Number of immigrants living in Denmark 2021, by country of origin

With nearly 42 thousand people living in Denmark as of January 1, 2021, most immigrants came from Poland. The second and third most popular origins were Syria and Turkey, amounting to roughly 36 thousand and 33 thousand people, respectively. Only one Nordic country was represented among the 10 most frequent nationalities of immigrants in Denmark, Norway. Indeed, around 16 thousand Norwegians lived in Denmark in 2021.

Tightening immigration policies

Like many European countries, Denmark experienced a heightened influx of immigrants in 2015. In the wake of the refugee situation, however, the number of immigrants, notably asylum seekers, declined due to sharpened immigration policies. In 2015, over 21.3 thousand refugees applied for asylum in Denmark, whereas applications fell to 2.7 thousand in 2019.

Residence permits

Among the different types of residence permits, permits granted based on asylum were the least delivered type of permit. Fewer than 1.8 thousand people were granted asylum in Denmark in 2019. In Denmark, most asylum seekers came from Syria and Eritrea. In 2019, the country registered around 500 applications from either one of these countries.