Administrative division of Denmark
In addition to the continental European heartland, the Kingdom of Denmark also includes the autonomous outer regions of the Faroe Islands and Greenland . The constitutional unity of motherland and former possessions is known as the "Reichsgemeinschaft" (Danish rigsfællesskabet ). Since January 1st 2007, the administrative structure of the Danish heartland comprises five regions and 98 municipalities. The districts / districts (Danish amt ) were abolished in the course of a local government reform. Your responsibilities have been divided between regional and local levels.
Regions
Since January 1, 2007 there are five regions, population as of January 1, 2020:
region | Administrative headquarters | made up from | population |
---|---|---|---|
Nordjylland (North Jutland ) |
Aalborg | the former Nordjyllands office , the Mariager municipality of the former Århus office and parts of the former Viborg office | 589.936 |
Midtjylland (Central Jutland) |
Viborg | the former Ringkjøbing office , the Århus office without the Mariager municipality and parts of the former offices of Viborg and Vejle | 1,326,340 |
Syddanmark (Southern Denmark) |
Vejle | the former offices of Fyn , Ribe and Sønderjylland ( North Schleswig ) and parts of the former office of Vejle | 1,223,105 |
Sjælland ( Zealand including the islands of Møn , Lolland and Falster ) |
Soro | the former offices of Roskilde , Storstrøm and Vestsjælland | 837.359 |
Hovedstaden (capital Copenhagen and surroundings plus Bornholm ) |
Hillerød | the former København office and the former Frederiksborg office as well as the formerly free municipalities of København , Frederiksberg and Bornholm | 1,846,023 |
The main tasks of the regions are:
- Hospitals
- Public health insurance (reimbursement of treatment costs for general practitioners and specialists)
- psychiatry
- Offers for the severely disabled
- Regional development framework for the areas of nature, environment, teaching and culture. The local authorities are responsible for the practical implementation.
Compared to the previous administrative districts, the tasks of the regions are limited. The regions no longer have an independent right to tax, but are financed by state key allocations.
Municipalities
Municipalities by population | |||
---|---|---|---|
population | Number of municipalities | ||
Before Apr 1, 1970 |
From April 1, 1974 |
From Jan. 1, 2007 |
|
> 150,000 | 1 | 4th | 4th |
100,000 - 150,000 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
40,000 - 100,000 | 10 | 18th | 50 |
20,000-40,000 | 22nd | 25th | 35 |
15,000-20,000 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
10,000-15,000 | 22nd | 41 | 3 |
3,000 - 10,000 | 206 | 160 | 3 |
<3,000 | 821 | 2 | 1 |
All in all | 1,098 | 275 | 98 |
At the regional level, the country is divided into 98 municipalities . With a typical size of over 30,000 inhabitants, the Danish municipalities are among the third largest (1st Great Britain , 2nd Ireland ) in Europe and worldwide. 25 municipalities have fewer than 30,000 inhabitants (2010). The smallest municipalities are Vallensbæk , Dragør and Langeland with fewer than 17,000 inhabitants (2018), and Læsø , Fanø , Samsø and Ærø with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants; the last five are special cases as islands .
With the enlargement of the municipalities in 2007, the municipal tasks were expanded. This should enable the municipalities to further develop and streamline the public service . However, opponents feared that the gap between citizens and local politicians could become too great and that rural areas and villages in particular could suffer as a result of austerity measures. The Association of Danish Small Islands fears consequences such as school closings , reduced care for the elderly , restrictions in ferry traffic and restrictions in the maintenance of the dykes .
Christiansø and Frederiksø are the only areas in Denmark that are not part of the municipality. As a result, residents do not pay any municipal tax. The islands are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense , which is represented by an administrator on Christiansø.
Historical administrative divisions
Oldest structures

The oldest division of the country were the Syssel and Harden , which emerged in the early Viking Age . The Landstinge above the Hardentinge existed in Viborg ( Nørrejylland ), Urnehoved ( Sønderjylland ), Ringsted ( Danish Islands ) and Lund ( Skåneland ). In the Middle Ages, the division into fiefdoms followed a feudal model, mostly subordinate to a manor house . Around 1200 the Duchy of Schleswig was formed, which remained connected to the kingdom as a royal Danish fiefdom, but developed its own administrative structures in part (see Ämter und Harden in Schleswig ).
Dioceses (from 10th century)
founding | Diocese | Cathedral city | area | annotation |
---|---|---|---|---|
948 | Diocese of Schleswig | Schleswig | Schleswig / South Jutland | At the time of the divisions of 1490–1523 / 1544–1711, the diocese included both the royal, the ducal and jointly ruled parts in Schleswig, unless it belonged to the diocese of Ripen. 1864/67 Prussian |
948 | Diocese of Ripen | Ribe | West Jutland | |
948 | Diocese of Aarhus | Aarhus | East Jutland | |
988 | Diocese of Funen | Odense | Funen , Langeland ; Lolland and Falster until 1803; Ærø and Alsen until 1815 | |
991 | Diocese of Roskilde | Roskilde | Sjælland , Møn and from 1653 Bornholm | 1536–1922 “Diocese of Zealand”, 1922 Diocese of Copenhagen spun off |
1060 | Diocese of Viborg | Viborg | Central Jutland | |
1060 | Aalborg diocese | Aalborg | North Jutland | Initially “Diocese of Vendelbo” with a bishopric in Vestervig , from 1130 “Diocese of Børglum” with its seat in Børglum . 1554 diocese of Aalborg |
1066 | Diocese of Lund | Lund | Skåne , Halland , Blekinge , Bornholm | 1103 Archdiocese . 1653 to Sweden , Bornholm to the Diocese of Zealand |
1803 | Diocese of Lolland-Falster | Maribo | Lolland, Falster | spun off from the diocese of Funen |
1819 | Alsen-Ærø diocese | Egen | Alsen , Ærø | Out of the Diocese of Funen. Alsen 1864/67 Prussian and under Schleswig, Ærø to the diocese of Funen |
1922 | Diocese of Copenhagen | Copenhagen | Baltic Sea country | |
1922 | Diocese of Hadersleben | Haderslev | Eastern South and South Jutland, Alsen, Ærø | Areas ceded to Denmark 1920-22 temporarily under Ribe |
1961 | Diocese of Helsingør | Elsinore | Northern Zealand | Out of the diocese of Copenhagen |
With the Reformation, the dioceses were in 1536 deaneries divided, the limits on the Harden -oriented.
17th and 18th centuries
After the introduction of absolutism , King Friedrich III. Divide Denmark into 44 administrative districts (Danish amt ) in 1662 .
No. | District | No. | District | No. | District |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Åstrup, Sejlstrup, B ?? ørglum Amt | 16 | Koldinghus Office | 31 | Ringsted Office |
2 | Dueholm, Ørum, Vestervig Amt | 17th | Stjernholm Office | 32 | Korsør Office |
3 | Ålborghus Office | 18th | Hindsgavl Office | 33 | Antvorskov Office |
4th | Skivehus Office | 19th | Assen's office | 34 | Sorø Office |
5 | Mariager Monastery Office | 20th | Rugård Office | 35 | Sæbygård Office |
6th | Hald office | 21st | Odensegård Office | 36 | Kalundborg Office |
7th | Dronningborg Office | 22nd | Nyborg Office | 37 | Holbæk Office |
8th | Bøvling Office | 23 | Tranekær Office | 38 | Dragsholm Office |
9 | Lundenæs Office | 24 | Halsted Klosters Office | 39 | Jægerspris office |
10 | Silkeborg Office | 25th | Ålholm Office | 40 | Kronborg Office |
11 | Kalø Office | 26th | Nykøbing Office | 41 | Frederiksborg Office |
12 | Skanderborg Office | 27 | Møn Amt | 42 | Hørsholm Office |
13 | Havreballegård Office | 28 | Vordingborg Office | 43 | København's office |
14th | Åkær Office | 29 | Tryggevælde Office | 44 | Bornholm's office |
15th | Riberhus Office | 30th | Roskilde Office |
For the duchy of Schleswig, which is connected as a fief and in personal union with Denmark, see the article Ämter und Harden in Schleswig .
From 1793 to 1970
After the formation of the entire Danish state , the administrative districts were enlarged and redesigned in 1793. This structure was essentially retained until 1970.
No. | District | No. | District | No. | District |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hjørring Office | 9 | Skanderborg Office (from 1824) | 17th | Holbæk Office |
2 | Thisted office | 10 | Vejle Office | 18th | Frederiksborg Office |
3 | Ålborg Office | 11 | Tønder Office 1 | 19th | København's office |
4th | Viborg Office | 12 | Haderslev Office 1 | 20th | Roskilde Amt (until 1808, then to K ?? øbenhavn's office) |
5 | Rander's office | 13 | Aabenraa Office 1,2 | 21st | Sorø Office |
6th | Ringkøbing Office | 14th | Sønderborg Amt 1,2 | 22nd | Præstø Amt (from 1803) |
7th | Ribe office | 15th | Odense Office | 23 | Maribo Office |
8th | Aarhus Office | 16 | Svendborg Office | 24 | Bornholm's office |
- 1 These offices were set up in 1920 following the cession of North Schleswig to Denmark on the basis of a provision in the Versailles Treaty .
- 2 Sønderborg Amt and Aabenraa Amt were partially merged in 1932 to form the Aabenraa-Sønderborg Amt .
From 1970 to 2007
On April 1, 1970, the 23 offices (administrative districts) were replaced by 14 municipal authorities. The municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg carried out the official municipal tasks themselves because of their special requirements (metropolitan area).
At the same time, this reform reduced the number of municipalities. The municipalities were established in 1841, then in 1021. In addition, there were the towns with market rights (Danish: købstad ). The number of cities and rural communities had peaked in 1965 at 1345 (88 cities and 1257 rural communities). With the municipal reform in 1970, the title Købstad disappeared from the official vocabulary, the Harden ( Danish herred ) were also abolished and the number of municipalities was reduced from 1,098 to 277 after some voluntary amalgamations at the end of the 1960s. In 1974 the municipalities of Sengeløse and Høje-Taastrup were merged to form Høje-Taastrup Kommune and Store Magleby and Dragør to form Dragør Kommune . The number of municipalities was thus 275.
coat of arms | Surname | serial number at the same time as ISO code (card) |
Administrative headquarters | Geographical location | Population (2006) |
Area in km² |
Inhabitants per km² |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Københavns Municipality Free city |
101 | Copenhagen | East Zealand | 501.158 | 91.3 | 5,489.1 |
![]() |
Frederiksbergs Kommune Official City |
147 | Frederiksberg | Enclave in Københavns Municipality | 91,855 | 8.7 | 10,560.5 |
![]() |
København's office | 015 | Glostrup | Outskirts of Copenhagen | 618,529 | 526 | 1,175.9 |
![]() |
Frederiksborg Office | 020 | Hillerød | North Zealand | 378.686 | 1,347 | 281.1 |
![]() |
Roskilde Office | 025 | Roskilde | Central Zealand | 241,523 | 891 | 271 |
![]() |
Vestsjællands Amt | 030 | Soro | West Zealand | 307.207 | 2,984 | 103 |
![]() |
Storstrom's Office | 035 | Nykøbing | South Zealand , Lolland , Falster , Møn | 262,781 | 3,398 | 77.3 |
![]() |
Fyn's office | 042 | Odense | Funen , Langeland , Ærø | 478,347 | 3,485 | 137.2 |
![]() |
Sønderjyllands Amt | 050 | Aabenraa | South Jutland , Rømø , Alsen | 252,433 | 3,939 | 64.1 |
![]() |
Ribe office | 055 | Ribe | South West Jutland | 224.261 | 3.132 | 71.6 |
![]() |
Vejle Office | 060 | Vejle | Southeast Jutland | 360.921 | 2,997 | 120.4 |
![]() |
Ringkjøbing Office | 065 | Ringkøbing | West Jutland | 275.065 | 4,854 | 56.7 |
![]() |
Viborg Office | 076 | Viborg | Northwest Jutland | 234,896 | 4.122 | 57 |
![]() |
Nordjyllands Amt | 080 | Ålborg | North Jutland | 495.090 | 6,173 | 80.2 |
![]() |
Aarhus Office | 070 | Aarhus | Northeast Jutland | 661,370 | 4,561 | 145 |
![]() |
Bornholm's office from Jan. 1, 2003 regional commune |
040 | Rønne | Bornholm Island | 43,245 | 587 | 73.6 |
total | 5,427,459 | 43.093 | 125.9 |
Note: Ringkjøbing Amt was officially spelled differently than its administrative seat Ringkøbing .
Mergers through 2006 and major local government reform
From 1970 to 2007, many changes were discussed, but few were implemented. In recent years, the relatively small and financially weak municipalities on the islands of Bornholm (five municipalities in 2003) and Ærø (two municipalities in 2006) have been merged into island-wide municipalities. Bornholm's office , which had existed unchanged as an administrative district since 1662, became an unofficial "regional commune" on January 1, 2003 Bornholms regional commune . That leaves 270 municipalities and 13 official municipalities (districts).
On Langeland , two referendums were held in 1992 and 2000 in the island's three municipalities. One reason was to avoid a feared possible merger with Svendborg Municipality . Sydlangeland Commune was against amalgamation in both. On February 12, 2003 there was a referendum only in the Sydlangeland municipality. The last one was positive for a merger, which was only implemented on January 1, 2007 in the course of the state-wide municipal reform.
With this reform, only 30 of the 268 municipalities that had existed since 1974 remained unchanged (and of course Bornholm and Ærø , which had only been established a few years earlier). The remaining 238 municipalities were combined into 66 large municipalities, so that now, together with the two municipalities that were established in 2003 and 2006 and the 30 unaffected municipalities, Denmark is divided into 98 municipalities. At the same time the official communes (districts) were abolished. Five regions were newly established . Compared to the previous administrative districts, the tasks of the regions are limited. The regions no longer have an independent right to tax, but are financed by state key allocations. Other competencies were transferred to the municipalities.
literature
- Ove Hansen: Sådan styres kommunen . AOF's Forlag / Forlaget Fremad, 1st edition 1978. ISBN 87-7403-131-7 .
- Erik Harder: Dansk kommunestyre i grundtræk . Forlaget Commune Information , 4th edition 1985. ISBN 87-7316-211-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Statistics banks -> Befolkning og valg -> FOLK1A: Folketal den 1. i kvartalet efter tid og område (Danish)
- ^ Reform meets small islands , Danmarks Radio , June 2, 2007 (Danish)
- ^ Statistical yearbook for Denmark 2013
- ↑ Per Ingesman: Kirken , in: Leon Jespersen (Red.), Dansk forvaltningshistorie , Vol. 1, Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-574-7691-8 . Pp. 730-754, pp. 741.
- ↑ Grethe Jensen, Benito Scocozza: Politics bog om danskerne og verden. Hvem Hvad Hvornår i 50 år. Politics Forlag. København 1996. ISBN 87-567-5697-6 . P. 168.
Web links
- Official website of the regions (Danish, English)
- Official website of the local umbrella organization Kommunernes landsforening (Danish, English)
- Population of municipalities and regions 2009 (Danish, English)
- State Administrations ( Memento of March 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- Information on local government reform ( Memento from August 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Danmarks Radio 2005 (Danish)
- Maps showing the administrative structure of Denmark from 1660 to the present day The digital Byport (Danish)