Population and Demographics

The majority of the population is of Scandinavian descent, with small groups of Inuit from Greenland, Faroese and immigrants. According to official statistics in 2005, immigrants and their descendants made up 461,614 people, or 8.5% of the total population. Since the 1960s, the main groups of immigrants and refugees have been Turks, Pakistani, Arabs, Kurds, Somalis and people from the former Yugoslavia. Other, less distinguishable groups of immigrants include mainly Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Finns, Germans, Dutch, Poles and Britons. A great number of Faroese and Greenlanders also live in Denmark proper, but are rarely taken as separate ethnical groups. Most Danes today trace their heritage to Germanic tribes who have inhabited Denmark since prehistoric times. Even with increasing immigration in recent years, the Danish population is still more homogenous than is the case of most other western European countries.

As in most countries, the population is not distributed evenly. Although the land area east of the Great Belt only makes up 9,622 sq km, 22.7% of Denmark's land area, it has 45% (2,445,168) of the population. The average population density of this area is 254 inhabitants per sq km. The average density in the west of the country is 91 per sq km.

Danish is spoken throughout the country, although a small group near the German border also speak German. Many Danes are fluent in English as well, particularly those in larger cities and youths, who are taught two or more foreign languages in school.

The median age is 40.1 years with 18.6% of the population under the age of 15 and 15.4% aged 65 or older. The population growth rate is 0.311%, with 10.91 births per 1,000 population, and 1.74 children born per woman. Life expectancy is 75.65 for men and 80.41 for women.

95% of Danes are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish People's Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. The rest are primarily of other Christian denominations, and about 2% are Muslims, due to immigration of Muslim population to the country. Denmark has freedom of religion, and there are numerous small religious societies and communities in addition to the official church.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 5,443,000
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 18.6% (male 520,669/female 494,228)
  • 15-64 years: 66% (male 1,817,757/female 1,792,974)
  • 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 363,828/female 478,664)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 40.1 years
  • Male: 39.2 years
  • Female: 40.9 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.311%
• Birth Rate: 10.91 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 10.3 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: 2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.053 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.977 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 4.45 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 4.49 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 4.41 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 77.96 years
  • Male: 75.65 years
  • Female: 80.41 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.74 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 0.2%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 5,000
• Ethnic Groups:
  • 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)
  • English is the predominant second language
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 99%
  • Male: 99%
  • Female: 99%