The fertility rate in Denmark fluctuated over the past two decades. It peaked at 1.9 children per woman in 2010 but started to decline since then, dropping to 1.5 in 2023. In Europe, Andorra had the lowest fertility rate in 2023. The fertility rate shows the average number of children a woman would give birth to if she lived through her child-bearing years.

In Denmark, the crude birth rate in 1800 was 29.9 live births per thousand people, meaning that approximately three percent of the population had been born in that year. Over the next century, the crude birth rate generally fluctuated between 29 and 33, before dropping consistently in the first few decades of the 1900s. Between 1935 and 1965, the decline stopped, and Denmark's crude birth rate increased from 17.2 in 1935 to 20.9 by 1950, and the decline did not continue until the late 1960s. Between 1965 and 1985, the crude birth rate dropped from 17.3 to 10.4 births per thousand people, which is the lowest recorded number in Denmark's history. It did increase over the next two decades, however it then dropped again in the last decade, and is expected to be 10.7 in 2020.

The total number of live births fluctuated over the past 23 years in Denmark. It was at its lowest in 2013, when it was below 56,000. In 2023, 57,500 babies were born in Denmark. The previous year, there was a higher number of boys than girls born, reaching a number of roughly 30,000. The number of live female births reached 28,000.

 Age of women giving birth  The average age of Danish women giving birth increased slightly over the past decade, from 30.9 years to 31.4 years in 2022. It is due to many women focusing on taking higher education and building a successful career before becoming mothers. However, mothers can take paid leave to care for their baby without having to quit their job in Denmark.

Number of deaths

Since 2014, the number of deaths in Denmark increased, reaching 59,000 in 2022, which was higher than the number of births that year. Cancerous tumors was the most common cause of death.

In 2022, the total fertility rate in Denmark decreased by 0.2 children per woman (-11.63 percent) compared to 2021. In 2022, the fertility rate thereby reached its lowest value in recent years. Total fertility rates refer to the average number of children that a woman of childbearing age (generally considered 15 to 44 years) can expect to have throughout her reproductive years. Unlike birth rates, which are based on the actual number of live births in a given population, fertility rates are hypothetical (similar to life expectancy), as they assume that current patterns in age-specific fertility will remain constant throughout a woman's reproductive years.Find more statistics on other topics about Denmark with key insights such as under-five child mortality rate, total life expectancy at birth, and death rate.

StatBank dataset: KOHORT01 Title: Cumulated fertility rates for female birth cohorts by year of birth and age Period type: years Period format (time in data): yyyy The oldest period: 2023 The most recent period: 2023

The crude birth rate in Denmark declined from 16.6 live births per 1,000 people in 1960 down to a rate of 10 births in 2013. In the following years, however, the crude birth rate increased somewhat since, but fell below 10 live births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022.

The fertility rates have fallen in all five Nordic countries over the last years. However, in 2021, the birth rates increased again in all five Nordics countries, besides in Sweden, where the fertility rate stayed the same. This can be explained by the higher number of babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Iceland had the highest fertility rate of the Nordic countries, with 1.6 children born per woman in reproductive age. The global trend of decreasing fertility The Nordics are not the only region with decreasing fertility rates. Globally, fertility rates have been on a steady decline since 2000. While lower-income countries have had more significant declines, they still have more children born per woman than higher-income countries. In 2000, almost 6 children were born per woman in low-income countries, decreasing to 4.62 in 2021. By comparison, nearly 1.71 children were born per woman in high-income countries, falling slightly to 1.55 by 2021. Overall, in 2023, Niger, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo had the highest fertility rates, while Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore had the lowest fertility rates. Impacts of low fertility Greater access to education, challenges between work-life balance, and the costs of raising children can all be linked to falling fertility rates. However, this decline is not without consequences, and many countries are facing social and economic challenges because of aging and shrinking populations. For example, in Japan, where nearly 30 percent of the country is aged 65 or older, an increasing proportion of the government expenditure is going towards social security benefits. Moreover, the very low unemployment rate in Japan can partially be attributed to having a shrinking labor force and fewer people to support the economy.

The average age of all women giving birth in Denmark saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 31.5 years. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the average age in this industry in Denmark.

In 2023, the Faroe Islands was the European country estimated to have the highest fertility rate. The small Atlantic island state had a fertility rate of 2.71 children per woman. Other small countries such as Monaco and Gibraltar also came towards the top of the list for 2023, while the large country with the highest fertility rate was France, with 1.79 children per woman. On the other hand, Andorra, San Marino, and Malta had the lowest fertility rates in Europe, with Ukraine, Spain, and Italy being the largest countries with low fertility rates in that year, averaging around 1.3 children per woman.

In 2022, the infant mortality rate in Denmark did not change in comparison to the previous year. The infant mortality rate remained at 3.1 deaths per 1,000 live births. The infant mortality rate refers to the number of infants who do not survive past the first year of life, expressed as a value per 1,000 births.Find more statistics on other topics about Denmark with key insights such as total life expectancy at birth, death rate, and under-five child mortality rate.

The under-five child mortality rate in Denmark declined to 3.5 deaths per one thousand live births in 2022. As a result, the mortality rate in Denmark saw its lowest number in 2022 with 3.5 deaths per one thousand live births. The under five mortality rate, also known as the child mortality rate, refers to the number of newborns who do not survive past the first five years of life. This is generally expressed as a value per 1,000 live births, and child mortality also includes neonatal mortality (deaths within the first 28 days of life) and infant mortality (deaths within the first year of life).Find more statistics on other topics about Denmark with key insights such as death rate, infant mortality rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

In 2022, the total life expectancy at birth in Denmark remained nearly unchanged at around 81.3 years. Still, 2022 marked the second consecutive decline of the life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy at birth refers to the expected lifespan of the average newborn, providing that mortality patterns at the time of birth in the given region do not change thereafter.Find more statistics on other topics about Denmark with key insights such as death rate, infant mortality rate, and total fertility rate.

The population of Denmark increased steadily over the past 24 years. From 5.3 million at the millennium, it had grown to nearly six million in 2024. The number of female inhabitants has been slightly higher than the number of male inhabitants in all years during this period and amounted to about 2.98 million women in 2023, compared to roughly 2.95 million men.

Births and deaths

The fertility rate in Denmark fluctuated over the past 20 years. In 2022, a Danish woman gave birth to 1.55 children on average. A total of 58,000 children were born in Denmark that year. Meanwhile, 59,000 people died in Denmark that year.

Migration

The arrival of immigrants play an important role in the increasing population in Denmark. In 2022, more than 120,000 immigrants arrived in the country, a number that must be seen in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The same year, the number of people emigrating from Denmark amounted to 60,000.

In Denmark, the material and social deprivation rate was constantly higher among the foreign-born population than among the population born in Denmark. Between 2014 and 2022, the share of the foreign-born population in Denmark living in material and social deprivation varied between 12 and 19.4 percent. Among the Danish-born population, the share varied between 5.2 and 6.7 percent. The material and social deprivation rate shows the share of people who are unable to meet a certain number of needs due to a lack of financial means.

The share of people born outside of Denmark living in overcrowded households increased by more than 15 percentage points from 2015 to 2019, when 33.1 percent lived in overcrowded households. However, the share fell to 24 percent by 2022. By comparison, the rate among the Danish-born population also increased between 2012 and 2022, but was significantly lower, standing at 13 percent in 2022.

The at-risk-of-poverty rate in Denmark between 2012 and 2022 was highest among citizens born outside of the EU. It usually lay just below 30 percent for this group, but dropped below 20 percent in 2022. Moreover, the rate was higher among the population born in the EU than among the local-born population. It remained stable between 11 and 12 percent for the Danish-born population.

In 2018, the share of births to teenage mothers in Denmark was below 0.7 percent. In comparison, the rate of teenage births was 5.6 percent in 1980.

In 2023, the development of the foreign-born population in Denmark reached 804,061. Since 2009 there has been a steady increase in foreign-born residents in Denmark.

This graph shows Denmark's total population from the year 1769 until 2020. Generally speaking, Denmark's population has been growing at a rather steady rate for the past 250 years. The numbers begin in 1769 where Denmark's population was approximately 798 thousand; it then grows at a consistent rate for the next 210 years, before the population decreases slightly in the 1980s. This dip in population is attributed to a decrease in the fertility rate across Europe during this time, resulting from improvements and increased access to contraception. The population then begins growing again in the late 1980s, due to a positive net migration rate and ageing population; today, the population is just under 5.8 million people.

The infant mortality rate in Denmark, for children under the age of one year old, was 152 deaths per thousand births in 1835. Over fifteen percent of babies born that year did not survive past their first birthday. For the remainder of the nineteenth century, this rate remained between 130 and 150 deaths per thousand births, however a downward trend began in 1895. From this point onwards, infant mortality decreased dramatically, (although there was a slight increase in the late 1920s) and it is as low as three deaths per thousand births nowadays.