Artists in Denmark

Contact info

Science, Technology and Culture, Business Statistics
Cecilie Bryld Fjællegaard
+45 51 27 86 09

Get documentation of statistics as pdf

Artists in Denmark 2023

Artists in Denmark 2022

Overblik over datakilder (pdf) (in Danish only)

The purpose of 'Artists in Denmark' is to contribute to increased knowledge about the conditions of artists in Denmark. The statistics is used to establish a data foundation for understanding artists in Denmark. The statistics was first published in 2023, with figures for the year 2022.

Statistical presentation

The statistics on artists in Denmark are an annual compilation of the number of artists in Denmark, categorized by artistic area, income basis, gender, age group, residential region, family type, education level, main source of income and personal income. The statistics are divided into the five artistic areas: music, writers and words, visual arts and designers, film and TV, and drama and performing arts.

Statistical processing

The population in the statistics is based on four data sources: 1) Membership data from the member organizations under the Council of Danish Artists, 2) Data on recipients of royalties from artistic activities and 3) Data on recipients of grants or project support from the Danish Arts Foundation. The population in the statistics is linked to information from the population register regarding gender, age, and residence, as well as information on income from the Income Register and educational level from the education register.

Relevance

The statistics is relevant for anyone with an interest in the cultural sector. The data can be used for analysis, research, and discussions within the cultural domain.

Accuracy and reliability

The statistics are based on extensive data collection, but there is uncertainty as to whether all individuals in the population are in fact artists. Some organizations have chosen not to contribute, which may lead to underestimation. Income from artistic work is likely underestimated. Ongoing efforts are being made to improve the data. The time series from 2019–2023 uses the 2023 population, meaning that variations reflect, among other things, that younger artists were not active in earlier years and that some individuals were not residing in Denmark throughout the entire period.

Timeliness and punctuality

The release time for the statistics is 20 months after the end of the reference period to allow for the completion of the underlying registers. The statistics is entirely new but is expected to be published as planned.

Comparability

The statistics have been compiled since 2023 with data from 2022 as the first release of the statistics. The statistics is specifically prepared by Statistics Denmark and, therefore, cannot be directly compared to statistics in other countries.

Accessibility and clarity

These statistics are published yearly in a Danish press release, at the same time as the tables are updated in the StatBank. In the StatBank, these statistics can be found under the subject Education and employment in the cultural field. For further information, go to the subject page.