Denmark flag Denmark: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Denmark

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
Monarch: King Frederik X (since 14 January 2024)
Prime Minister: Mette Frederiksen (since 27 June 2019) – Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet)
Next Election Dates
Parliamentary: 31 October 2026
Current Political Context

Left parties retained their majority in the 2022 snap elections, although it was reduced to a single seat. The governing Social Democrats achieved their best result in 20 years and Mette Frederiksen was confirmed as prime minister, leading a coalition government composed of the Social Democrats, Venstre and the Moderates: for the first time in over four decades, the newly formed government departed from the conventional left-right division, marking the country's initial majority coalition government since 1993. Given the traditional stability of the Danish political system, the government is likely to remain in office until the scheduled election in November 2026.
The most pressing concerns for the Danish population include inflation, climate change, healthcare, and immigration. The coalition has unveiled its strategy to achieve climate neutrality for Denmark by 2045 and decrease national carbon dioxide emissions. The Danes also voted on 1 June 2022 to join the European Union's defence and security common policy, ending a 30-year opt-out.

Main Political Parties

The main political parties in Denmark are:

Executive Power
The Monarch is the head of the state and theoretically holds all executive powers, but in reality the executive powers are exercised by the Prime Minister on behalf of the monarch. In general, the leader of the majority party or coalition is appointed Prime Minister by the monarch. The cabinet, called Council of State, is appointed by the Monarch on Prime Minister's recommendation.
Legislative Power
The legislature is unicameral. The parliament called People's Assembly (or "Folketing") has the ultimate legislative authority; its 179 members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms. On a vote of no confidence motion the parliament may force the entire government to resign.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

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.).

World Rank:
4/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

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.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: July 2024