Immigration in Denmark is a deeply politicised issue with negative rhetoric adopted by politicians from across the political spectrum and the media. Immigrants are presented as a threat to Danish values and culture and a drain on the social welfare system. Though once a liberal and open country, Denmark today has some of the most restrictive immigration policies in Europe. Its deterrence-centred asylum policies have been particularly criticised in recent years.

Migration trends

Denmark was a country of emigration until the mid-1960s when immigration outweighed emigration for the first time during an economic boom. The country’s immigration profile has been significantly impacted by guestworker programmes and freedom of movement within the EU, with large numbers of Turkish, Polish and Romanian immigrants. High numbers of Bosnian and Syrian refugees also arrived in 1995 and 2015 respectively.

This data shows annual immigration, emigration and net migration figures. Source: Danmarks Statistik (n.d.) ‘Immigration and emigration’.

Salience

Historically, the salience of immigration in Denmark has remained fairly high. Salience peaked dramatically in 2015 alongside the increased numbers of asylum seekers entering the country. However, salience has dropped to relatively low levels for the past few years.

This shows the percentage of people who see immigration as one of the two most important issues facing the country today. Source: Eurobarometer (n.d.) 'Standard Eurobarometer'. Brussels: European Commission. Data shown is taken from Autumn surveys, with the Autumn surveys of 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 shifting to Winter 2020/21, Winter 2021/22 and Winter 2022/23 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perceptions

As measured between 2017 and 2021, the Danish population is increasingly seeing immigration as both more of a problem and less of an opportunity, an unusual trend when compared to the countries profiled here.

This shows the percentage of people that think immigration from outside the EU is more of a problem than an opportunity, or more of an opportunity than a problem, or equally a problem and an opportunity. Source: European Commission (2018) 'Special Eurobarometer 469. Integration of immigrants in the European Union'; European Commission (2022) 'Special Eurobarometer 519. Integration of immigrants in the European Union'

Attitudes

According to European Social Survey data, Danes have maintained consistently positive attitudes towards immigration over the last two decades. In 2018, almost half of the Danish population felt immigration made the country a better place to live. However, negative attitudes are well-documented in a range of other areas and are commonly motivated by a fear of crime, with immigration perceived as a security threat.

This shows how people have answered the question 'Do immigrants make Denmark a worse or a better place to live.' Those scoring 0-4 are classified as holding 'negative' views, those scoring 5 as 'indecisive' and those scoring 6-10 as holding 'positive' views. Source: European Social Survey (n.d.) 'Denmark.' Electronic Dataset Survey postponed in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.