Denmark: Health System Overview - World Health Systems Facts

Life expectancy at birth (years), 2021: 81.2 years
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births), 2023: 4
Under-five mortality rate (per 1000 live births), 2023: 3.4
Neonatal mortality rate (per 1000 live births), 2023: 1.8
New HIV infections (per 1000 uninfected population), 2023: <0.01
Tuberculosis incidence (per 100,000 population), 2023: 3.6
Probability of dying from any of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease between age 30 and exact age 70 (%), 2021: 10.7%
Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population), 2021: 10.5
Adolescent birth rate (per 1000 women aged 15-19 years), 2015-2024: 1.2
Adolescent birth rate (per 1000 women aged 10-14 years), 2015-2024: 0
Universal Health Coverage: Service coverage index, 2021: ≥80
Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) immunization coverage among 1-year-olds (%), 2023: 97%
Measles-containing-vaccine second-dose (MCV2) immunization coverage by the locally recommended age (%), 2023: 93%
Pneumococcal conjugate 3rd dose (PCV3) immunization coverage among 1-year olds (%), 2023: 97%
Human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization coverage estimates among 15 year-old girls (%), 2023: 80%
Density of medical doctors (per 10,000 population), 2015-2023: 44.98
Density of nursing and midwifery personnel (per 10,000 population), 2016-2023: 121.86
Density of dentists (per 10,000 population), 2016-2023: 7.18
Density of pharmacists (per 10,000 population), 2015-2023: 5.81
Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of general government expenditure (GGE) (%), 2022: 17.69%
Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15-49 years (%), 2023: 17.0%

Source: World health statistics 2025: monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. Tables of health statistics by country and area, WHO region and globally. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

Health expenditure per capita, USD PPP, 2022
– Government/compulsory: $5,324
– Voluntary/Out-of-pocket: $956
– Total: $6,280
Health expenditure as a share of GDP, 2022
– Government/compulsory: 8.1%
– Voluntary/out-of-pocket: 1.4%
Health expenditure by type of financing, 2021
– Government schemes: 85%
– Compulsory health insurance: 0%
– Voluntary health insurance: 2%
– Out-of-pocket: 13%
– Other: 0%
Out-of-pocket spending on health as share of final household consumption, 2021: 3.0%
Price levels in the healthcare sector, 2021 (OECD average = 100): 105
Population reporting unmet needs for medical care, by income level, 2021
– Lowest quintile: 2%
– Highest quintile: 0.8%
– Total: 1.2%
Main reason for reporting unmet needs for medical care, 2021
– Waiting list: 0.8%
– Too expensive: 0.3%
– Too far to travel: 0.1%
Population reporting unmet needs for dental care, by income level, 2021
– Lowest quintile: 9.9%
– Highest quintile: 1.3%
– Total: 5.0%
Population coverage for a core set of services, 2021
– Total public coverage: 100%
Population aged 15 years and over rating their own health as bad or very bad, 2021: 7.7%
Population aged 15 years and over rating their own health as good or very good, by income quintile, 2021
– Highest quintile: 81.5%
– Lowest quintile: 57.9%
– Total: 68.6%
Life expectancy at birth, 2021: 81.5 years
Infant mortality, deaths per 1,000 live births, 2021: 2.4
Maternal mortality rate, deaths per 100,000 live births, 2020: 4.7
Congestive heart failure hospital admission in adults, age-sex standardized rate per 100,000 population, 2021: 159
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospital admissions in adults, age-sex standardized rate per 100,000 population, 2021: 277
Hospital workforce per 1,000 population, 2021
– Physicians: 3.42
– Nurses and midwives: 7.4
– Healthcare assistants: 2.12
– Other health service providers: 5.4
– Other staff: 4.29
Practicing doctors per 1,000 population, 2021: 4.4
Share of different categories of doctors, 2021
– General practitioners: 18%
– Specialists: 43%
– Other doctors: 39%
Share of foreign-trained doctors, 2021: 9.5%
Medical graduates per 100,000 population, 2021: 22.0
Practicing nurses per 1,000 population, 2021: 10.2
Share of foreign-trained nurses, 2021: 1.8%
Nursing graduates per 100,000 population, 2021: 45.3
Ratio of nurses to doctors, 2021: 2.3
Practicing pharmacists per 100,000 population, 2021: 56
Community pharmacies per 100,000 population, 2021: 9
Remuneration of doctors, ratio to average wage, 2021
– Specialists
– Salaried: 2.5
Remuneration of hospital nurses, ratio to average wage, 2021: 1.1
Remuneration of hospital nurses, USD PPP, 2021: $65,000
Hospital beds per 1,000 population, 2021: 2.5
Average length of stay in hospital, 2021: 6.1 days
Average number of in-person doctor consultations per person, 2021: 3.8
CT scanners per million population, 2021: 44
CT exams per 1,000 population, 2021: 206
MRI units per million population, 2021: 9
MRI exams per 1,000 population, 2021: 98
PET scanners per million population, 2021: 9
PET exams per 1,000 population, 2021: 16
Proportion of primary care practices using electronic medical records, 2021: 100%
Expenditure on retail pharmaceuticals per capita, USD PPP, 2021
– Prescription medicines: $240
– Over-the-counter medicines: $59
– Total: $299
Expenditure on retail pharmaceuticals by type of financing, 2021:
– Government/compulsory schemes: 52%
– Voluntary health insurance schemes: 0%
– Out-of-pocket spending: 48%
– Other: 0%
Share of the population aged 65 and over, 2021: 20.1%
Share of the population aged 65 and over, 2050: 24.6%
Share of the population aged 80 and over, 2021: 4.8%
Share of the population aged 80 and over, 2050: 9.8%
Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as good or very good, 2021: 54%
Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as poor or very poor, by income, 2021
– Lowest quintile: 13%
– Highest quintile: 6%
– Total: 12%
Limitations in daily activities in adults aged 65 and over, 2021
– Some Limitations: 39%
– Severe Limitations: 9%
Share of adults aged 65 and over receiving long-term care, 2021: 14.3%
Estimated prevalence of dementia per 1,000 population, 2021: 13.8%
Estimated prevalence of dementia per 1,000 population, 2040: 18.0%
Total long-term care spending as a share of GDP, 2021: 3.2%
Long-term care workers per 100 people aged 65 and over, 2021: 7.4
Share of informal carers among the population aged 50 and over, 2019
– Daily carers: 5
– Weekly carers: 9
Share of long-term care workers who work part time or on fixed contracts, 2021
– Part-time: 40%
– Fixed-term contract: 20.1%
Average hourly wages of personal care workers, as a share of economy-wide average wage, 2018
– Residential (facility-based) care: 83%
– Home-based care: 73%
Long-term care beds in institutions and hospitals per 1,000 population aged 65 years and over, 2021
– Institutions: 37.1
– Hospitals: 0.2
Long-term care recipients aged 65 and over receiving care at home, 2021: 79%
Total long-term care spending by provider, 2021
– Nursing home: 61%
– Hospital: 0%
– Home care: 35%
– Households: 0%
– Social providers: 4%
– Other: 0%

Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.

Population, 2021: 5,854,000
Annual Population Growth Rate, 2020-2030: 0.4%
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2021: 81
Share of Urban Population, 2021: 88%
Annual Growth Rate of Urban Population, 2020-2030: 0.6%
Neonatal Mortality Rate, 2021: 2
Infant Mortality Rate, 2021: 3
Under-5 Mortality Rate, 2021: 4
Maternal Mortality Ratio, 2020: 5
Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (Current USD), 2010-2019: $60,213
Share of Household Income, 2010-2019
– Bottom 40%: 23%
– Top 20%: 38%
– Bottom 20%: 9%
Gini Coefficient, 2010-2019: 28
Palma Index of Income Inequality, 2010-2019: 1.0

Note: “Under-5 mortality rate – Probability of dying between birth and exactly 5 years of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
“Infant mortality rate – Probability of dying between birth and exactly 1 year of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
“Neonatal mortality rate – Probability of dying during the first 28 days of life, expressed per 1,000 live births.”
“Maternal mortality ratio – Number of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births during the same time period (modelled estimates).”
Gini coefficient – Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.
Palma index of income inequality – Palma index is defined as the ratio of the richest 10% of the population’s share of gross national income divided by the poorest 40%’s share.

Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2023: For every child, vaccination, UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Florence, April 2023.

Population, Midyear 2022: 5,882,262
Population Density (Number of Persons per Square Kilometer): 138.75
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2022: 81.88
Infant Mortality Rate, 2022 (per 1,000 live births): 2.93
Under-Five Mortality Rate, 2022 (per 1,000 live births): 3.31
Projected Population, Midyear 2030: 6,104,474
Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2022: 20.49%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2030: 22.55%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2050: 24.42%

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2023). Data Portal, custom data acquired via website. United Nations: New York. Accessed 12 May 2023.

Current health expenditure (CHE) per capita in US$, 2022: $6,456.08

Source: Global Health Observatory. Current health expenditure (CHE) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$, 2022: $841.10

Source: Global Health Observatory. Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2022: 13.03%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2022: 16.05%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) per capita in US$, 2022: $1,035.93

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2022: 83.95%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) (%), 2022: 7.96%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) per capita in US$, 2022: $5,420.15

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Annual household out-of-pocket payment in current USD per capita, 2021: $913

Source: Global Health Expenditure Database. Health expenditure series. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed May 13, 2023.

Total Health Spending, USD PPP Per Capita (2021): $6,372.1

(Note: “Health spending measures the final consumption of health care goods and services (i.e. current health expenditure) including personal health care (curative care, rehabilitative care, long-term care, ancillary services and medical goods) and collective services (prevention and public health services as well as health administration), but excluding spending on investments. Health care is financed through a mix of financing arrangements including government spending and compulsory health insurance (“Government/compulsory”) as well as voluntary health insurance and private funds such as households’ out-of-pocket payments, NGOs and private corporations (“Voluntary”). This indicator is presented as a total and by type of financing (“Government/compulsory”, “Voluntary”, “Out-of-pocket”) and is measured as a share of GDP, as a share of total health spending and in USD per capita (using economy-wide PPPs).”

Source: OECD (2023), Health spending (indicator). doi: 10.1787/8643de7e-en (Accessed on 16 December 2023).

“The health system in Denmark is organised into three administrative levels: state, region and municipal. The state holds the overall regulatory, supervisory and fiscal functions. The five regions are responsible for hospitals and for planning and financing primary care services. The Association of Danish Regions represents the five regions in negotiations with the state and private providers, and plays a critical role in coordinating policy development across the regions. The 98 municipalities are responsible for rehabilitation, home and institutional long-term care, and public health. The relationship between the state, region and municipal levels is not hierarchical but collaborative (Birk et al., 2023).

“Primary care services are delivered by self-employed general practitioners (GPs), who operate according to a national agreement about tariffs and regional plans that specify capacity and focus areas. GPs are the first point of contact for patients and have a key gatekeeping role to more specialised services. Most hospitals are owned and managed by the regions. They work within detailed targets for waiting times and financial resources. If the regions cannot meet the waiting time guarantees, they must offer patients treatment in a private hospital or clinic. The individual regions can negotiate additional local agreements with private hospitals to increase capacity in specific areas.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2023), Denmark: Country Health Profile 2023, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“The Danish Health Act (from 2005) lays down requirements for health care to ensure respect for the individual, individual integrity and self-determination, and to meet the need for:
easy and equitable access to health care;
high-quality care;
coherence of services;
freedom of choice;
easy access to information;
transparency of health care; and
short waiting times for treatment

“These principles guide the governance of the sector. Responsibility for preparing legislation and providing overall guidelines for the health sector lies with the Ministry of Health. Each year, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and the regional and municipal councils – represented by Danish Regions (Danske Regioner) and Local Government Denmark (Kommunernes Landsforening) – take part in a national budget negotiation to set targets for health care expenditure. The targets are subsequently confirmed in the national budget law. The regions and municipalities are subject to automatic collective and individual sanctions if they exceed their budgets.”

Source: Birk HO, Vrangbæk K, Rudkjøbing A, Krasnik A, Eriksen A, Richardson E, Smith Jervelund S. Denmark: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2024; 26(1): i–152.

“There is a long tradition of decentralized administration in the health sector (see Section 2.1). The 1970 reform of the public administrative structure, which reduced the number of counties from 24 to 14 and the number of municipalities from over 1300 to 275, led to both centralization of administrative entities and decentralization of responsibilities. While the reform transferred many state tasks to the counties, responsibility for the hospitals moved from local hospital boards to county councils. The 2007 structural reform further concentrated the municipalities (now 98) and combined the counties into five regions. The primary responsibility of the regions in the health sector is specialized health care. They cannot levy taxes and are funded by state grants and municipal co-payments for hospitalization (see Section 3.3.3).”

Source: Birk HO, Vrangbæk K, Rudkjøbing A, Krasnik A, Eriksen A, Richardson E, Smith Jervelund S. Denmark: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2024; 26(1): i–152.

“Overall, the nationally defined benefits package for healthcare in Denmark is broad and extensive (Figure 17). There is high coverage for inpatient and outpatient care, but coverage for dental care and pharmaceuticals remains fairly low, as is the case in many other EU countries.

“Lower coverage rates for pharmaceuticals and dental care lead to a concentration of out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure in these two areas. Together, OOP spending on pharmaceuticals and dental care accounted for nearly half of total OOP spending in Denmark in 2021 (Figure 18).

“An annual maximum copayment for people was introduced in January 2016 on expenses related to reimbursable pharmaceuticals. This maximum copayment has been reduced gradually: it went down from DKK 4 270 (EUR 570) per year in 2021 to DKK 3 075 (EUR 410) in 2023.”

“In the years before the pandemic, health spending as a share of GDP in Denmark had remained relatively stable at around 10.2% of GDP, but this share increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly due to increases in health spending. In 2021, health spending in Denmark accounted for 10.8% of GDP, which nonetheless remained slightly below the EU average of 11.0%.

“However, as shown in Figure 9, health spending per person in Denmark in 2021 was higher than the EU average, at EUR 4,325 per capita (adjusted for differences in purchasing power) compared to EUR 4,029. Most health spending (85% in 2021) was funded by government through general taxation. This proportion of public funding has been stable over the past 15 years, and is higher than the EU average (81%). Private spending accounted for the remaining 15% of health expenditure in 2021: 13% was paid out of pocket, while the remaining 2% was covered through voluntary health insurance (VHI). Complementary VHI is purchased by over 40% of the population to cover user charges for outpatient medicines, dental care and other services.”

“Publicly financed health coverage is universal and all primary and secondary health services are provided free of charge on referral. User charges are mainly applied to prescription medicines, dental care and glasses obtained out of hospital. Patients also pay for a number of other outpatient services, such as physiotherapy or psychological treatment. Waiting times for hospital treatment and access to private specialists have been a concern, but a waiting time guarantee of one month introduced in 2007 (now a diagnosis guarantee) has contributed to reducing waiting times.”

Source: Karsten Vrangbæk. “Denmark.” In Voluntary health insurance in Europe: Country experience [Internet]. Sagan A, Thomson S, editors. Copenhagen (Denmark): European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies; 2016. Observatory Studies Series, No. 42.

Denmark: Health System Overview - population health, mortality, life expectancy, expenditures, finances, access, unmet needs, hospital beds, doctors, nurses - National Policies - World Health Systems Facts

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Page last updated July 23, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.