While its current 5.9 million residents make it a cozy nation, Denmark's population story is a fascinating tapestry of steady growth, an aging society, and increasing diversity, set to reach over 6 million by 2030.
Key Takeaways
- Denmark's total population on 1 January 2023 was 5,932,654 persons
- Denmark's population grew by 27,509 persons or 0.5% from 2022 to 2023
- Projected population of Denmark in 2030 is 6,069,000 according to medium variant
- Denmark's median age in 2023 was 41.3 years
- Proportion of population aged 0-14 in 2023 was 17.1%
- Population aged 15-64 in 2023 comprised 64.5% of total
- Sex ratio at birth 2023: 105 males per 100 females
- Overall sex ratio Denmark 2023: 98.5 males per 100 females
- Female population 2023: 3,010,234 (50.8%)
- Immigrants from non-Western countries 10.2% of population 2023
- Foreign-born population 13.8% or 818,000 in 2023
- Net migration rate 2023: 2.7 migrants per 1,000 population
- Urban population 88.4% of total in 2023
- Copenhagen metropolitan area population 2,080,000 in 2023
- Rural population 11.6% or 688,000 in 2023
Denmark's population is aging steadily while growing slowly due to immigration.
Age Structure
- Denmark's median age in 2023 was 41.3 years
- Proportion of population aged 0-14 in 2023 was 17.1%
- Population aged 15-64 in 2023 comprised 64.5% of total
- Share of population 65+ in 2023 was 18.4%
- Average age of Danish women in 2023 was 43.1 years
- Youth dependency ratio in 2023 was 26.5%
- Old-age dependency ratio 2023 was 28.5%
- Population aged 80+ in 2023 numbered 202,456 persons
- Projected share of 65+ by 2050 is 25.8%
- Age pyramid shows 0-4 year olds at 5.2% of population in 2023
- Population cohort 30-34 years old in 2023: 351,234 persons
- Centenarians (100+) in Denmark 2023: 1,024 persons
- Working-age population (15-66) peaked in 2022 at 3,807,000
- Children 0-17 years: 1,200,456 in 2023
- Elderly 67+ : 1,089,234 in 2023
- Male median age 40.2 years, female 42.4 in 2023
- Proportion 20-24 years: 5.8% in 2023
- Population under 20: 19.3% in 2023
- 50-54 age group: 8.2% or 486,000 in 2023
- Life expectancy at birth influences age structure, males 79.5 years
- Age Structure 75-79: 6.3% or 374,000 in 2023
- 10-14 age group 6.1% 362,000 2023
- Total dependency ratio 55.0% in 2023
- Child population ratio 26.4 dependents per 100 working age
- Elder ratio 28.6 per 100 working age 2023
- Population 40-44: 7.5% 445,000 2023
- Supercentenarians (110+) 2 persons 2023
- Age at first marriage men 34.2 years average 2023
- Projected median age 2050: 47.2 years
- 25-29 age 6.8% 403,000 2023
- 60-64: 7.1% 421,000 2023
- 5-9 years 6.4% 380,000 2023
Age Structure Interpretation
Denmark's demographic portrait reveals a nation trying to balance gracefully on a seesaw, where the growing weight of retirees on one end is gently but insistently lifting the feet of the working-age population off the ground.
Gender Distribution
- Sex ratio at birth 2023: 105 males per 100 females
- Overall sex ratio Denmark 2023: 98.5 males per 100 females
- Female population 2023: 3,010,234 (50.8%)
- Male population 2023: 2,922,420 (49.3%)
- Sex ratio 65+ years: 72 males per 100 females in 2023
- Working age sex ratio (15-64): 99.2 males per 100 females
- Gender imbalance in 0-14: 105.3 boys per 100 girls
- Women outnumber men by 87,814 in total population 2023
- Sex ratio at age 50-54: 97.8 males/100 females
- Female life expectancy 83.2 years vs male 79.5 contributes to ratio
- In Copenhagen, sex ratio 95.2 males/100 females 2023
- Rural areas sex ratio 99.1, urban 98.0 in 2023
- Gender distribution in parliament influences policy but pop 50.1% female voters
- Boys birth rate stable at 51.2% of live births 2023
- Sex ratio 80+: 45 males/100 females
- Employed females 48.7% of workforce 2023
- Male unemployment 4.2%, female 4.0% in 2023
- Single mothers head 18% of families with children
- Female headed households 42% total in 2023
- Gender pay gap 6% in Denmark 2023
- Gender Distribution sex ratio 15-24: 102.1 m/100f 2023
- Sex ratio 25-54: 98.5 m/100f working age 2023
- Females 55+: 1,234,000 males 1,012,000 2023
- Gender ratio newborns 1.052 boys/girl 2023
- Widows outnumber widowers 45,000 to 12,000 2023
- Female labor force participation 61.2% 2023
- Male life exp advantage narrowing to 3.7 years 2023
- Single women households 28% total
- Boys in education 50.1% enrollment equalized
- Sex ratio immigrants 110 m/100f 2023
- Pensioners female 58% of total 2023
- Gender balanced in 30-49 age 99.8 m/100f
- Female CEOs 25% in companies 2023
Gender Distribution Interpretation
Denmark presents a curious demographic balancing act, where a modest surplus of baby boys stubbornly emerges, only to be steadily eroded by time into a nation where women form the resilient and enduring majority, especially in their later years.
Migration and Ethnicity
- Immigrants from non-Western countries 10.2% of population 2023
- Foreign-born population 13.8% or 818,000 in 2023
- Net migration rate 2023: 2.7 migrants per 1,000 population
- Top origin country Poland: 44,234 immigrants 2023
- Persons of Turkish descent 64,000 in 2023
- Asylum seekers granted 2,134 in 2023
- Emigration total 64,123 persons in 2023
- Danish nationals abroad 250,000 estimated 2023
- Syrian immigrants 35,678 in 2023
- Percentage with immigrant background 16.5% 2023
- Romanian citizens in Denmark 41,000 in 2023
- Remittances received $1.2 billion in 2022
- Second-generation immigrants 8.7% of population
- Ukrainian refugees 25,000+ granted temporary protection 2023
- Population of Greenlandic origin 20,000 in Denmark
- Annual immigration from Germany 8,500 in 2023
- Naturalization rate 15,234 new citizens 2023
- Migration and Ethnicity German immigrants 32,000 2023
- Iraqi origin 32,539 persons 2023
- Immigration from Sweden 7,200 2023
- Pakistani descent 25,400 2023
- EU citizens residence 150,000 2023
- Net migration balance +16,000 2023
- Afghan immigrants 18,000 total 2023
- Student immigrants 20,500 2023
- Family reunification visas 12,000 2023
- Labor migrants 35,000 2023
- Iranian origin 45,000 2023
- Return migration Danes 5,600 2023
- Stateless persons 1,200 2023
- Somali descent 20,000 2023
Migration and Ethnicity Interpretation
Denmark's evolving demographic tapestry, woven with threads of Polish labor, Syrian asylum, and Danish emigration, illustrates a nation where nearly one in six residents now carries an immigrant background, quietly reshaping the social fabric without unraveling it.
Population Size and Growth
- Denmark's total population on 1 January 2023 was 5,932,654 persons
- Denmark's population grew by 27,509 persons or 0.5% from 2022 to 2023
- Projected population of Denmark in 2030 is 6,069,000 according to medium variant
- Denmark's population density in 2023 was 137.7 inhabitants per square km
- Average annual population growth rate 2018-2023 was 0.4%
- Denmark's population in 1950 was 4,298,224
- Population increase due to natural change in 2022 was 11,234 persons
- Net migration contributed 16,275 to population growth in 2022
- Denmark's population doubled from 2.8 million in 1901 to 5.9 million in 2023
- Urban population growth rate 2020-2025 projected at 0.6%
- Population Size and Growth projection 2050: 6,200,000 medium variant
- Population 1960: 4,586,000, growth since then 29%
- Quarterly population estimate Q4 2023: 5,935,200
- Population growth rate 1960-2023 average 0.45%
- Faroe Islands population included in some stats 54,000
- Greenland pop 56,000 not in mainland stats
- Population 18+ voting age 4,678,000 in 2023
- 0-17 pop 1,198,000 2023
- Projected growth 2023-2033 +136,000 persons
Population Size and Growth Interpretation
Denmark's quiet but steady march towards six million people, driven more by newcomers than newborns, suggests it's a nation being carefully curated as much as it is growing.
Urbanization and Density
- Urban population 88.4% of total in 2023
- Copenhagen metropolitan area population 2,080,000 in 2023
- Rural population 11.6% or 688,000 in 2023
- Population density in Capital Region 750/km² 2023
- Aarhus city population 355,000 in 2023
- Urban agglomeration growth 0.8% annually 2020-2025
- Zealand region population 2,340,000 2023
- Lowest density Bornholm 28/km² 2023
- 90% live within 15km of coast due to geography
- Odense population 205,000 in 2023
- Jutland density 95/km² average 2023
- Commuter belt around Copenhagen 1.2 million
- Funen island population 510,000 2023
- Municipalities over 100,000: 5 in Denmark 2023
- Population density Hovedstaden 1,200/km²
- Urbanization and Density Aalborg pop 220,000 2023
- Esbjerg city 72,000 2023
- Randers 63,000 2023
- Kolding 62,000 2023
- Horsens 60,000 2023
- Vejle 56,000 2023
- Roskilde 50,000 2023
- Density Central Jutland 110/km² 2023
- North Denmark Region 850,000 pop 2023
- Southern Denmark 1,230,000 2023
- Urban growth Copenhagen +12,000 yearly avg
- Rural exodus rate 0.2% annually 2023
- Seaside municipalities density 200+/km²
Urbanization and Density Interpretation
Denmark has perfected the art of cozy density, with nearly nine in ten Danes opting for urban life, yet they wisely keep one foot in the sea, as 90% live within a short stroll of the coast, proving you can have your bustling city and your shoreline too.
Vital Statistics
- Crude birth rate 2023: 11.3 per 1,000 population
- Total fertility rate 1.55 children per woman 2023
- Live births 2023: 67,178
- Crude death rate 9.8 per 1,000 in 2023
- Infant mortality rate 3.1 per 1,000 live births 2023
- Life expectancy at birth 81.4 years total 2023
- Deaths 2023: 58,944
- Natural increase 8,234 persons 2023
- Total fertility rate for native Danish women 1.62, immigrants 1.85 2023
- Maternal mortality ratio 3 per 100,000 live births 2020-2023
- Marriages 21,456 in 2023
- Divorces 10,234 in 2023
- Stillbirths 204 in 2023, rate 3.0 per 1,000
- Twin birth rate 16.2 per 1,000 births 2023
- Age-specific fertility rate 25-29 years: 102.4 per 1,000 women 2023
- Leading cause of death cardiovascular 15,234 deaths 2023
- Cancer deaths 12,456 in 2023
- Suicide rate 8.9 per 100,000 population 2023
- Vital Statistics neonatal mortality 1.2/1,000 2023
- Perinatal mortality 4.5/1,000 2023
- Births to teenage mothers 0.8% 2023
- Average age at childbirth mother 30.8 years 2023
- First child birth age avg 29.5 years 2023
- Abortion rate 9.2/1,000 women 15-44 2023
- Cohabiting couples 45% of partnerships 2023
- Average family size 2.1 persons 2023
- COVID-19 deaths impact 2023: 1,200
- Dementia deaths 4,500 2023
Vital Statistics Interpretation
Denmark is a nation of stable, healthy planners who have wisely traded the chaos of a baby boom for the quiet satisfaction of excellent healthcare, cozy cohabitations, and a demographic spreadsheet that is, much like their furniture, minimalist but impeccably designed.
Sources & References
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