Denmark
BACKGROUND RESEARCH REPORT
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Executive summary
It is estimated that there are around 175,000–200,000 Muslims in Denmark, including both immigrants and their descendants. Reliable figures are not available, however, as Danish law prohibits the registration of citizens on the basis of their religion and ethnicity. Official demographic data recognises two main ‘ethnic’ categories: Danes, and foreigners and their descendents (this category is further subdivided into those from Western and non-Western countries). Of Denmark’s total population of 5.4 million, 8.4 per cent (452,095 people) are immigrants and their descendents. Muslims constitute the majority of all non-Western immigrants and their descendents, as well as the single largest group among all minority faith communities in Denmark.
Over the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the diversity of culture, language and customs in the Danish population. Significant levels of Muslim emigration to Denmark began in the late 1960s with the arrival of labour migrants from Yugoslavia and Turkey, as well as a small number from non-European countries (mainly Pakistan and North Africa). From the 1980s, there was a second wave of emigration, mainly of political asylumseekers. These were mainly from predominantly Muslim countries — from Iran, the Middle East and Africa. There were also many new arrivals through family reunification. During the 1990s a further influx of, mainly Muslim, asylum seekers arrived from the Balkans, following the political disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.
The largest numbers of Muslims are concentrated in Copenhagen County and its sub-districts, followed by Aarhus, the second largest city, and Odense, the third largest. As in other European countries, migrants in Denmark settled mainly in the decaying inner city areas or in newly constructed high-rise suburbs around the larger cities.
During the late 1980s, a number of mayors from Greater Copenhagen County complained about the formation of “immigrant ghettos” and pressured successive governments to disperse immigrant populations more evenly, to reduce the burden on their social services budgets. In the early 1990s, restrictions were placed on new refugees, preventing them from finding housing beyond the municipality allocated to them for a period of three years. These provisions made it possible for the municipalities to refuse to provide housing and social welfare benefits to anyone who did not comply with residential restrictions.
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