Demographics of Denmark

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Denmark, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

National demographics

Population of Denmark as of 1 January 2012 by ancestry.

According to 2012 figures from Statistics Denmark, 89.6% of Denmark’s population of over 5,580,516 was of Danish descent, defined as having at least one parent who was born in Denmark and has Danish citizenship.^[1][2] Many of the remaining 10.4% were immigrants—or descendants of recent immigrants (defined as people born in Denmark from migrant parents, or parents without Danish citizenship) —less than a third of whom are from the neighbouring Scandinavian countries and Germany. Over two-thirds include people from Turkey, Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Asia, and from Western Asia. More than 590 000 individuals (10.4%)^[2][3] are migrants and their descendants (142 000 second generation migrants born in Denmark^[3]).

Of these 590 000^[2] immigrants and their descendants:

• 200 000 (34%)^[3] have a Western background (Norway, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, UK, Poland and Iceland; definition: EU countries, non-EU Nordic countries, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican State, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand.).
• 390 000 (66%)^[3] have a non-Western background (Turkey, Iraq, Jews, Romani, Somalia, Pakistan, Iran and Thailand; all other countries).

Population of Denmark as of 1 January 2012 by ancestry and continents of origin.

According to Mete Feridun,^[4] immigration has implications for the labour market in Denmark. Moreover, according to the figures from Danmarks Statistik, crime rate among refugees and their descendants is 73% higher than for the male population average, even when taking into account their socioeconomic background. A report from Teori- og Metodecentret from 2006 found that seven out of ten young people placed on the secured youth institutions in Denmark are immigrants (with 40 percent of them being refugees).^[5]

Ethnic groups

Non-Scandinavian ethnic minorities include:

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

Historic minorities

Ethnic minorities in Denmark include a handful of groups:

• Approximately 15,000 people^[6] in Denmark belong to a German minority traditionally referred to as hjemmetyskere meaning "domestic Germans" in Danish, and as Nordschleswiger in German. This minority of Germans hold Danish citizenship and self-identify as Germans. Many of them use 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^[7] in Denmark proper are ethnic Faroese, while 19,000 Greenlandic people reside permanently in Denmark.^[8] Many of these use the Faroese and Greenlandic languages, respectively, as their first language. All residents of the Danish Realm (viz. Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland) normally hold Danish citizenship, unless they inherit or otherwise receive a foreign citizenship.
• The religiously affiliated Danish Jews number around 7,000.^[9] Secular Jews and unaffiliated ethnic Jews in Denmark number several thousand.
• There are approximately 15,000-20,000 Romani people with historical ties to Denmark, excluding recent immigrants and their immediate descendants.

Vital statistics since 1900

Data according to Statistics Denmark, which collects the official statistics for Denmark.^[10]

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality rate (per 1000 births)	Life expectancy males	Life expectancy females
1900	2 432	72 129	40 891	31 238	29.7	16.8	12.8	4,16
1901	2 463	73 219	38 786	34 425	29.7	15.7	14.0	4,14
1902	2 494	72 839	36 424	36 391	29.2	14.6	14.6	4,05
1903	2 525	72 351	36 956	35 403	28.7	14.6	14.0	3,96
1904	2 546	73 692	35 903	37 788	28.9	14.1	14.8	3,97
1905	2 574	73 082	38 598	34 484	28.4	15.0	13.4	3,87
1906	2 603	74 217	35 231	38 986	28.5	13.5	15.0	3,87
1907	2 635	74 324	37 275	37 049	28.2	14.1	14.1	3,81
1908	2 668	76 233	39 072	37 161	28.6	14.6	13.9	3,83
1909	2 702	76 301	35 837	40 464	28.2	13.3	15.0	3,78
1910	2 737	75 299	35 184	40 013	27.5	12.9	14.6	3,67
1911	2 770	73 933	37 236	36 697	26.7	13.4	13.2	3,60
1912	2 802	74 659	36 486	38 173	26.6	13.0	13.6	3,58
1913	2 833	72 475	35 364	37 111	25.6	12.5	13.1	3,43
1914	2 866	73 294	35 921	37 373	25.6	12.5	13.0	3,42
1915	2 901	70 192	37 174	33 018	24.2	12.8	11.4	3,23
1916	2 936	71 559	39 265	32 294	24.4	13.4	11.0	3,23
1917	2 972	70 306	39 224	31 082	23.7	13.2	10.5	3,11
1918	3 006	72 505	39 038	33 467	24.1	13.0	11.1	3,16
1919	3 041	68 722	39 590	29 132	22.6	13.0	9.6	2,96
1920	3 079	78 230	39 841	38 389	25.4	12.9	12.5	3,29
1921	3 283	78 815	36 215	42 600	24.0	11.0	13.0	3,11
1922	3 318	73 899	39 452	34 435	22.3	11.9	10.4	2,87
1923	3 352	74 827	37 903	36 924	22.3	11.3	11.0	2,85
1924	3 389	73 836	38 091	35 778	21.8	11.2	10.6	2,78
1925	3 425	71 897	37 083	34 814	21.0	10.8	10.2	2,66
1926	3 452	70 734	38 093	32 641	20.5	11.0	9.5	2,58
1927	3 475	68 024	40 190	27 834	19.6	11.6	8.0	2,44
1928	3 497	68 516	38 484	30 032	19.6	11.0	8.6	2,43
1929	3 518	65 297	39 486	25 913	18.6	11.2	7.4	2,30
1930	3 542	66 303	38 174	28 129	18.7	10.8	7.9	2,29
1931	3 569	64 266	40 578	23 688	18.0	11.4	6.6	2,20
1932	3 603	64 650	39 701	24 949	17.9	11.0	6.9	2,17
1933	3 633	62 780	38 287	24 493	17.3	10.5	6.7	2,10
1934	3 666	65 116	38 050	27 066	17.8	10.4	7.4	2,15
1935	3 695	65 223	40 816	24 407	17.7	11.0	6.6	2,12
1936	3 722	66 418	40 919	25 499	17.8	11.0	6.9	2,14
1937	3 749	67 440	40 442	26 998	18.0	10.8	7.2	2,16
1938	3 777	68 463	39 058	29 407	18.1	10.3	7.8	2,18
1939	3 805	67 914	38 535	29 379	17.8	10.1	7.7	2,16
1940	3 832	70 121	39 730	30 391	18.3	10.4	7.9	2,22
1941	3 863	71 306	39 756	31 550	18.5	10.3	8.2	2,24
1942	3 903	79 545	37 527	42 018	20.4	9.6	10.8	2,50
1943	3 949	84 319	37 982	46 337	21.4	9.6	11.7	2,65
1944	3 998	90 641	41 087	49 554	22.7	10.3	12.4	2,84
1945	4 045	95 062	42 298	52 764	23.5	10.5	13.0	2,98
1946	4 101	96 111	42 013	54 098	23.4	10.2	13.2	3,02
1947	4 146	91 714	40 043	51 671	22.1	9.7	12.5	2,90
1948	4 190	84 938	35 981	48 957	20.3	8.6	11.7	2,71
1949	4 230	79 919	37 793	42 126	18.9	8.9	10.0	2,58
1950	4 271	79 558	39 300	40 258	18.6	9.2	9.4	2,57
1951	4 304	76 559	37 960	38 599	17.8	8.8	9.0	2,50
1952	4 334	76 943	39 173	37 770	17.8	9.0	8.7	2,53
1953	4 369	78 261	39 350	38 911	17.9	9.0	8.9	2,60
1954	4 406	76 365	39 885	36 480	17.3	9.1	8.3	2,55
1955	4 439	76 845	38 789	38 056	17.3	8.7	8.6	2,58
1956	4 466	76 725	39 588	37 137	17.2	8.9	8.3	2,61
1957	4 488	75 264	41 730	33 534	16.8	9.3	7.5	2,57
1958	4 515	74 681	41 560	33 121	16.5	9.2	7.3	2,55
1959	4 547	73 928	42 159	31 769	16.3	9.3	7.0	2,52
1960	4 581	76 077	43 681	32 396	16.6	9.5	7.1	2,57
1961	4 610	76 439	43 310	33 129	16.6	9.4	7.2	2,55
1962	4 647	77 808	45 334	32 474	16.7	9.8	7.0	2,58
1963	4 684	82 413	45 773	36 640	17.6	9.8	7.8	2,64
1964	4 720	83 356	46 811	36 545	17.7	9.9	7.7	2,60
1965	4 758	85 796	47 884	37 912	18.0	10.1	8.0	2,61
1966	4 795	88 332	49 344	38 988	18.4	10.3	8.1	2,62
1967	4 836	81 410	47 836	33 574	16.8	9.9	6.9	2,35
1968	4 865	74 543	47 290	27 253	15.3	9.7	5.6	2,12
1969	4 891	71 298	47 943	23 355	14.6	9.8	4.8	2,00
1970	4 951	70 802	48 233	22 569	14.3	9.7	4.6	1,95
1971	4 963	75 359	48 858	26 501	15.2	9.8	5.3	2,04
1972	4 992	75 505	50 445	25 060	15.1	10.1	5.0	2,03
1973	5 022	71 895	50 526	21 369	14.3	10.1	4.3	1,92
1974	5 045	71 327	51 637	19 690	14.1	10.2	3.9	1,90
1975	5 060	72 071	50 895	21 176	14.2	10.1	4.1	1,92
1976	5 073	65 267	54 001	11 266	12.9	10.6	2.2	1,75
1977	5 088	61 878	50 485	11 393	12.2	9.9	2.2	1,66
1978	5 104	62 036	52 864	9 172	12.2	10.4	1.8	1,67
1979	5 117	59 464	54 654	4 810	11.6	10.7	0.9	1,60
1980	5 123	57 293	55 939	1 354	11.2	10.9	0.3	1,55
1981	5 122	53 089	56 359	-3 270	10.4	11.0	-0.6	1,44
1982	5 118	52 658	55 368	-2 710	10.3	10.8	-0.5	1,43
1983	5 114	50 822	57 156	-6 334	9.9	11.2	-1.2	1,38
1984	5 112	51 800	57 109	-5 309	10.1	11.2	-1.0	1,40
1985	5 114	53 749	58 378	-4 629	10.5	11.4	-0.9	1,45
1986	5 121	55 312	58 100	-2 788	10.8	11.3	-0.5	1,48
1987	5 127	56 221	58 136	-1 915	11.0	11.3	-0.4	1,51
1988	5 130	58 844	58 984	- 127	11.5	11.5	-0.0	1,56
1989	5 133	61 351	59 397	2 047	12.0	11.6	0.4	1,62
1990	5 140	63 433	60 926	2 545	12.3	11.9	0.5	1,67
1991	5 154	64 358	59 581	4 777	12.5	11.6	0.9	1,68
1992	5 170	67 726	60 821	6 905	13.1	11.8	1.3	1,76
1993	5 189	67 369	62 809	4 560	13.0	12.1	0.9	1,75
1994	5 205	69 666	61 099	8 567	13.4	11.7	1.6	1,81
1995	5 228	69 771	63 127	6 644	13.3	12.1	1.3	1,81
1996	5 262	67 638	61 043	6 595	12.9	11.6	1.3	1,75
1997	5 284	67 648	59 898	7 750	12.8	11.3	1.5	1,75
1998	5 301	66 174	58 453	7 721	12.5	11.0	1.5	1,72
1999	5 322	66 220	59 179	7 041	12.4	11.1	1.3	1,73
2000	5 340	67 084	57 998	9 086	12.6	10.9	1.7	1,77
2001	5 359	65 458	58 355	7 103	12.2	10.9	1.3	1,74
2002	5 375	64 075	58 610	5 465	11.9	10.9	1.0	1,72
2003	5 391	64 599	57 574	7 025	12.0	10.7	1.3	1,76
2004	5 405	64 609	55 086	9 523	12.0	10.2	1.8	1,78
2005	5 419	64 282	54 962	9 320	11.9	10.1	1.7	1,80
2006	5 437	64 984	55 477	9 507	12.0	10.2	1.7	1,85
2007	5 461	64 082	55 604	8 478	11.7	10.2	1.6	1,84
2008	5 494	65 038	54 591	10 447	11.8	9.9	1.9	1,89
2009	5 523	62 818	54 872	7 946	11.4	9.9	1.4	1,84
2010	5 548	63 411	54 368	9 043	11.4	9.8	1.6	1,87
2011	5 571	58 998	52 516	6 482	10.6	9.4	1.2	1,75
2012	5 591	57 916	52 325	5 591	10.4	9.4	1.0	1,73
2013	5 614	55 844	52 428	3 416	9.9	9.3	0.6	1,67
2014	5 659	56 870	51 340	5 530	10.1	9.1	1.0	1,69
2015	5 707	58 205	52 555	5 650	10.2	9.2	1.0	1.71

Religion

The Church of Denmark (Den danske folkekirke) is state-supported and, according to statistics from January 2006, accounts for about 80% of Denmark's religious affiliation. Denmark has had religious freedom guaranteed since 1849 by the Constitution,^[11] and numerous other religions are officially recognised,^[12] including several Christian denominations, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and other congregations as well as Forn Siðr, a revival of Scandinavian pagan tradition.^[12] The Department of Ecclesiastical Affairs recognises roughly a hundred religious congregations for tax and legal purposes such as conducting wedding ceremonies.

Islam is the second largest religion in Denmark.

For historical reasons, there is a formal distinction between 'approved' (godkendte) and 'recognised' (anerkendte) congregations of faith.^[12] 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.

Demographic statistics

Population of Denmark, 1769-2006

Foreign population in Denmark, 2003, by source country

Trend of population in Denmark, divided by gender (blue for male, red for female) and ethnicity (dark for Danish ethnicity, bright for other ethnicity). Note that abscissa crosses ordinate at population=2,225,000.

Population

Denmark's population from 1769 to 2007.

Year	Population	Year	Population
1769	797,584	1976	5,065,313
1787	841,806	1977	5,079,879
1801	929,001	1978	5,096,959
1834	1,230,964	1979	5,111,537
1840	1,289,075	1980	5,122,065
1845	1,356,877	1981	5,123,989
1850	1,414,648	1982	5,119,155
1855	1,507,222	1983	5,116,464
1860	1,608,362	1984	5,112,130
1870	1,784,741	1985	5,111,108
1880	1,969,039	1986	5,116,273
1890	2,172,380	1987	5,124,794
1901	2,449,540	1988	5,129,254
1906	2,588,919	1989	5,129,778
1911	2,757,076	1990	5,135,409
1916	2,921,362	1991	5,146,469
1921	3,267,831	1992	5,162,126
1925	3,434,555	1993	5,180,614
1930	3,550,656	1994	5,196,642
1935	3,706,349	1995	5,215,718
1940	3,844,312	1996	5,251,027
1945	4,045,232	1997	5,275,121
1950	4,281,275	1998	5,294,860
1955	4,448,401	1999	5,313,577
1960	4,585,256	2000	5,330,020
1965	4,767,597	2001	5,349,212
1970	4,937,579	2002	5,368,354
1971	4,950,598	2003	5,383,507
1972	4,975,653	2004	5,397,640
1973	5,007,538	2005	5,411,405
1974	5,036,184	2006	5,427,459
1975	5,054,410	2007	5,447,084

• Source Statistics Denmark, "Folketal efter hovedlandsdele (summariske tal fra folketællinger)" (table FT)

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population:

• 5,500,510 (July 2009 est.)
• country comparison to the world: 109

Age structure:

• 0–14 years: 18.1% (male 511,882/female 485,782)
• 15–64 years: 65.8% (male 1,817,800/female 1,798,964)
• 65 years and over: 16.1% (male 387,142/female 498,940) (2009 est.)

Median age:

• total: 40.5 years
• male: 39.6 years
• female: 41.3 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate:

• 0.28% (2009 est.)
• country comparison to the world: 175

Net migration rate:

• 2.20 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
• country comparison to the world: 49

Urbanisation:

• urban population: 87% of total population (2008)
• rate of urbanisation: 0.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:

• at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
• 15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

• total: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births
• country comparison to the world: 203
• male: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
• female: 4.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

• total population: 78.3 years
• country comparison to the world: 45
• male: 75.96 years
• female: 80.78 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate:

• 1.88 children born/woman (2010 est.)
• country comparison to the world: 166

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

• 0.2% (2007 est.)
• country comparison to the world: 104

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

• 4,800 (2007 est.)
• country comparison to the world: 124

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

• fewer than 100 (2003 est.)
• country comparison to the world: 129

Nationality:

• noun: Dane(s)
• adjective: Danish

Ethnic groups:

• Bosniaks
• Scandinavian
• Inuit
• Faroese
• German
• Turkish
• Iranian
• Somali

Religions:

• Evangelical Lutheran 95%
• Other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%
• Muslim 2%

Languages:

• Danish
• Faroese
• Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect)
• German (small minority)

Literacy:

• definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 99%
• male: 99%
• female: 99% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

• total: 17 years
• male: 16 years
• female: 17 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

• 8.3% of GDP (2005)
• country comparison to the world: 12

See also

• Religion in Denmark

References

1. http://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/Graphics/MakeGraph.asp?gr_type=5&gr_width=600&gr_height=600&gr_fontsize=11&menu=y&PLanguage=1&pxfile=201282423219110521660FOLK2.px&wonload=600&honload=600&rotate=
2. http://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/Graphics/MakeGraph.asp?gr_type=1&gr_width=600&gr_height=600&gr_fontsize=11&menu=y&PLanguage=1&pxfile=201282423219110521660FOLK2.px&wonload=600&honload=600&rotate=
3. http://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/indvandrere-og-efterkommere/indvandrere-og-efterkommere.aspx
4. Mete Feridun (2006) Labour Migration and Economic Development: The Case of Denmark, in Silasi, Grigore and Simina, Ovidiu Laurian (Eds.), 139-155, Migration, Mobility and Human Rights at the Eastern Border of the European Union – Space of Freedom and Security, Editura Universitatii de Vest Press.
5. http://www.information.dk/189994
6. http://www.nordschleswig.dk/SEEEMS/417.asp
7. http://www.dnag.dk/get.file?ID=2783
8. http://www.dnag.dk/get.file?ID=2699
9. http://www.mosaiske.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=113
10. Statistics Denmark
11. Denmark – Constitution – Part VII – Section 70: "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."
12. Freedom of religion and religious communities in Denmark – The Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs – May 2006. km.dk

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2009 edition".

External links

• Danish Demes Regional DNA Project
• National statistics
• Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs - List of recognised denominations (in Danish)
• Statistic info on recognised denominations (in Danish; Muslim congregations not listed)