Government and power in Denmark

Who leads Denmark, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

Who leads Denmark?

• Head of state: King Frederik X (The King of Denmark)
• Head of government: Mette Frederiksen (Prime Minister of Denmark)
• Foreign minister: Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Denmark

Government

• Prime Minister's Office
  Statements, government platform documents and information on the Prime Minister and cabinet.

Parliament

• Danish Parliament
  Bills, debates, votes, committee documents and member information of the Folketing.

Elections

• Ministry of the Interior, Elections
  Election rules, guidance for election administrators and official election information.

Courts

• Supreme Court of Denmark
  Judgments and case summaries of the highest court for Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Public audit

• Rigsrevisionen (National Audit Office of Denmark)
  Audit reports to the Public Accounts Committee on central government accounts and spending.

Ombudsman

• Parliamentary Ombudsman
  Ombudsman statements on complaints against public authorities and inspection reports.

Public contracts

• Udbud.dk
  Public tender notices from Danish contracting authorities.

Laws and the official gazette

• Retsinformation
  Danish laws, executive orders, circulars and the Legal Gazette (Lovtidende), run by the Ministry of Justice.

Government below the national level

• Regions (5; 4 from 1 January 2027): Regional council elected every four years; it elects a chair
• Municipalities (kommuner, 98): Municipal council elected every four years; council elects the mayor (borgmester) from its members
• State administration: State bodies staffed by appointed officials; the National Social Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen) acts as supervisory authority

How local power works in Denmark

Places in Denmark

• All 5 regions
• The 7 largest cities
• Official statistics for Denmark

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.