New Danes new realities

As Denmark grows more dependent on international workers, Kelly Draper Rasmussen examines the newcomers reshaping its cities, suburbs and shrinking towns.

Images: Kelly Draper Rasmussen

Text: Kelly Draper Rasmussen

In the last twelve months, 82,000 internationals arrived in Denmark and 55,000 left, resulting in a net migration of over 29,000 people.

This matters because Denmark's natural population growth, defined as births minus deaths, was approximately 800 people nationwide during that period. Population growth in Denmark depends on immigration and returning of Danes.

Many new arrivals are temporary exchange students who distort the overall picture by leaving in the same year; therefore, net migration figures (people in minus people out) provide a clearer picture of who is staying with a view to building their lives in Denmark.

The top five nationalities by net migration were Ukraine, Nepal, Bangladesh, Germany and the Philippines. Together, Nepal and Bangladesh account for 17% of Denmark's total population growth this year.

Some nationalities showed net losses: Lithuania, Syria, Poland, Bulgaria and Norway. Countries with the highest churn rates (where nearly as many people left as arrived) were the United Kingdom, Romania, the USA, Australia, and Japan. This may be related to seasonal, temporary workers and exchange students.

Where migrants settle: Four very different Denmarks

Where did the new immigrants move to? To understand settlement patterns, we classified each kommune into three categories: The Big Four cities (Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg), wealthier Copenhagen suburbs (Frederiksberg, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Gentofte, Rudersdal), working-class Copenhagen suburbs (Ishøj, Høje-Taastrup, Glostrup, Albertslund, Brøndby, Herlev, Rødovre, Vallensbæk, Hvidovre, Gladsaxe), and everywhere else.

The patterns are stark. Different areas attract entirely different populations:

The 4 major cities attracted people from Ukraine, Italy, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Germany.

The wealthy Copenhagen suburbs attracted people from Ukraine, Spain, Italy, India, and Portugal.

Working-class Copenhagen suburbs are a different story: Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ukraine and Iran. Nepalese migrants alone account for 42% of all net migration to these areas.

The rest of Denmark attracted people from Ukraine, Germany, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Germans cluster near the southern border in Sønderborg, Aabenraa and Tønder. Settlement patterns outside major cities follow the E45 highway corridor: Denmark's north-south artery connecting to Germany through Jutland. Three of the top five smaller kommuner with the highest net migration (Kolding, Vejle, Herning) lie directly along this route, suggesting that this year’s cohort moved for work

Which kommuner received the greatest diversity of nationalities? Copenhagen led with migrants from 80 different countries, followed by Aarhus, Odense and Aalborg.

The remainder were wealthy Copenhagen suburbs: Frederiksberg, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Gentofte, and Rudersdal, and two cities in the Triangle Region: Vejle and Kolding. These ten communities have attracted dozens of different nationalities this year.

Denmark's demographic challenge is stark. This year, 38 kommuner experienced population

decline despite foreign immigration. Places such as Frederikshavn, Lolland, and Kalundborg experienced population decline even as foreigners arrived. In Kalundborg's case, 382 foreign migrants couldn't offset the reduction in Danish population.

Sønderborg's population grew by 48 people this year, but foreign net migration was +810, meaning the original population actually declined by more than 700 people. Similar patterns appear in Randers, Billund, Herning and Gentofte. Foreigners are masking demographic collapse in many communities.

Politics and policy: Can Denmark afford to be selective?

This year, the government attempted to reshape migration policy. They created a new residence permit for 2026 targeting nationals from 16 countries deemed more likely to integrate (including the USA, UK, Japan, Australia: the countries with the highest churn rates this year). The government also promoted a political scandal surrounding universities enrolling overseas students from Nepal and Bangladesh, and tightened rules on study permits to deter this pattern in the future.

Denmark faces labour shortages in many industries. The politicians in power would clearly prefer to address these shortages by excluding certain nationalities. With natural population growth in only the three figures and 38 kommuner shrinking, the country clearly depends on foreigners to prevent decline. The question is whether Denmark can afford to be picky.

DATA SOURCES (Statistics Denmark):

FOLK1A: Population by region and time (2024Q3 to 2025Q3)

VAN1KVT: Immigration by region, citizenship and time (2024Q4, 2025Q1, 2025Q2, 2025Q3)

VAN2KVT: Emigration by region, citizenship and time (2024Q4, 2025Q1, 2025Q2, 2025Q3)