War in Ukraine

Immigration from Ukraine per week

These are experimental statistics and the weekly immigration figures will be published once a month. The figures for the preceding weeks will also be updated. There are continuous updates back in time, so the data for previous weeks will be changed with new updates.

In 2025, a total of 12,800 Ukrainian citizens immigrated to Denmark. In comparison, 8,900 Ukrainian citizens immigrated to Denmark in 2024 and 31,400 in 2022. In 2021, this figure was 1,900.

At the same time, 3,900 Ukrainian citizens emigrated in 2025. In 2022, this figure was 4,600. The majority of the emigrated Ukrainian citizens have indicated that they have gone back to Ukraine. Some have not indicated where they travelled to after leaving Denmark.

While the majority of people of Ukrainian origin in Denmark were men in their 30s before 2022, a different sex and age composition lived in Denmark in 2025.

In 2021, 51 per cent of the immigrants from Ukraine were men above the age of 18, while 40 per cent were women and 9 per cent were children under 18. In 2022, when the war started and Denmark received the highest number of Ukrainian immigrants, most of the immigrants were women who made up 49 per cent. 35 per cent were children under 18 and only 16 per cent were men over 18. In 2025, 37 per cent were women, 24 per cent children, while men accounted for 39 per cent, which is the highest share since the war started.

Together, women and children accounted for 61 per cent of the Ukrainian immigrants in 2025, compared to 49 per cent in 2021.

Labour force participation

By the end of November 2021, 9,700 Ukrainian citizens were employed in Denmark. By the same time in 2024, this figure had risen to 23,300.

With 5,000, most people worked in agriculture in 2024. It was roughly the same amount as in 2021. A big shift has, however, happened in travel agents and cleaning, where six times as many Ukrainian citizens were employed in 2024 compared to 2021 with a rise from 500 to 3,000 in 2024.

Also trade activities have seen a rise in employed Ukrainians from about 600 to 2,600. The largest increase in percentage is in accommodation and food service activities where ten times as many were employed in 2024 compared to 2021. A total of 2,300 Ukrainians were employed in this industry in 2024.

Over the past 35 years, natural gas accounted for 9 to 25 per cent of Denmark’s energy consumption. The consumption is not limited to any particular industry and, in 2025, households accounted for almost 20 per cent.

Denmark’s consumption of natural gas at the lowest level since 1990

In 2025, Denmark’s total energy consumption of 631 petajoules was distributed on a range of different energy sources, such as oil products, renewable energy and natural gas. Denmark’s consumption of natural gas was 59 petajoules in 2025, which corresponds to approximately 9 per cent of the total energy consumption. Natural gas became an increasingly important part of Denmark’s energy consumption until the mid-00s, after which there has been a downward trend. The natural gas share of total energy consumption peaked in 2004 with 25 per cent.

”In 2025, the natural gas share of Denmark’s energy consumption was approximately the same as in 2022. In 2025, the consumption of natural gas was less than a third of the highest level in the period, which was in 2004,” says Thomas Eisler, head of the statistics, and goes on:

”Natural gas is definitely still an important element in the foundation of our energy consumption, but it no longer carries as much weight as in 2004, for example, where natural gas accounted for a quarter of the total Danish energy consumption”.

Energy consumption by source of energy. 1990-2025

Note: The energy consumption is stated without Danish transport operations abroad.
Source: www.statbank.dk/ene2ha

The consumption of natural gas is distributed across three industries and the households

Manufacturing, energy supply, mining and quarrying and households each accounted for more than 16 per cent of the natural gas consumption in 2025 and, in combination, for more than 90 per cent of the total consumption. Mining and quarrying accounted for 32 per cent, which is more than any of the other groups, while energy supply with its 16 per cent used the least of these groups. The remaining roughly 9 per cent was used in other industries or could be categorised as loss and wastage.

”The figures show that the natural gas consumption is spread across a relatively wide range of sectors. Among other things, this means that a change in the supply of natural gas can have very direct and noticeable consequences not just for the business sector, but also households,” says Thomas Eisler.

Total consumption of natural gas distributed on industries and households. 2025

Source: www.statbank.dk/ene2ha

For more details on natural gas, see for example this article on natural gas consumption during the winter 2022/2023 (in Danish).

In 2024, EU imports of natural gas from Russia increased a bit

Denmark produced natural gas corresponding to double the amount of the consumption in 2025. From 2020 to 2023, we consumed more than our own production.

Looking at total natural gas imports to the EU, you can see that Russia is the source of a significant share of the natural gas supply in the EU. However, it has declined a good deal from 2021 to 2023. While the EU’s imports of natural gas from Russia could cover 42 per cent of the EU consumption in 2021, this had dropped to 12 per cent in 2023. However, it rose to 13 per cent in 2024.

”Since 1990, Russia has been an important supplier of natural gas to the EU. Imports from Russia declined in 2023 to the lowest level in the period. A large part was substituted by imports from other countries, especially the USA. However, the consumption has also been cut down by 20 per cent from 2021 to 2023 and remains at the same level in 2024 according to figures from Eurostat,” says Thomas Eisler.

The EU’s imports of natural gas from Russia as a share of the EU’s total consumption of natural gas. 1993-2024

Source: Eurostat and Eurostat

The price development after the beginning of the war in Ukraine

In 2022, consumers in both Denmark and abroad have experienced historically high price increases on their goods. In 2023 and 2024, however, inflation has subsided somewhat, and in 2025, it has returned to a more normal level with an annual increase of 1.9 per cent. For example, the price of natural gas and electricity has dropped significantly, while prices of some food products are still increasing.

Price increases on consumer goods in Denmark and abroad

The Danish consumer price index has gone up significantly since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, but Denmark is not the only country to experience increasing consumer prices in especially 2022 and 2023. The rest of the EU has also seen large increases, and they have in fact been slightly higher than what we have seen in Denmark for the past years. The trend and correlation also applies to the core inflation (inflation excluding energy and unprocessed food).

Note: The HICP is calculated for the 28 old EU member states including the UK until January 2020 and the 27 member states excluding the UK from 2020 onwards. Inflation in the EU, which is the annual development in the HICP, is therefore calculated over a period both with and without the UK from February 2020 to January 2021. As of February 2021, the EU corresponds to EU-27 (excluding the UK).

This section contains a series of facts on Denmark’s economic relationship with Russia, which includes trade with and investments in Russia.

Trade

In 2025, Denmark's exports of goods and services to Russia totalled DKK 2.3 billion, while imports amounted to DKK 2.9 billion. Both exports and imports were about the same as in 2024, but way below half of what they were in 2022. The figures account for 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent of total Danish exports and imports respectively in 2025, compared to 0.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent in 2022, which was already far below the level in 2021. The countries we traded with the most were USA, Germany and Sweden.

Note: Both goods crossing and goods not crossing the Danish border are included.

Of total exports to Russia, goods accounted for DKK 2 billion, while services accounted for DKK 0.3 billion in 2025. For imports, DKK 1.9 billion were spent on goods and almost DKK 1 billion was spent on services.

If you dive into the services, transport was the main source of imports in 2025, while travel was the main source of exports.

To get a breakdown of the goods, we use the statistics on goods crossing the Danish border. However, the above figure also includes goods not crossing the Danish border. These include, for example, goods bought and sold abroad in connection with processing abroad, profits from the sale of finished goods bought and resold directly, and purchases of fuel and other goods for consumption in connection with transport abroad.

If you look into the details of imports and exports of goods, Denmark mainly imported iron and steel from Russia in 2025 when you look at the goods that crossed the Danish border. Exports to Russia consisted mainly of medicine.

Imports from Russia with top three commodity groups, current prices. 2022 and 2025

Source: www.statbank.dk/sitc2r4

Exports to Russia with top three commodity groups, current prices. 2022 and 2025

Source: www.statbank.dk/sitc2r4

Decline in the number of Danish affiliates in Russia

In 2024, the number of Danish affiliates in Russia was under half of that in 2021, and only less than one in four employees working in the affiliates were left compared to 2021. Compared to 2023, the number of affiliates was reduced by 23 per cent and the number of employees by 5 per cent. There were 62 Danish affiliates in Russia with 4,750 employees altogether in 2024. In 2021 and 2023, there were 151 and 80 Danish affiliates with 21,700 and 5,000 employees respectively. Most employees in Danish affiliates in Russia were employed in trade and transport.

By comparison, the number of employees in Danish affiliates abroad increased in Brazil and India of the remaining countries in BRICS from 2021 to 2024. The amount also decreased slightly in China and South Africa.

The development in number of employees in Danish affiliates in BRICS countries compared with the previous year. 2024

Danish investments in Russia

By the end of the first quarter of 2026, Denmark held direct financial assets totalling DKK 5.5 billion in Russia. This is about a quarter of the DKK 22.7 billion in January 2022, before the war started. It is also a decrease since the end of the first quarter of 2025, where the assets had fallen to DKK 8.6 billion. The assets are mainly made up of direct investments. Russia does in fact not play a very big role in Danish financial investments abroad.

On the other hand, Russia has played a bigger part when you include investments made through other countries. For example, a Danish company invests in a holding company in Sweden, the first investment country, from where it invests in Russia, the ultimate investment country. An analysis from 2019 (in Danish) shows that Danish investments in this way totalled over DKK 70 billion. It is not to say, however, how much these investments are worth at the moment.

The direct investments accounted for DKK 5.1 of the DKK 5.5 billion in the asset portfolio by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Portfolio investments at the end of the first quarter of 2026 totalled DKK 0.2 billion - down from DKK 9.6 billion at the beginning of 2022 but about the same as the same time in 2025.

Other investments totalled DKK 0.2 billion which is also about the same as in 2025.

Danish assets in Russia, DKK billion

Note: Portfolio investments include shares or other equity investments that are not direct investments, investment fund certificates and bonds etc. (also called debt instruments).
Source: Special data run from Nationalbanken (the central bank of Denmark)

This section contains a series of facts on Denmark’s economic relationship with Ukraine, which includes trade and investments.

Trade

In 2025, Denmark's exports of goods and services to Ukraine totalled just under DKK 6.6 billion, while imports amounted to almost DKK 2.5 billion. Both exports and imports have decreased since 2024 from DKK 5.1 and DKK 2.4 billion respectively. However, Ukraine is a relatively small trading partner for Denmark. Exports to Ukraine are now about twice the value of exports to Russia, which have declined a lot since the beginning of the war. Imports are almost level with those from Russia. In this respect, foreign trade has moved significantly since the beginning of the war in 2022.

Throughout the period shown in the figure, exports to Ukraine have surpassed imports. Of all exports, goods accounted for DKK 4.2 billion, while services accounted for DKK 2.4 billion. For imports, goods accounted for DKK 0.9 billion and services for DKK 1.6 billion.

To get a breakdown of the goods, we use the statistics on goods crossing the Danish border. However, the above figure also includes goods not crossing the Danish border. These include, for example, goods bought and sold abroad in connection with processing abroad, profits from the sale of finished goods bought and resold directly, and purchases of fuel and other goods for consumption in connection with transport abroad.

In particular, furniture, clothing and textiles were imported from Ukraine in 2025 categorised by SITC commodity groups. Exports to Ukraine consisted especially of power generating machinery and equipment where we for instance find windmills. Other than that, we exported a lot of medicine and meat.

Imports from Ukraine with top three commodity groups, current prices. 2022 and 2025

Source: www.statbank.dk/sitc2r4

Exports to Ukraine with top three commodity groups, current prices. 2022 and 2025

Source: www.statbank.dk/sitc2r4

Danish affiliates in Ukraine remain unchanged

While the number of Danish affiliates in Russia has declined rapidly since the beginning of the war, it has only decreased slightly for affiliates in Ukraine. In 2024, there were 92 Danish affiliates in Ukraine while there were 105 in 2021. The affiliates employed 9,850 in 2024, which is only slightly less than in 2021 where the number was 10,600 employees.

Two out of three were employed in manufacturing activities and one in six were employed in trade activities.

Danish investments in Ukraine

By the end of the first quarter of 2026, Denmark held Ukrainian direct financial assets totalling DKK 8 billion in Ukraine. This is an increase from DKK 6.7 billion in January 2022, but a decrease from DKK 9.2 billion around the same time in 2025. As in the case of Russia, Ukraine also plays a minor role in direct Danish investments abroad.

Direct investments accounted for DKK 3.3 billion, while portfolio investments accounted for DKK 1.5 billion and other investments for DKK 3.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026. In January 2022, portfolio investments in Ukraine totalled DKK 3.9 billion.

Danish assets in Ukraine, DKK billion

Source: Special data run from Nationalbanken (the central bank of Denmark)