State of economy; More expensive homes; Christiania
Last Week in Denmark (22.09-29.09) Episode 32 Year 4
Editor HQ
State of Denmark
To the new subscribers who joined us at the “Welcome September” events in Aarhus, Aalborg, Herning, Odense, and Copenhagen – welcome to the Last Week in Denmark family!
We love “Welcome September,” and we hope that it will become a permanent fixture, a tradition of sorts, where various municipalities around the country welcome internationals to Denmark.
Why do we love it? It is like a dopamine shot for us. The feedback from the community about Last Week in Denmark has been incredibly positive. It feels rewarding to know that we are perceived as a public service of information within our community.
Thank you for reading and sharing Last Week in Denmark!
P.S - The “State of Denmark” column goes back to normal from next week :)
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Danish Politics HQ
Weekly political overview
Konservative (Conservatives) have always been the party of monarchists. As staunch supporters of the Royal Family, their love has always been reciprocated by the ruling monarch. Well, until now. King Frederik decided to stop a centuries-old tradition of sending a greeting to the party's yearly national general assembly.
See the first Danish prison abroad here. Watch the Minister of Justice’s visit to the rented prison in Kosovo.
The leader of Venstre (Liberals), Troels Lund Poulsen, hopes that after the next parliamentary elections there will be a possibility to form a blue (center-right) government with Konservative and Liberal Alliance. However, if the majority is not there, they don’t exclude another government with the social democrats.
Focus
The Minister of Justice wants to relax rules regarding disclosure of the nationality of perpetrators. Basically, the police should be allowed to communicate to the press the nationality of a criminal. Some politicians are asking to also allow the police to disclose the ethnicity of Danish citizens.
This is a dangerous proposition for our community. While we are well aware that there are criminals among us (just like there are among Danes), naming certain nationalities will only lead to an increased level of discrimination and hate attacks against internationals.
Apply for a job with Moderaterne (Social Liberals). They just fired everyone from their political department to get a fresh start after a scandal around bad working conditions. Even the party secretary (department leader) has quit, so it will be a completely new team running the engine.
Another consequence has been the loss of yet another member of Parliament for the party. Jeppe Søe, one of Moderaterne’s founders, couldn’t bear another scandal and decided to become independent.
Danish Economics HQ
Weekly economics overview
At the end of 2026, your home will be 10% more valuable than today. This is good news for homeowners. Why? Properties can regain the value lost after the 2022 meltdown of the housing market, when homes lost on average 6.5% in value.
At the same time, this is not great news for first-time buyers. While many wait for interest rates to drop, housing prices are rising.
69% of people in Denmark would like to retire gradually. People today can retire at 67 years old. However, most of them would like to keep working in a reduced capacity. Interest organizations representing elderly people are asking for a national strategy to provide this possibility.
One in three shops does not respect the age limit rules regarding alcohol and nicotine sales. Undercover young buyers (15 to 17 years old) have caught 282 stores red-handed out of 838 stores visited. Age limit sales violations can result in fines of up to 25,000 DKK.
Solar farmers are coming! According to several farmers, solar fields are more profitable than grain fields. It’s no wonder that farmers have started to lease or sell land to solar plants around the country. Solar plant companies are willing to pay 500,000 DKK per hectare, which is double or triple their agricultural value.
Several European farming and nature organizations are calling on Denmark to stop exporting illegal pesticides to countries outside the European Union. Pesticides containing “dimethoate” became illegal in the European Union in 2013 because they attack the human nervous system. Nevertheless, Denmark exports the banned spray to three countries (Bolivia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia).
Focus
State of economy as presented by Denmark’s National Bank
2.1% GDP (economic growth) in 2024, followed by a 2.3% predicted growth in 2025.
Housing prices will increase by 3.3% this year, followed by a predicted 3.2% increase in 2025.
An average house of 140 square meters should get 150,000 DKK more expensive in the next two years.
According to the bank president, “things are going quite well in the Danish economy.”
Inflation is expected to remain at a stable 2% in the following years.
Wages are still rising faster than expected; however, the national bank expects wage growth to slow in the coming years.
Employment is expected to continue rising, but at a slower pace.
Entrepreneurship Corner
Tip of the week! Some businesses in Denmark are VAT-exempt, such as healthcare, education, artistic activities, real estate sales, and passenger transport. Check with Skat if your business qualifies for VAT exemption, as this could reduce administrative burdens and tax obligations.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Insights into the Danish way of life
It’s fødseldag week for Denmark’s most rebellious brainchild; can you guess who it is? Freetown Christiania, the black-swan neighborhood at the heart of Copenhagen, is turning 53. For tourists, it is one of the country’s biggest attractions: a small town self-proclaimed as autonomous, embodying the best and the worst of the hippie ‘70s. Where is it now, more than five decades later?
Christiania, located in the neighborhood of Christianshavn, was founded in 1971 after a group of countercultural activists took over an abandoned military space. Injected with the rage and freedom of the flower power era, it quickly developed a vibrant arts scene and a micro-communist type of society, functioning to this day as a consensus democracy. Naturally, cannabis soon became a common currency in the area, giving birth to the infamous Pusher Street.
Over the years, the Danish government learned to negotiate with the Christianites: their relationship oscillated between tolerance and attempts to regulate the area. The turn of the century, however, posed new challenges on the community as external drug-dealing gangs started taking up the space to do their business. Friction between gangs escalated to violence, including shootings related to the organized crime and drug trade, something Christianites never had an interest in in the first place. And although their people stand solidly against the Danish “system”, they and the Danish Ministry of Defense finally came to a truce this past winter, when the locals asked for help getting rid of the externals.
In a historic turn of events, April 2024 was the date when Christianites, police forces, and common civilians came together to - quite literally - dig up Pusher Street. With the famous cobblestoned street dug up completely, the town said no more to the gangs that had been disturbing its peace for years. Whether Christiania will remain a less eventful, hippie neighborhood or eventually see the return of black face masks and cannabis stands is yet to be seen. In the meantime, they blow their birthday candles to half a century of rebellion, counterculture, and flower power, sitting right at the center of one of the world’s calmest capitals.
Weekly overview
Researchers from Aalborg University developed a device that can save your life. The device is a small box called “seismofit,” which uses vibration sensors to register the movements of the heart. The results are sent to an app, which can tell your VO2 max (oxygen capacity during exercise). Across gender, age, and race, VO2 max is the biggest predictor of mortality and disease.
Almost a quarter of children in Denmark have myopia (nearsightedness). The organization of opticians (Optikerforeningen) noticed a deterioration of children's sight in the last couple of years. To compare it, today they are selling just as many glasses for myopia as for farsightedness. Why? Increased use of screens.
Free bus transport in Fredericia. The City Council decided as part of the 2025 budget to introduce free bus transport from August 1st, 2025. Why? They want more people to choose public transport over the car.
There are other similar initiatives in Denmark. On Ærø and Fejø, the bus is free all-year round. Tønder, Vejen, Billund, Vejle, Kolding, Haderslev, Aabenraa, Varde, and Sønderborg offer two months of free bus and train transport for newcomers.
“Moving kit” for recycling in Copenhagen. When you decide to move to another address from your current home in the capital, you can order a “moving kit” (flyttekit) from the municipality. It contains various types of trash bags and information on waste sorting.
Welfare trips to Malaga (Spain) for the elderly in Copenhagen. There are eight planned one-week vacations for the elderly in the capital. The municipality will pay for the trips. Why? To fight against loneliness.
The production of Danish wine has tripled in the last six years. There are 146 wine farms in Denmark with a total cultivated area of 173 hectares. In 2022, 349 tons of grapes were produced. The quality of the wine has increased over the years to a level that the wine is now served in Michelin restaurants in France, Sweden, Norway, and Germany.
In Denmark, we have the solaris grape, which is most suitable for white and sparkling wine.
The number of wineries is expected to double in the next couple of years.
Danish wine costs on average between 200 and 300 DKK per bottle.
Two new rock reefs have been recreated in Kattegat. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency used 19,000 tons of stone to recreate two rock reefs in order to provide shelter to sea animals. Seaweed plants will attach to the stones, so that seaweed forests will form with time.
International Community in Denmark HQ
The Return of Treasures to Their Communities of Origin
This article was originally written in Spanish by Camilo Rojas Rueda. The articles referenced come from Latin American media outlets or are directed toward Latin American audiences, which is why they are in Spanish. We invite readers to use a translation tool if they wish to read them.
On September 12, a ceremonial robe belonging to the Tupinambá Community was returned to Brazil. This garment, dating back to the 16th century, is 1.8 meters long and crafted from over 4,000 red feathers of the Scarlet Ibis, a species native to the south-eastern coast of Brazil. It is one of only ten such robes in the world, none of which were previously displayed in a museum in Brazil. This garment, which holds great sacred value for its community, had been on display at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen for the past 300 years.
This case is just one of many that have sparked significant controversy – especially in academic circles. Some European museums house an extensive collection of culturally significant artifacts from the Americas and other regions. Examples include Moctezuma’s Headdress, a significant Aztec artifact displayed at the Ethnological Museum in Vienna; the Kogui Masks, which were recently returned from Berlin to Colombia; the hundreds of pre-Columbian Mexican and Panamanian artifacts that were set to be auctioned in Germany; and nearly 500 pre-Columbian artifacts donated to the Louisiana Museum in Denmark. These are just a few examples of the many pre-Hispanic treasures held far from their original communities.
At the heart of this debate is the long-standing struggle for the recognition of the cultural rights of traditional Mesoamerican and Andean communities. Since 1970, under the framework of the UNESCO Convention, there has been a legal doctrine for the return of cultural goods to their countries of origin. Although this process faces numerous challenges – from creating inventories to debates over ownership – at its core, it is a social process aimed at repairing the harm done to traditional communities.
These acts of historical justice highlight the need to strengthen international commitments to ensure that the thousands of cultural goods from the Americas and other regions are returned to their original communities. The UNESCO Convention is a crucial step on this path, but more sincere and consistent goodwill is needed from governments, museums, and collectors to multiply these acts of respect and recognition for cultures that have historically been stripped of their most precious legacies.
New article from Pratik Hariharan - “The Art of Well-Being: How an American International Champions Mental Health in Denmark’s Startup Scene”
Announcement Board
Vejle, October 2, 17:00 - 20:00: How to Thrive in DK Winter: A Hygge Evening - Are you an international in Denmark? This event will help you beat the winter blues as skillfully as the locals do. Come along to build connections, get tips and tricks to prepare for winter and learn about winter offerings from local services. The evening will be a fun one of chatting and interactive learning with fellow internationals, local coaches and Danes. And, of course, yummy food! The first 40 sign-ups will receive a 100 DKK dining voucher.
Copenhagen, October 26, 09:00 - 16:00: Femme Lead Career Breakthrough - The largest career conference for women in the Nordics. The agenda includes Personal Branding and Thought Leadership, Career Promotion and Progression, Manage Stress and Well-being, Embracing Lifelong Learning, and Crafting a Portfolio. You can use a discount code at checkout: FL10LWD.
International media about Denmark HQ
Denmark pledges $491.7 million to World Bank IDA fund for poorest countries (Reuters)
Denmark ranked as the world’s top government for digitalisation (Global Government Forum)
50 "exceptionally well-preserved" Viking skeletons unearthed in Denmark (CBS News)
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