Denmark EU Member
Overview
Capital: Copenhagen
Official EU language(s): Danish
EU Member State: since 1 January 1973
Currency: Danish krone DKK. Denmark has negotiated an opt-out from the euro and thus is not obliged to introduce it.
Schengen: member since 25 March 2001
Figures:
- Geographical size: 42 925 km2
- Population: 5 961 249 (2024)
(Source: Eurostat – figures for geographical size and population)
Political system
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.
Trade and economy
Denmark ranks fourth in the European Union in terms of GDP per capita with €48 000, well above the EU average (€37 600). It accounts for 2.2% of the EU’s total GDP.
(Source: Eurostat - figures for GDP per capita and GDP)
Budgets and funding
How does Denmark benefit from the EU budget?
The EU budget is the tool to ensure that Europe remains a democratic, peaceful, prosperous and competitive force. The EU uses it to finance its priorities and big projects that most individual EU countries could not finance on their own.
The benefits of EU membership significantly exceed the size of the EU budget contributions and the examples are many. All Member States benefit from being part of the Single Market, a shared approach to the common challenges of migration, terrorism and climate change, and concrete gains like better transport infrastructure, modernised and digitalised public services and cutting-edge medical treatment.
How much each EU country pays into the EU budget is calculated fairly. The larger your country’s economy, the more it pays – and vice versa.
The EU budget is not about giving and taking – it’s about collectively contributing to making Europe and the world a better place for us all.
EU-funded projects in Denmark
Money from the EU budget helps fund programmes and projects in all EU countries – for example to build roads, subsidise researchers and protect the environment.
Find out more about how Denmark benefits from EU funding and recovery funds in your country or region.
