Country or area · Northern Europe · Europe · UN WPP 2024

Denmark population

Denmark population now

6,028,143

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 6.0–6.1 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 5,948,137

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 6.02353 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 6.0–6.1 million
Median age: 42.3
Aged 65+: 21.4%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024 peak 2042

male female projection · one cell = 1,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

DNK · 1950–2100 · in brief

Denmark in numbers

Denmark had 5,948,137 people in mid-2023, the 114th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.07% of the world's people. That is 1.4 times its 1950 population of 4.3 million.

The UN's medium projection has it peaking in 2042 at 6.1 million, then falling to 5.9 million by 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 3.7 million to 8.7 million.

Births stay ahead of deaths until 2027; in the medium projection, deaths are ahead every year after it. Deaths also outnumbered births in 1981–1988 and 2022. The population still grows until 2042, because more people arrive than leave.

The median age was 31.6 in 1950 and 42.2 in 2023; the projection has 48.5 in 2100. 20.6% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 31.3% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2026 at 3.8 million.

Among countries it ranks 114th in 2023, 118th in 2050 and 120th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Bulgaria in 2037, Serbia in 2038 and Hong Kong in 2050. It is overtaken by the Central African Republic in 2028, Liberia in 2028 and Lebanon in 2030.

Population, mid-2023: 5,948,137
Rank by population, 2023: 114 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.07%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +0.77% · +45,233 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 149
Land area, 2023: 40,000 km²
Births, 2023: 57,810
Deaths, 2023: 57,275
Net migration, 2023: +31,006
Children per woman, 2023: 1.51
Median age, 2023: 42.2 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 81.9 years
In a city, 2025: 29 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 4,268,405
Projected, mid-2050: 6,124,838
Projected, mid-2100: 5,863,216

DNK · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

peak 2042estimates | projections02 m4 m6 m8 m10 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Each column is the population on 1 January of one year; the paper rules cut it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Denmark, 1950–2100

Denmark: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	4,251,526		79,454	39,252	2.57	70.3
1951	estimate	4,285,283		76,955	37,944	2.51	70.9
1952	estimate	4,315,235		77,156	39,230	2.54	70.8
1953	estimate	4,349,231		78,281	39,355	2.60	71.2
1954	estimate	4,388,982		76,728	39,885	2.56	71.3
1955	estimate	4,423,833		77,163	38,806	2.59	71.9
1956	estimate	4,453,844		77,011	39,604	2.60	72.0
1957	estimate	4,478,827		75,182	41,712	2.56	71.8
1958	estimate	4,500,480		74,030	41,500	2.53	72.2
1959	estimate	4,531,660		73,185	42,049	2.49	72.2
1960	estimate	4,565,302		75,798	43,665	2.56	72.2
1961	estimate	4,593,383		76,171	43,229	2.55	72.5
1962	estimate	4,629,338		77,619	45,258	2.55	72.3
1963	estimate	4,665,596		82,506	45,769	2.65	72.4
1964	estimate	4,702,935		83,324	46,732	2.60	72.5
1965	estimate	4,740,847		85,914	47,847	2.61	72.4
1966	estimate	4,776,825		88,058	49,306	2.61	72.5
1967	estimate	4,817,588		81,376	47,746	2.35	73.0
1968	estimate	4,852,847		74,663	47,205	2.12	73.2
1969	estimate	4,876,745		71,292	47,862	2.00	73.2
1970	estimate	4,906,853		70,888	48,210	1.96	73.4
1971	estimate	4,950,484		75,196	48,879	2.04	73.4
1972	estimate	4,975,640		75,232	50,418	2.03	73.5
1973	estimate	5,007,506		71,899	50,513	1.92	73.7
1974	estimate	5,036,005		71,300	51,601	1.90	73.8
1975	estimate	5,055,260		71,800	50,849	1.91	74.1
1976	estimate	5,065,541		65,337	53,999	1.75	73.8
1977	estimate	5,080,068		61,946	50,479	1.66	74.7
1978	estimate	5,097,075		61,705	52,855	1.66	74.4
1979	estimate	5,111,612		59,349	54,662	1.60	74.2
1980	estimate	5,122,105		57,062	55,903	1.54	74.1
1981	estimate	5,124,057		53,253	56,375	1.44	74.3
1982	estimate	5,119,201		52,421	55,271	1.42	74.6
1983	estimate	5,116,586		50,873	57,066	1.38	74.5
1984	estimate	5,112,349		51,721	57,083	1.40	74.6
1985	estimate	5,111,312		53,568	58,383	1.44	74.5
1986	estimate	5,116,447		55,088	58,074	1.48	74.6
1987	estimate	5,124,929		56,200	58,128	1.50	74.7
1988	estimate	5,129,336		58,821	58,895	1.56	74.8
1989	estimate	5,129,944		61,248	59,416	1.62	74.9
1990	estimate	5,135,486		63,245	60,842	1.66	74.9
1991	estimate	5,146,564		64,318	59,584	1.69	75.2
1992	estimate	5,162,125		67,293	60,737	1.75	75.3
1993	estimate	5,180,609		67,302	62,667	1.75	75.2
1994	estimate	5,196,665		69,342	61,054	1.80	75.4
1995	estimate	5,215,714		69,304	62,969	1.80	75.3
1996	estimate	5,251,006		67,542	60,957	1.75	75.7
1997	estimate	5,275,130		67,368	59,825	1.75	76.0
1998	estimate	5,294,940		66,015	58,471	1.72	76.4
1999	estimate	5,313,584		66,050	59,127	1.73	76.6
2000	estimate	5,330,035		66,726	57,913	1.76	76.8
2001	estimate	5,349,282		65,232	58,339	1.74	77.0
2002	estimate	5,368,374		64,086	58,538	1.73	77.1
2003	estimate	5,383,544		64,479	57,555	1.76	77.4
2004	estimate	5,397,697		64,414	55,771	1.78	77.8
2005	estimate	5,411,499		64,094	54,869	1.80	78.2
2006	estimate	5,427,610		64,609	55,489	1.84	78.2
2007	estimate	5,447,230		63,750	55,548	1.84	78.3
2008	estimate	5,475,984		64,435	54,650	1.88	78.7
2009	estimate	5,511,543		62,612	54,901	1.84	79.0
2010	estimate	5,534,803		62,763	54,179	1.86	79.3
2011	estimate	5,560,922		58,926	52,570	1.75	79.8
2012	estimate	5,580,776		57,591	52,182	1.72	80.1
2013	estimate	5,603,057		55,718	52,532	1.67	80.3
2014	estimate	5,627,608		56,567	51,431	1.69	80.6
2015	estimate	5,659,980		57,806	52,654	1.71	80.7
2016	estimate	5,707,422		60,927	52,764	1.77	80.9
2017	estimate	5,748,980		61,052	53,222	1.75	81.1
2018	estimate	5,781,356		61,189	55,175	1.73	81.0
2019	estimate	5,806,293		61,068	53,901	1.70	81.4
2020	estimate	5,822,944		60,993	54,679	1.68	81.5
2021	estimate	5,840,116		63,475	57,038	1.73	81.4
2022	estimate	5,873,437		58,095	59,393	1.56	81.3
2023	estimate	5,932,370		57,810	57,275	1.51	81.9
2024	estimate	5,963,903		58,646	57,269	1.52	82.1
2025	projection	5,990,921	6.0–6.0 million	59,225	58,151	1.52	82.3
2026	projection	6,014,093	6.0–6.1 million	59,616	59,118	1.52	82.4
2027	projection	6,032,948	6.0–6.1 million	59,861	60,027	1.53	82.5
2028	projection	6,049,937	6.0–6.1 million	60,010	60,899	1.53	82.7
2029	projection	6,064,443	6.0–6.2 million	59,995	61,896	1.53	82.8
2030	projection	6,076,783	5.9–6.2 million	59,985	62,759	1.54	83.0
2031	projection	6,087,207	5.9–6.3 million	59,878	63,582	1.54	83.1
2032	projection	6,096,681	5.9–6.3 million	59,779	64,393	1.54	83.3
2033	projection	6,104,071	5.9–6.3 million	59,635	65,212	1.54	83.4
2034	projection	6,111,101	5.9–6.4 million	59,542	65,888	1.54	83.5
2035	projection	6,117,339	5.9–6.4 million	59,429	66,483	1.55	83.7
2036	projection	6,122,272	5.9–6.5 million	59,290	66,993	1.55	83.8
2037	projection	6,126,343	5.8–6.5 million	59,077	67,456	1.55	84.0
2038	projection	6,129,306	5.8–6.5 million	58,844	67,829	1.55	84.1
2039	projection	6,132,426	5.8–6.6 million	58,609	68,146	1.56	84.2
2040	projection	6,133,956	5.8–6.6 million	58,332	68,393	1.56	84.4
2041	projection	6,135,362	5.7–6.6 million	58,038	68,580	1.56	84.5
2042	projection	6,135,750	5.7–6.7 million	57,779	68,751	1.56	84.6
2043	projection	6,135,760	5.7–6.7 million	57,491	68,820	1.56	84.8
2044	projection	6,135,601	5.7–6.7 million	57,231	68,933	1.57	84.9
2045	projection	6,134,856	5.6–6.8 million	57,027	69,127	1.57	85.0
2046	projection	6,134,455	5.6–6.8 million	56,837	69,274	1.57	85.1
2047	projection	6,132,772	5.6–6.8 million	56,714	69,445	1.57	85.2
2048	projection	6,130,959	5.6–6.9 million	56,560	69,643	1.57	85.4
2049	projection	6,129,026	5.5–6.9 million	56,437	69,943	1.57	85.5
2050	projection	6,126,448	5.5–7.0 million	56,286	70,179	1.57	85.6
2051	projection	6,123,228	5.5–7.0 million	56,210	70,466	1.58	85.7
2052	projection	6,119,514	5.4–7.0 million	56,183	70,745	1.58	85.8
2053	projection	6,115,844	5.4–7.1 million	56,108	70,970	1.58	86.0
2054	projection	6,111,169	5.4–7.1 million	56,059	71,203	1.58	86.1
2055	projection	6,106,635	5.4–7.1 million	56,017	71,314	1.59	86.2
2056	projection	6,101,134	5.3–7.2 million	55,875	71,526	1.59	86.3
2057	projection	6,095,617	5.3–7.2 million	55,810	71,511	1.59	86.4
2058	projection	6,090,498	5.3–7.2 million	55,694	71,458	1.59	86.6
2059	projection	6,085,880	5.2–7.2 million	55,546	71,473	1.59	86.7
2060	projection	6,080,965	5.2–7.3 million	55,497	71,255	1.59	86.8
2061	projection	6,075,482	5.1–7.3 million	55,438	71,031	1.59	86.9
2062	projection	6,070,470	5.1–7.3 million	55,333	70,665	1.59	87.0
2063	projection	6,065,314	5.1–7.3 million	55,283	70,250	1.59	87.1
2064	projection	6,060,603	5.0–7.3 million	55,217	69,875	1.59	87.2
2065	projection	6,055,759	5.0–7.4 million	55,084	69,339	1.59	87.4
2066	projection	6,050,912	5.0–7.4 million	54,986	68,942	1.59	87.5
2067	projection	6,047,205	4.9–7.4 million	54,839	68,545	1.59	87.6
2068	projection	6,043,660	4.9–7.5 million	54,666	68,191	1.59	87.7
2069	projection	6,040,612	4.8–7.5 million	54,520	67,795	1.59	87.8
2070	projection	6,037,827	4.8–7.6 million	54,446	67,408	1.60	87.9
2071	projection	6,035,379	4.8–7.6 million	54,301	67,128	1.60	88.0
2072	projection	6,033,400	4.7–7.6 million	54,125	66,780	1.60	88.1
2073	projection	6,031,566	4.7–7.7 million	53,964	66,632	1.60	88.2
2074	projection	6,028,713	4.7–7.7 million	53,762	66,435	1.60	88.3
2075	projection	6,026,298	4.6–7.7 million	53,729	66,458	1.60	88.5
2076	projection	6,023,787	4.6–7.8 million	53,583	66,484	1.60	88.6
2077	projection	6,020,349	4.5–7.8 million	53,461	66,655	1.60	88.7
2078	projection	6,017,347	4.5–7.8 million	53,364	66,821	1.60	88.8
2079	projection	6,014,371	4.5–7.8 million	53,283	67,202	1.61	88.9
2080	projection	6,010,715	4.4–7.9 million	53,207	67,511	1.61	89.0
2081	projection	6,006,865	4.4–7.9 million	53,153	67,929	1.61	89.1
2082	projection	6,002,839	4.4–8.0 million	53,042	68,432	1.61	89.2
2083	projection	5,997,433	4.3–8.1 million	52,967	68,785	1.61	89.3
2084	projection	5,991,027	4.3–8.1 million	52,875	69,250	1.61	89.4
2085	projection	5,984,322	4.3–8.1 million	52,785	69,605	1.61	89.5
2086	projection	5,976,859	4.3–8.2 million	52,671	69,806	1.61	89.6
2087	projection	5,969,221	4.2–8.2 million	52,569	69,944	1.61	89.8
2088	projection	5,961,207	4.2–8.2 million	52,592	70,076	1.61	89.8
2089	projection	5,953,579	4.1–8.3 million	52,498	70,050	1.61	90.0
2090	projection	5,945,158	4.1–8.3 million	52,440	70,020	1.61	90.1
2091	projection	5,936,597	4.1–8.3 million	52,420	69,781	1.62	90.2
2092	projection	5,928,327	4.0–8.3 million	52,297	69,633	1.61	90.3
2093	projection	5,920,248	4.0–8.4 million	52,168	69,320	1.61	90.4
2094	projection	5,912,313	3.9–8.4 million	52,099	69,055	1.61	90.5
2095	projection	5,904,261	3.9–8.5 million	51,985	68,775	1.61	90.6
2096	projection	5,896,788	3.8–8.6 million	51,885	68,573	1.61	90.7
2097	projection	5,889,526	3.8–8.6 million	51,758	68,253	1.61	90.8
2098	projection	5,881,780	3.8–8.6 million	51,659	68,009	1.61	90.9
2099	projection	5,874,432	3.7–8.7 million	51,547	67,783	1.61	91.0
2100	projection	5,866,817	3.7–8.7 million	51,392	67,515	1.61	91.1

Show the numbers: Denmark, mid-2026, by single year of age

Denmark: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	30,690	29,092
1	30,701	29,106
2	30,528	28,933
3	30,670	28,961
4	32,325	30,566
5	33,068	31,481
6	32,618	30,973
7	32,838	30,985
8	32,868	31,110
9	33,082	31,250
10	32,461	30,670
11	31,435	29,842
12	31,060	29,552
13	31,572	29,922
14	32,404	30,897
15	33,807	32,415
16	35,200	33,362
17	36,066	34,031
18	36,778	34,912
19	37,262	35,610
20	37,634	36,204
21	37,749	36,386
22	38,076	36,574
23	38,240	36,707
24	38,658	37,309
25	39,569	38,457
26	40,073	38,899
27	40,274	38,876
28	41,044	39,438
29	41,579	39,938
30	42,316	40,561
31	43,014	41,358
32	42,448	40,956
33	42,156	40,480
34	41,670	40,114
35	40,907	39,475
36	40,308	38,928
37	39,219	37,781
38	37,983	36,289
39	36,884	35,386
40	35,927	34,945
41	34,704	33,918
42	33,636	32,973
43	33,536	32,933
44	33,577	33,204
45	34,106	34,180
46	35,244	35,229
47	35,864	35,810
48	36,015	36,134
49	36,526	36,566
50	38,432	38,696
51	39,351	39,891
52	38,908	39,360
53	39,500	40,039
54	40,078	40,268
55	38,898	38,933
56	37,822	37,898
57	38,369	38,186
58	40,144	40,043
59	42,554	42,552
60	42,921	43,026
61	41,453	41,534
62	40,116	40,340
63	38,057	38,669
64	36,012	36,851
65	35,032	35,986
66	33,781	34,948
67	32,636	34,049
68	32,098	33,618
69	31,465	33,257
70	30,752	32,685
71	29,533	31,808
72	28,803	31,384
73	28,139	30,813
74	26,970	29,682
75	26,322	29,405
76	25,679	29,331
77	25,478	29,242
78	26,047	29,987
79	26,245	30,246
80	24,920	28,955
81	22,229	26,642
82	19,210	23,960
83	16,641	21,177
84	14,069	18,236
85	11,762	15,855
86	10,082	14,110
87	8,581	12,479
88	7,168	11,010
89	5,756	9,343
90	4,483	7,691
91	3,410	6,311
92	2,537	5,106
93	1,840	4,056
94	1,318	3,176
95	929	2,462
96	633	1,868
97	417	1,368
98	264	960
99	161	660
100+	198	1,130

DNK · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Denmark, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

DNK · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Denmark

On the UN's projection, Denmark will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2026: 3,803,280 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 3,779,020.

100 aged 15–64

25 children

32 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: one orange square for each of 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023. Beneath them, teal for the children living alongside those 100 and violet for the people aged 65 or older.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 14 years: 1987–2000.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: 1950 on the left, 2100 on the right; coloured in the years with fewer than 50 dependants per 100 working-age people, grey in the rest, hatched where that is a projection.

How every country compares

DNK · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Denmark, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Denmark gains 32,045 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 6,927 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 1,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: each column is one age, youngest on the left. Above the line, in blue, are the ages gaining people; below it, in orange, the ages losing them. This is the UN's projection for 2020–2025 — the record of migration by age does not go back beyond 2020.

In the years that were counted, 1950–2023, the most it gained in one year was 60,219 (2022) and the most it lost was 12,428 (1956).

In 2024, 847,475 people living in Denmark had been born in another country, 14 of every 100 people there, against 5 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

DNK · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Denmark

Of every 100 babies born in Denmark in 2023, 79 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 21 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 7 under 20 and 15 aged 35 or older.

1950
7 · 78 · 15

2023
0 · 79 · 21

2050 · projected
0 · 74 · 26

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: shrink a year's babies to 100 and colour each one by the age of its mother — that is a block. Under it, the same three groups as numbers, starting with the youngest mothers.

Babies born, 2023: 57,810
Average age when women have a baby: 31.6 years; 27.8 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 1; 40 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Denmark by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	4	14	2	1	1	1
15–19	5,725	4,749	1,101	194	142	126
20–24	22,490	24,764	8,784	3,825	3,400	3,127
25–29	24,168	27,041	24,269	18,670	16,528	15,111
30–34	15,358	11,939	22,494	22,821	21,905	19,845
35–39	8,774	2,781	8,812	10,062	11,157	10,462
40–44	2,802	475	1,222	2,055	2,866	2,467
45–49	133	26	42	179	279	246
50–54	0	11	0	3	8	7
All babies	79,454	71,800	66,726	57,810	56,286	51,392

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

DNK · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Denmark

A baby born in Denmark in 2021 could expect 81.2 years of life, 70.1 of them in full health (95% range 69.3–70.9). That leaves 11.1 years in less than full health, more than the world's 9.5: a longer life usually brings a longer stretch of illness near its end.

Women

70.4 in full health, 12.5 not: 82.9 years

Men

69.7 in full health, 9.8 not: 79.5 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 70.4 healthy years of 82.9. Men: 69.7 of 79.5.

DNK · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Denmark

At the end of 2025, Denmark was hosting 97,745 people who had crossed a border into it, about 16 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad97,745
Denmark nationals abroad71

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: each square is 2,000 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Denmark living in another country, wherever they are. An outlined square means fewer people than one square stands for.

In 2025, 1,862 people asked for asylum in Denmark for the first time; 21 people from Denmark asked for asylum in another country. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

DNK · of every 100 people

How people live in Denmark

Of every 100 people in Denmark in 2025, 29 lived in a city, 36 in a town or suburb and 35 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

Nearly everyone has electricity at home (2024). Nearly everyone uses the internet (2024).

How to read this: one square for every hundredth person, coloured as the key shows. Because the rule behind the colours is the same everywhere, two countries' squares can be compared directly.

How the world's people live

DNK · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Denmark went in school

Almost every adult in Denmark went to school: of every 100 in 2020, 76 finished upper secondary or went further.

24 finished lower secondary 43 finished upper secondary 33 studied after school

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2025; those among them who finished upper secondary are most numerous later, in 2090.

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every hundredth adult aged 25 or over, from least schooling on the left to most on the right. Counted by the Wittgenstein Centre for 2020.

How far the world's people went in school

DNK · cities · 2025

Cities in Denmark

Denmark had 5 cities in 2025, home to 1.8 million people. The largest, Copenhagen, holds 20 of every 100 people in Denmark.

Copenhagen1,229,370
Aarhus233,587
Odense130,258
Aalborg101,143
Greve Strand82,156

How to read this: the 5 biggest cities here in 2025, drawn on a single scale so the bars can be compared. Each is a built-up area on the UN's rule rather than a city government's patch.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Denmark are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.