Denmark

In this highly secularized society, Catholicism is but a tiny minority religion. The state church is Lutheran, yet only 9 percent of Danes say religion plays a significant role in their lives at all. Danes do hold an affinity for historical and cultural tradition, and church rituals of baptism, confirmation, marriage and especially funerals are extremely popular. Danes are also quite willing to support the upkeep and clergy of the state church by paying an extra, optional income tax.

Catholic Danes are more conservative than non-Catholic Danes, but more liberal than Catholics in other parts of the world. Much of the Catholic population has been shaped by immigration; the Diocese of Copenhagen reports that “approximately one third of Danish Catholics have been born abroad.” On any given Sunday, a worshiper could attend Mass around Copenhagen in Polish, English, Ukrainian, Croatian, Chaldean, French, Spanish and Italian. Read more...

Religious Affiliation
Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
Total Population
5,754,356 1
Urban
87.90% 1
Rural
12.10% 1
Immigrants as % of Population
10.1% 2
Homicides
0.99 per 100,000 people (global median 6.9) 3
Level of Public Corruption
1 (1=lowest, 176=highest corruption) 4
Gender Equality in the Economy, Health, Education and Politics
19 (1=most equal, 144=least equal) 7
Fertility Rate
1.74 births per adult woman 5
Children Who Do Not Live to Age 5
0.40% 5
Life Expectancy at Birth
80 years 5
Internet Users
96% 5
Gross National Income per Capita
US$61,310 5

These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.

Baptized Catholics
52,000
Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population
0.88
Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)
445
Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)
19
First Communions per Year
514
Confirmations per Year
421
Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools
9,690
Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools
750
Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education
10
Church Marriages per Year
74
Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics
30
Priests
78
Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters)
77
Catholics per Priest
661
Parishes
40

Articles

Introduction: Catholics a tiny fraction of secularized society
Danes see saints as role models, not intercessors
Both "Faith Shock" and adaptation in Denmark's immigrant Catholic Church
Public displays of religion are rare in Denmark
Denmark's 'hygge' worship style emphasizes simplicity and tranquility
Confirmation remains strong cultural rite in Denmark
Danes hold progressive but private stance on sex and gender ethics
Secular Denmark sets aside national holidays for Christian feasts
Christmas Eve and St. Lucy's Day brighten Denmark's Advent calendar
In Denmark, Lutheran virtues trump Charismatic trends
Catholics in Denmark identify with coffee hour and charity
  • 1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
  • 2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 revision.
  • 3 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Homicide Statistics 2015.
  • 4 Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.
  • 5 UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 2016.
  • 6 Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022).
  • 7 World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report, 2016.