# Denmark (Somali diaspora)

> About 21,200 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2017, nearly half of them born in Denmark.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/diaspora/denmark/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who lives there

Statistics Denmark counted 21,204 people of Somali origin in 2017: 11,832 born in Somalia and 9,372 born in Denmark to Somali parents. 8,852 held Somali citizenship ([Somalis in Denmark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalis_in_Denmark), citing Statistics Denmark).

- **Cities (2017):** Copenhagen 5,248, Aarhus 4,554, Odense 2,291, Aalborg 1,289.
- **Regions:** Capital Region 7,399, Central Jutland 6,471, Southern Denmark 4,336.

## Work and money

- **Income:** Somalia-born men aged 20 to 59 earned about DKK 200,000 a year before tax in 2016, mostly from work. Somalia-born pensioners had an average income below DKK 125,000 (2015).
- **Housing:** about 66% of Somalia-born men and 79% of women aged 30 to 59 lived in public (almene) housing in 2016 ([Somalis in Denmark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalis_in_Denmark)).

## Who serves the community

The Folketing and the government. The Danish Immigration Service decides residence permits, and the Refugee Appeals Board reviews them. Municipalities run job centres, housing and schools.

## What the community faces now

From early 2017 Denmark reviewed Somali refugees' permits, on the view that parts of Somalia had become safer. The UN refugee agency disagreed and asked states not to return Somalis by force. By late 2018 about 1,350 Somali refugees and family members had lost their permits. The Refugee Appeals Board overturned or sent back more than half of these decisions ([Danish Refugee Council](https://refugees.dk/en/news/2018/march/status-on-the-somali-cases); [Refugees Welcome](https://refugeeswelcome.dk/en/information/news/the-refugee-appeals-board-overrules-immigration-service-decisions/)).

## Sources differ

Counts of lost permits range from about 1,000 to 1,350, depending on the date and on whether family members are counted.

## Top needs

1. Secure status and reliable documents.
2. Honest facts and a soft landing for people who must or choose to return.
3. Paid work.
4. A trusted, open channel to send help home.
5. A confident identity for young people on estates under pressure.

## What we don't know yet

Figures after 2017, the employment rate, and the names of community groups. If you know, use "Fix this page".

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