“Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. It has a representative parliamentary system with a prime minister, who is the head of government, and a monarch, who is the head of state but whose duties are strictly representative and ceremonial. The kingdom also comprises 2 autonomous constituent countries in the Atlantic, neither of which are EU members: the Faroe Islands and Greenland.”
Source: European Union. Denmark: EU Country Profile. Last accessed February 10, 2025.
“Denmark is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The parliament has 179 members, of whom 175 are elected in Denmark, two are elected in the Faroe Islands, and two are elected in Greenland. General elections are held at least every 4 years. The seats in the parliament are distributed by proportional representation. To be elected, parties must exceed the 2% share of the vote threshold. At the time of writing, 16 political parties are represented in parliament.
“There is a long tradition in Denmark for centre-right or centre-left minority governments. However, the current government at the time of writing in 2023, which has been in power since December 2022, is an attempt to bridge the left–right divide. Therefore, Denmark has a cross-party government for the first time since 1978, and a majority government for the first time since 1994, consisting of the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Moderates.”
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.
“The state is the central administrative level, and the Ministry of the Interior and Health is responsible for the health system. The Danish Ministry of Health (Sundhedsministeriet) was established in 1987. The name has changed several times as the ministry was merged with or separated from other ministries. Therefore, the generic name Ministry of Health is used in this review, although corresponding references use period-specific names.
“Five geographical and administrative regions were established with a structural reform in 2007, these are responsible for providing health care, which is allocated approximately 95% of the regions’ budget. The 98 municipalities are responsible for social services, care for older people, environment and technology, schools and some aspects of primary and long-term health care. The regions and the municipalities have separate areas of responsibility, and their relationship is not hierarchical. The regions do not have any governing or regulatory role concerning the municipalities.
“Denmark has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 1973. It is also a member of the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other United Nations organizations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council.”
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.
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Page last updated April 22, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.