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Immigration and emigration

How many immigrate into Denmark each year? From which countries do immigrants come? The statistics on immigration and emigration include everyone moving from an address abroad to Denmark or vice versa. Immigration and emigration can be broken down by e.g. municipality, sex, age and citizenship.

Explainer on…

A person's status as justified and committed in relation to a state. Citizenship means that a person has full and equal rights in a particular state

Selected statistics on Immigration and emigration

This page shows selected popular statistics on the subject of Immigration and emigration. In Statbank Denmark, you can find more data and compile your own statistics.

Development in immigration numbers into Denmark

Here you can see the development in how many have immigrated into Denmark each year, and if they have Danish or foreign citizenship.
More about the figure
Last update
12.2.2024
Next update
12.2.2025
Source data

The primary source of the statistics is the Civil Registration System (CPR). The continuous updating of the Civil Registration System is thus the basis of the population statistics. The updating takes place in the individual municipalities as the municipal population changes because of births and deaths, migrations in and out of the municipality and changes in marital status for the citizens of the municipality. The Civil Registration System is a central system with a common database where all registrations are updated. The state makes the system available to the individual municipalities. The Danish Health Data Authority’s Birth Register and Cause of Death Register are the secondary sources providing data on births and deaths respectively.

Development in emigration numbers from Denmark

Here you can see the development in how many have emigrated from Denmark each year, and if they have Danish or foreign citizenship.
More about the figure
Last update
12.2.2024
Next update
12.2.2025
Source data

The primary source of the statistics is the Civil Registration System (CPR). The continuous updating of the Civil Registration System is thus the basis of the population statistics. The updating takes place in the individual municipalities as the municipal population changes because of births and deaths, migrations in and out of the municipality and changes in marital status for the citizens of the municipality. The Civil Registration System is a central system with a common database where all registrations are updated. The state makes the system available to the individual municipalities. The Danish Health Data Authority’s Birth Register and Cause of Death Register are the secondary sources providing data on births and deaths respectively.

Immigration into Denmark - where are they from?

Here you can see how many immigrated into Denmark last year and where they came from.
More about the figure
Last update
12.2.2024
Next update
12.2.2025
Source data

The primary source of the statistics is the Civil Registration System (CPR). The continuous updating of the Civil Registration System is thus the basis of the population statistics. The updating takes place in the individual municipalities as the municipal population changes because of births and deaths, migrations in and out of the municipality and changes in marital status for the citizens of the municipality. The Civil Registration System is a central system with a common database where all registrations are updated. The state makes the system available to the individual municipalities. The Danish Health Data Authority’s Birth Register and Cause of Death Register are the secondary sources providing data on births and deaths respectively.

HAVE YOU SEEN?
Immigrants and their descendants
Immigration and emigration of foreign citizens affect the number of immigrants and descendants. See our subject page on immigrants and their descendants.
HAVE YOU SEEN?
Population figures
Immigration and emigration affect the population figure. See our subject page on the population figure.

On the statistics – documentation, sources and method

Gain an overview of the purpose, contents and quality of the statistics. Learn about the data sources of the statistics, the contents of the statistics and how often they are published.

See the documentation of statistics to learn more:

Asylum Applications and Residence Permits

The statistics show the number of asylum seekers and the number of residence permits granted.

The statistics were first published in 1989. The information on asylum seekers and refugees goes back to 1984, but there is only information on residence permits (other than refugees) from 1988.

From 1997 there is information about residence permits on individual level for each immigrated person with citizenship outside Denmark and the Nordic countries.

The Population

The purpose of the population statistics is to focus on the size, composition and development of the population living in Denmark. The statistics create a basis for a number of analyses on demography and society and are used as a basis for planning tasks on a national, regional and municipal level. In their basic form, the statistics have been compiled since 1769 but have undergone a series of changes as society developed and legislation followed. Most of the present table series in Statbank Denmark comprise data from 2007 and forward, while a few of these go back further.

Need more data on Immigration and emigration?

Find more detailed data in Statbank Denmark on immigration into and emigration from Denmark broken down by e.g. municipality, age, immigration country and emigration country.

Contact

Dorthe Larsen
Phone: +45 39 17 33 07