Did you know?
| indicator | value | unit |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.6 | mil. |
| Visitors per year | 20.6 | mil. |
| Renewable energy | 24.4 | % |
How’s Life?
Denmark performs very well in many measures of well-being relative to most other countries in the Better Life Index. Denmark ranks at the top in work-life balance. It ranks above the average in environmental quality, civic engagement, education and skills, jobs and earnings, income and wealth, and personal security.
Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In Denmark, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 26 491 a year, more than the OECD average of USD 25 908 a year. But there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn close to four times as much as the bottom 20%.
In terms of employment, over 73% of people aged 15 to 64 in Denmark have a paid job, above the OECD employment average of 65%. Some 75% of men are in paid work, compared with 70% of women. In Denmark, 2% of employees work very long hours, one of the lowest rates in the OECD where the average is 13%.About 3% of men work very long hours compared with just 1% for women.
Good education and skills are important requisites for finding a job. In Denmark, 78% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education, higher than the OECD average of 75%. This is equally true of men and women. In terms of education quality, the average student scored 498 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This score is slightly higher than the OECD average of 497. On average in Denmark, girls outperformed boys by 2 points, less than the OECD average of 8 points.
In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Denmark is 80 years, in line with the OECD average. Life expectancy for women is 82 years, compared with 78 for men. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 15 micrograms per cubic meter in large urban areas, considerably lower than the OECD average of 20.1 micrograms per cubic meter. Denmark also does well in terms of water quality, as 94% of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their water, more than the OECD average of 81%.
Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and high levels of civic participation in Denmark, where 95% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, higher than the OECD average of 88%, and one of the highest figures in the OECD. Voter turnout, a measure of citizens’ participation in the political process, was 88% during recent elections; considerably higher than the OECD average of 68%. Voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is an estimated 90% and for the bottom 20% it is an estimated 86%, a much smaller gap than the OECD average gap of 13 percentage points, and suggests there is broad social inclusion in Denmark’s democratic institutions.
In general, Danes are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average. When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, Danes gave it a 7.5 grade, one of the highest scores in the OECD, where average life satisfaction is 6.6.
For more information on estimates and years of reference, see FAQ section and BLI database.
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OECD in Action
OECD Economic Surveys: Denmark 2014
Denmark scores highly on many dimensions of well-being. Nevertheless, weakproductivity growth over the past two decades has contributed to a widening of the income gap vis-à-vis leading OECD economies. Renewing with stronger productivity growth over the longer run is an overarching challenge for Denmark and calls for keeping up structural reform efforts.
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Denmark in Detail
Housing – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Living in satisfactory housing conditions is one of the most important aspects of people’s lives. Housing is essential to meet basic needs, such as shelter, but it is not just a question of four walls and a roof. Housing should offer a place to sleep and rest where people feel safe and have privacy and personal space; somewhere they can raise a family. All of these elements help make a house a home. And of course there is the question whether people can afford adequate housing.
Housing costs take up a large share of the household budget and represent the largest single expenditure for many individuals and families, by the time you add up elements such as rent, gas, electricity, water, furniture or repairs. In Denmark, households on average spend 24% of their gross adjusted disposable income on keeping a roof over their heads, above the OECD average of 18%.
In addition to housing costs it is also important to examine living conditions, such as the average number of rooms shared per person and whether households have access to basic facilities. The number of rooms in a dwelling, divided by the number of persons living there, indicates whether residents are living in crowded conditions. Overcrowded housing may have a negative impact on physical and mental health, relations with others and children’s development. In addition, dense living conditions are often a sign of inadequate water and sewage supply. In Denmark, the average home contains 1.9 rooms per person, slightly more than the OECD average of 1.8 rooms per person. In terms of basic facilities, 99.1% of people in Denmark live in dwellings with private access to an indoor flushing toilet, more than the OECD average of 97.6%.
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How's Life? at a GlanceIndicators
Income – Denmark expand
Key Findings
While money may not buy happiness, it is an important means to achieving higher living standards and thus greater well-being. Higher economic wealth may also improve access to quality education, health care and housing.
Household net-adjusted disposable income is the amount of money that a household earns each year after taxes and transfers. It represents the money available to a household for spending on goods or services. In Denmark, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 26 491 a year, slightly higher than the OECD average of USD 25 908.
Household financial wealth is the total value of a household’s financial worth, such as money or shares held in bank accounts. In Denmark, the average household net financial wealth per capita is estimated at USD 44 488, lower than the OECD average of USD 67 139. While the ideal measure of household wealth should also include non-financial assets (e.g. land and dwellings), such information is currently available for only a small number of OECD countries, and is not included here.
Despite a general increase in living standards across OECD countries over the past fifteen years, not all people have benefited from this to the same extent. In Denmark, the average net-adjusted disposable income of the top 20% of the population is an estimated USD 45 982 a year, whereas the bottom 20% live on an estimated USD 12 805 a year.
For more information on estimates and years of reference, see FAQ section and BLI database.
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How's Life? at a GlanceIndicators
Jobs – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Having a job brings many important benefits, including: providing a source of income, improving social inclusion, fulfilling one’s own aspirations, building self-esteem and developing skills and competencies. In Denmark, 73% of the working-age population aged 15 to 64 has a paid job. This figure is higher than the OECD employment average of 65%. Employment rates are generally higher for individuals with a higher level of education; in Denmark an estimated 86% of individuals with at least a tertiary education have a paid job, compared with an estimated 54% for those without an upper secondary education. This 32 percentage point difference is lower than the OECD average of 34 percentage points..
Women are still less likely than men to participate in the labour market. In Denmark, 70% of women have jobs. This is more than the OECD average of 58% and relatively close to the 75% employment rate of men in Denmark. This 5 percentage point gender difference is much lower than the OECD average of 15 percentage points and suggests Denmark has been successful in addressing the constraints and barriers women face in accessing work.
Unemployed persons are defined as those who are not currently working but are willing to do so and actively searching for work. Long-term unemployment can have a large negative effect on feelings of well-being and self-worth and result in a loss of skills, further reducing employability. In Denmark, the percentage of the labour force that has been unemployed for a year or longer is currently at about 1.8%, lower than the OECD average of 2.8%. There is little difference on average between men and women in the OECD area when it comes to long-term unemployment. In Denmark, the long-term unemployment rate for men is lower than for women, with respectively 1.6% and 2.0%.
The wages and other monetary benefits that come with employment are an important aspect of job quality. Danish people earn USD 48 347 per year on average, more than the OECD average of USD 36 118. Not everyone earns that amount however. In all OECD countries, men still earn more than women, with an average wage gap of 15.5%. In Denmark, men earn 7.8% more than women. Also, whereas the top 20% of the population earn an estimated USD 56 276 per year, the bottom 20% live on an estimated USD 28 524 per year.
Another essential factor of employment quality is job security. Workers facing a high risk of job loss are more vulnerable, especially in countries with smaller social safety nets. In Denmark, workers face a 5.6% chance of losing their job, slightly higher than the OECD average of 5.4%.
For more information on estimates and years of reference, see FAQ section and BLI database
Better Policies for Better Lives
Helping graduates work in SMEs
The government is helping new university graduates find work in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). In Denmark, the unemployment rate for university graduates can be up to 60% in the first year after completing their education. University graduates often lack information on labour-market demand for workers and skills, particularly in the case of small to medium enterprises, which constitute the bulk of Danish firms. However, there is clear evidence that employment of university graduates in SMEs increases the growth potential of these companies.
The Career Centre for University Graduates in Copenhagen is designed to take advantage of this situation, by creating stronger linkages between university graduates and small and medium sized companies. The Career Centre has a dual focus: it works with university graduates to position them to find employment through counselling, guidance, and activation measures such as encouraging geographic mobility. In parallel, it works with small and medium sized businesses to identify their hiring needs and find appropriate candidates.
Coaching for entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities
The Ethnic Coach for Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurs project aims to overcome a lack of trust in the public support system by providing advice from professional coaches from the same ethnic group as the participant. The role of the coach is to help the entrepreneur adjust to the regulatory and social norms of the new country, and to build and strengthen ethnic minority social and entrepreneurial networks. Coaches help clarify and strengthen business plans and needs, then refer the entrepreneur to training and other advisory services in the local area. Once the business is launched, coaches continue to support the entrepreneurs as they develop and grow their business.
In recent years, nearly 100 ethnic minority entrepreneurs have been assisted annually. The scheme won the European Trailblazer Award in 2006 and was selected as a European best practice in the Interreg IVC project, Enspire EU (Entrepreneurial inspiration for the European Union) in 2011.
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Well‑being in the workplace: Measuring job qualityIndicators
Community – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Humans are social creatures. The frequency of our contact with others and the quality of our personal relationships are thus crucial determinants of our well-being.
A strong social network, or community, can provide emotional support during both good and bad times as well as provide access to jobs, services and other material opportunities. In Denmark, 95% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in a time of need, one of the highest rates in the OECD where the average is around 88%. There is a 2 percentage point difference between men and women, as 96% of men believe they have this kind of social support, compared with 94% of women.
A weak social network can result in limited economic opportunities, a lack of contact with others, and eventually, feelings of isolation. Socially isolated individuals face difficulties integrating into society as a contributing member and fulfilling personal aspirations.
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How's Life? at a Glance OECD Insights: Human CapitalIndicators
Education – Denmark expand
Key Findings
A well-educated and well-trained population is essential for a country’s social and economic well-being. Education plays a key role in providing individuals with the knowledge, skills and competences needed to participate effectively in society and in the economy. Having a good education greatly improves the likelihood of finding a job and earning enough money. Danes can expect to go through 19.4 years of education between the ages of 5 and 39, more than the OECD average of 17.7 years and one of the highest levels across OECD countries.
Graduating from upper secondary education has become increasingly important in all countries, as the skills needed in the labour market are becoming more knowledge-based. High-school graduation rates therefore provide a good indication of whether a country is preparing its students to meet the minimum requirements of the job market. In Denmark, 78% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education, higher than the OECD average of 75%. Across the OECD, slightly more men aged 25-64 have the equivalent of a high-school degree compared with women from the same age group. In Denmark, men and women have almost the same educational attainment. At the university level, however, more women complete tertiary education than men in Denmark, at 39% and 29% respectively. This 10 percentage point gap is larger than the OECD average of 4 percentage points.
But graduation rates, while important, speak little to the quality of education received. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reviews the extent to which students have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies. In 2012, PISA focused on examining students’ reading ability, skills in maths and level in sciences, as research shows that these skills are more reliable predictors of economic and social well-being than the number of years spent in school.
The average student in Denmark scored 498 in reading literacy, maths and sciences, above the OECD average of 497. On average, girls out performed boys by 2 points, less than the average OECD gap of 8 points.
The best-performing school systems manage to provide high-quality education to all students. In Denmark, the average difference in results, between the students with the highest socio-economic background and the students with the lowest socio-economic background is 94 points, lower than the OECD average of 96 points. This suggests the school system in Denmark provides relatively equal access to high-quality education.
Better Policies for Better Lives
Employers shaping education for labour needs
In Denmark the social partners play an active role in defining new courses and programmes and in advising on existing professional programmes. The Council of Academy Profession Programmes and Professional Bachelor Programmes can advise the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education on a wide range of issues, including qualification needs. The board includes up to 21 members, including representatives of various industry and employer organisations, trade unions, regions and local governments.
The social partners may also be represented in the educational advisory committees which the institutions set up within the various disciplines of their programmes. The committees advise on the quality and relevance of existing and future programmes of study. This local involvement helps to ensure that the content of individual vocational programmes meets the demands of the labour market and that qualifications are recognised in business and industry.
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How's Life? at a GlanceIndicators
Environment – Denmark expand
Key Findings
The quality of our local living environment has a direct impact on our health and well-being. Outdoor air pollution is one important environmental issue that directly affects the quality of people’s lives. Despite national and international interventions and decreases in major pollutant emissions, the health impacts of urban air pollution continue to worsen, with air pollution set to become the top environmental cause of premature mortality globally by 2050. Air pollution in urban centres, often caused by transport and the use of small-scale burning of wood or coal, is linked to a range of health problems, from minor eye irritation to upper respiratory symptoms in the short-term and chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer in the long-term. Children and the elderly may be particularly vulnerable.
PM10 – tiny particulate matter small enough to be inhaled into the deepest part of the lung – is monitored in OECD countries because it can harm human health and reduce life expectancy. In Denmark, PM10 levels in urban areas are 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter, lower than the OECD average of 20.1 micrograms per cubic meter and lower than the annual guideline limit of 20 micrograms per cubic meter set by the World Health Organization.
Access to clean water is fundamental to human well-being. Despite significant progress in OECD countries in reducing water pollution, improvements in freshwater quality are not always easy to discern. In Denmark, 94% of people say they are satisfied with water quality, higher than the OECD average of 81%.
Better Policies for Better Lives
Bicycle city
The City of Copenhagen has, as do many other Danish towns, a long tradition for cycling policies, investing in dedicated cycle lanes and bridges. Copenhagen City has 346 km of dedicated cycling tracks and 48 000 bicycle parking spaces throughout the city. 35% of Copenhagen residents cycle to work or education regularly. Around 55 % of all school children in Copenhagen cycle to school on a regular basis. Currently, more than 1.2 million km are covered by cyclists in Copenhagen every day. Copenhagen has developed a new dedicated bicycling strategy, aiming by 2015 to have 50% of its citizens commuting by bicycle on a daily basis, as a contribution to the city’s climate strategy.
The most innovative policy initiative to facilitate this goal is to build "cycle super highways" for fast, long distance bike commuting, with few or no traffic lights. An 11 mile-long cycle superhighway between Copenhagen and Albertslund, a western suburb, is the first of 26 routes scheduled to be built, which are designed to encourage more people to commute to and from Copenhagen by bicycle. For the superhighway project, Copenhagen and 21 local governments teamed up to ensure that there were contiguous, standardised bike routes into the capital, across distances of up to 14 miles.
Another measure is that stoplight signals have been adjusted so that "green waves" at primary traffic routes now favour the cyclists’ 20 km/h and not the car speed. As many as 93% of cyclists think Copenhagen is either a very good, good or satisfactory city in which to cycle. The cycle-friendly fame of Copenhagen has led to other city cycling initiative adopters such as New York naming their biking lanes "Copenhagen lanes". The cycling strategy also has significant economic gains for the city.
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How's Life? at a Glance OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030Indicators
Governance – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Trust in government is essential for social cohesion and well-being. High voter turnout is a measure of citizens’ participation in the political process. In the most recent elections for which data are available, voter turnout in Denmark was 88% of those registered. This figure is much higher than the OECD average of 68%.
Even if the right to vote is universal in all OECD countries, not everyone exercises this right. There is little difference in the voting rates of men and women in most OECD countries. This is the case in Denmark, where the voter turnout of men and women is nearly the same. While on average there are few differences between men and women concerning participation in elections, income can make a big difference in voter turnout. In Denmark, however, voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is an estimated 90%, whereas the participation rate of the bottom 20% is an estimated 86%. This 4 percentage point difference is much lower than the OECD average difference of 13 percentage points, and suggests there is broad social inclusion in Denmark’s democratic institutions.
In general, women are in the minority among elected representatives and although their number has slightly increased in the last decade, it is still well below parity. In Denmark, 39% of the seats in national parliament are held by women, more than the OECD average of 28%.
Ensuring that government decision making is not compromised by conflicts of interest is key to maintaining trust in government. Transparency is therefore essential to hold government to account and to maintain confidence in public institutions.
Freedom of information laws (FOI) allow the possibility for individuals to access undisclosed information. For such policies to be successful, the public should have a clear understanding of their rights under the law, should be able to file requests with ease and should be protected against any possible retaliation. People in Denmark can file a request for information either in writing, in person or by telephone – thus greatly facilitating the FOI process. However, there are no provisions for anonymity or protection from retaliation.
For more information on estimates and years of reference, see FAQ section and BLI database.
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How's Life? at a GlanceIndicators
Health – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Most OECD countries have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past decades, thanks to improvements in living conditions, public health interventions and progress in medical care. Life expectancy at birth in Denmark stands at 80 years, in line with the OECD average. Life expectancy for women is 82 years, compared with 78 for men, close to the OECD average gender gap of five years, with a life expectancy of 82 years for women and 77 years for men. Higher life expectancy is generally associated with higher health care spending per person, although many other factors have an impact on life expectancy (such as living standards, lifestyles, education and environmental factors).
When asked, “How is your health in general?” 72% of people in Denmark reported to be in good health, more than the OECD average of 68%. Despite the subjective nature of this question, answers have been found to be a good predictor of people’s future health care use. Gender, age and social status may affect answers to this question. On average in OECD countries, men are more likely to report good health than women, with an average of 70% for men and 66% for women. In Denmark, the average is 74% for men and 70% for women. Not surprisingly, older people report poorer health, as do those who are unemployed, or who have less education or income. About 83% of adults with a disposable income in the top 20% in Denmark rate their health as “good” or “very good”, compared to about 67% for those with a disposable income in the bottom 20%.
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How's Life? at a GlanceIndicators
Life Satisfaction – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Happiness or subjective well-being can be measured in terms of life satisfaction, the presence of positive experiences and feelings, and the absence of negative experiences and feelings. Such measures, while subjective, are a useful complement to objective data to compare the quality of life across countries.
Life satisfaction measures how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings. When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, Danes gave it a 7.5 grade, one of thehighest scores in the OECD, where average life satisfaction is 6.6.
There is little difference in life satisfaction levels between men and women across OECD countries. This is true in Denmark, where men gave their life a 7.6 grade, only slightly higher than the 7.5 grade given by women.
Better Policies for Better Lives
The Good Life index
The region of Southern Denmark has developed a metric of “Good Life” to monitor well-being in the region and its municipalities. The 40 indicators are organised into 2 categories: community conditions and individuals’ perception of their own life.
Once a year, citizens are asked to assess their own level of well-being, both in general and in terms of different well-being dimensions (such as health, relationships, etc.). The remaining surveys are dedicated to different themes regarding the Good Life and regional development. An extensive national health survey, “How are you?” (“Hvordan har du det?”), is also conducted regionally every four years by the health department of the region of Southern Denmark.
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How's Life? at a GlanceIndicators
Safety – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Personal security is a core element for the well-being of individuals, and includes the risks of people being physically assaulted or falling victim to other types of crime. Across the OECD, assault rates have generally declined in the past five years. In Denmark, 3.9% of people reported falling victim to assault over the previous 12 months, in line with the OECD average. There is a difference of almost 2 percentage points between men and women in assault rates, at respectively 4.9% and 3.1%.
The homicide rate (the number of murders per 100 000 inhabitants) is a more reliable measure of a country’s safety level because, unlike other crimes, murders are usually always reported to the police. According to the latest OECD data, Denmark’s homicide rate is 0.3, one of the lowest rates in the OECD, where the average homicide rate is 4.0.. In Denmark, the homicide rate for men is 0.4 compared with 0.2 for women.
However, while men are at a greater risk of being victims of assault and violent crime, women report lower feelings of security than men. This has been explained by a greater fear of sexual attacks, the feeling they must also protect their children and their concern that they may be seen as partially responsible.
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How's Life? at a GlanceIndicators
Work-Life Balance – Denmark expand
Key Findings
Finding a suitable balance between work and life is a challenge for all workers, especially working parents. The ability to successfully combine work, family commitments and personal life is important for the well-being of all members in a household. Governments can help to address the issue by encouraging supportive and flexible working practices, making it easier for parents to strike a better balance between work and home life.
An important aspect of work-life balance is the amount of time a person spends at work. Evidence suggests that long work hours may impair personal health, jeopardise safety and increase stress. The share of employees working 50 hours or more per week is not very large across OECD countries. In Denmark, 2% of employees work very long hours, one of the lowest rates in the OECD where the average is 13%. Overall, more men work very long hours; in Denmark 3% of men work very long hours, compared with 1% for women.
The more people work, the less time they have to spend on other activities, such as time with others or leisure. The amount and quality of leisure time is important for people’s overall well-being, and can bring additional physical and mental health benefits. In Denmark, full-time workers devote 67% of their day on average, or 16.1 hours, to personal care (eating, sleeping, etc.) and leisure (socialising with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer and television use, etc.) – more than the OECD average of 15 hours. Fewer hours in paid work for women do not necessarily result in greater leisure time. In Denmark, both men and women devote approximately 16 hours per day to personal care and leisure.
Better Policies for Better Lives
A continuum of supports for families with children
Policy in Denmark provides extensive financial support to families with young children: public spending on family benefits amounts to just over 4% of GDP, compared to 2.6 % on average across the OECD, and close to 60% of such spending is on family services including childcare. Furthermore, Danish policy aims to provide a continuum of supports to families with young children: around childbirth there is 18 weeks of paid maternity leave and 2 weeks of paid paternity leave, followed by 32 weeks of paid parental leave. There is an entitlement to a formal childcare place as from when the child is 6 months old, and at 66% participation in formal childcare by children not yet 3 years of age is highest across the OECD. There is pre-school support from age 3 onwards, and upon entering primary school, out-of-school-hours care becomes widely available and such facilities are attended by over 80% of Danish children age 6 to 8.
This extensive system of supports for families with children as well as family-friendly workplace practices – e.g. the standard working week is relatively short at 37 hours, gives many Danes the feeling that work and family life are compatible, and the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has held up around 1.75 children per women in recent years, with female employment rates among prime-age workers (79% for those 25-54) among the highest in the OECD. Widespread employment participation contributes to low child poverty rates (at 3.8%) and indicators on life satisfaction, not surprisingly suggest that Danes are quite happy with their lot.
Denmark is also doing well in terms of gender equality in labour market outcomes: gender employment gaps and gender pay gaps are among the lowest in the OECD. However, despite policy discussions Denmark has not yet introduced reform that stimulates a more equal sharing of the parental leave entitlement, which is currently usually used by mothers. Iceland has a father quota in parental leave which reserves three months of paid parental leave for fathers on a “use it or lose it” basis, or the use of bonus months as in Germany can help increase take-up among fathers, and perhaps in future generate an even more equal gender distribution of paid and unpaid work in Denmark.