Denmark: Economic and Political Overview
On 31 December 2023, Queen Margrethe II announced her decision to abdicate in her New Year address. On 14 January 2024, having spent 52 years on the throne, she formally retired in front of the Council of State, with her son Crown Prince Frederik inheriting the crown as King Frederik X.
The coalition government formed at the end of 2022-the Social Democrats, the Liberal Party, and the Moderates-faces internal difficulties-it lost its parliamentary majority due to some defections. Therefore, in August, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen appointed six new ministers in a major cabinet reshuffle, bringing the number of ministers to 25, the largest ever in 30 years.
In the June 2024 European Parliament elections, Denmark elected 15 members. Renew Europe won 4 seats, the Socialists & Democrats and the Greens/EFA each took 3, the EPP secured 2, while the ECR, The Left, and Patriots for Europe each gained 1 seat.
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Denmark has maintained a supportive stance towards Ukraine, aligning with European Union policies. The Danish government has emphasized the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, reflecting its broader foreign policy principles.
In early January 2025, Greenland's Prime Minister, Múte Egede, announced intentions to hold a referendum on independence from Denmark. This development has significant implications for Denmark's territorial integrity and its geopolitical stance in the Arctic region, especially considering the declared actions of U.S. President Donald Trump, who had declared his readiness to consider annexing the region for national security reasons.
The main political parties in Denmark are:
The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House
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Latest Update: February 2025
