 19-39.
^Benjaminsen, Lars, and Evelyn Dyb. "The Effectiveness of Homeless Policies–Variations among the Scandinavian Countries." European Journal of Homelessness 2 (2008).
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".
