What you need to know for the test
- Denmark was a member of the UN from its founding in 1945 and became one of NATO's founding members in 1949.
- Folkepension (the state old-age pension), which gives every citizen the right to a pension regardless of income, was introduced in 1956.
- From the 1960s many Danish women entered the labour market, and in the 1970s the Redstocking movement (rødstrømpebevægelsen) fought for gender equality.
- In the referendum of October 1972, 63.3 percent voted yes, and Denmark became a member of the EC on 1 January 1973.
- The Danes voted no to the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and, with the Edinburgh Agreement in 1993, were given four EU opt-outs; in 2000 a majority voted no to the euro.
- Iceland broke away from Denmark and was proclaimed an independent republic on 17 June 1944.
- The Climate Act (klimaloven) of 2019 commits Denmark to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 (compared with 1990).
The Cold War: Denmark chooses sides
After the Second World War, the Cold War arose between the two superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, and Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain. Denmark was a member of the United Nations (UN) from the beginning, when it was founded in 1945.
Denmark had pursued a policy of neutrality since the beginning of the 1800s. But since neutrality had not been able to prevent the German occupation, Denmark chose sides: in 1949 the country became a member of the defence alliance NATO. Central to the NATO treaty is Article 5, the so-called "musketeer oath": an armed attack on one member country is considered an attack on all. Facing NATO stood the Warsaw Pact, which was founded in 1955 and led by the Soviet Union. The USA also helped rebuild and modernise Western Europe with the Marshall Plan (1948-51) – in Denmark this included agriculture.
The borders of the realm also changed in these years: during the occupation, Iceland had broken away from Denmark after 564 years, and the Republic of Iceland was proclaimed on 17 June 1944 – today Iceland's national day.
Building the welfare state
From the end of the 1950s Denmark experienced an economic boom (roughly 1957-73), often called "the happy sixties". In these years the building of the Danish welfare society began in earnest. Folkepension, which gives every citizen the right to a pension regardless of income, was introduced in 1956, and in 1964 Folketinget (the Danish parliament) decided that the municipalities should provide childcare places for all families. Taxes and duties rose sharply at the same time. Read more about the schemes on the page about the welfare society.
Growth created a need for more labour, and many Danish women entered the labour market from the 1960s. Previously, most married women had looked after the house and children; now women increasingly got an education and a job – though often at lower pay than men. The working week became shorter, and holidays grew from two to four weeks. See also the page about the labour market.
Youth rebellion and the Redstocking movement
At the end of the 1960s many young people rebelled against society's traditional norms and authorities. They questioned the American war in Vietnam and the nuclear family, and from 1966 the contraceptive pill could be sold legally in Denmark. In 1968 the youth rebellion led to a student revolt against the rule of the professors at the universities, and in 1971 young people founded the freetown of Christiania on an abandoned barracks in Copenhagen.
In the 1970s many women demanded more equality. The women of the Redstocking movement fought through political actions for better conditions for women. In 1973 Folketinget passed free access to abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and in 1976 – on the basis of an EC directive – a law on equal pay for equal work was introduced.
Denmark in the EC and the EU
In a referendum in October 1972, 63.3 percent of voters said yes to Danish membership of the EC (the European Community), and on 1 January 1973 Denmark joined – at the same time as Britain and Ireland. In 1986, 56.2 percent voted yes to the EC package on the single market.
In 1992 the EC became the EU, but in June 1992 a small majority (50.7 percent) voted no to the Maastricht Treaty. The following year, in 1993, 56.7 percent voted yes to the Edinburgh Agreement, which gave Denmark four opt-outs: union citizenship, the common currency (the euro), defence, and justice and immigration policy. In 2000, 53.2 percent voted no to adopting the euro, so Denmark still has the krone. The defence opt-out was abolished in a referendum in 2022, and today two of the opt-outs still apply.
Immigration and the global economy
Immigration in the 1960s was dominated by guest workers from Turkey, Pakistan and the former Yugoslavia, who met a great need for labour. In 1973 a halt to immigration was introduced, but family reunification remained possible. From the 1970s to the 1990s refugees arrived from countries including Iran, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia, and during the refugee crisis in 2015, 21,000 people sought asylum in Denmark. The number of immigrants and their descendants has risen from about 150,000 in 1980 to 977,000 in 2025. The debate about integration gained great political significance – contributing, among other things, to the Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti) being elected to Folketinget in 1998. Read more about the parties on the page about elections and parties.
Denmark today has a very open economy in which exports account for about half of the country's total production. Danish companies such as Mærsk, Novo Nordisk, LEGO and Vestas hold strong positions on the world market.
The green transition and the Climate Act
In 2019 most of the political parties agreed on a new Climate Act. It commits the government to reducing Denmark's greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 – and to full climate neutrality by 2050. The way there is the green transition: moving from "black" energy sources such as oil and gas to renewable energy such as solar and wind. In 2023 about 50 percent of Denmark's energy consumption was covered by renewable energy, compared with six percent in 1990.
Wind energy is especially important: in 1991 Denmark erected the world's first offshore wind farm, Vindeby off Lolland, and in 2023 wind turbines produced half of the country's electricity consumption. Vestas was the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer in 2024.
Look up key terms in the glossary, read about the period before in Danish history 1849-1945, and plan your preparation with the guide to the 2026 citizenship test.