FAQ

about Denmark

Characteristics of Denmark

Denmark is a part of the group of Scandinavian countries in the North along with its neighbors: Norway, Sweden and Iceland.
The capital of Denmark, Copenhagen (København) is the largest city in the country with around 1.8 million inhabitants. Other major cities in Denmark are Aarhus (1.3M) and Odense (1.2M), both nurturing a strong Viking history and nowadays serving as economic and cultural centers of Denmark.
The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy aligned with a well-functioning parliamentary democracy. The Queen Margrethe II. has formal and representative roles, while the executive power remains with the publicly elected prime minister.
The Danish flag is the oldest state flag officially used to this day. It was originally accredited in the beginning of the 13^th century and has not been changed ever since. It is celebrating it’s 800^th birthday in 2019.
The territory of Denmark proper consists of the peninsula of Jutland and 443 named islands, but Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also part of the Danish Kingdom and belong under the jurisdiction of Copenhagen.
Denmark is divided to five regions: Hovedstaten (Capital Region), Sjaelland (Zealand), Nordjylland (Northern Region), Midtjylland (Central Region) and Syddanmark (Southern Region).
Denmark is said to be one of the happiest countries in the world and has one of the best work-life balance internationally.
Denmark is home to Hans Christian Andersen, the world-famous writer, remembered mostly by his fairytales. In his honor, the city of Copenhagen has presented the statue of the Little Mermaid, overlooking the harbor.
According to rankings, Denmark is the world’s least corrupt county.
Riding a bike is deeply intertwined with the Danish culture. Most Danes learn how to cycle at an early age and rarely give it up throughout their life. In fact, many people prefer it as a means of commute, vis á vis public transportation or cars. The culture of cycling is so well-developed, that Denmark has more than 12,000 km biking tracks and a designated Cycling Embassy to address all matters on two wheels.
The architect behind the well-known design of the Sydney Opera House is the Danish Jorn Utzon (1918-2008). The building became part of the World Heritage Sights, making Utzon the second architect to receive such recognition within his lifetime.
Who doesn’t love amusement parks? Denmark is home to the two oldest still operating amusement parks of the world, the oldest being the famous Bakken amusement park just a drive away from Copenhagen. It was originally founded in 1583 as a place of public gathering attracting entertainers and fairs. In 1669 King Frederic III. Of Denmark opened an animal park on the spot and from there on, it kept bringing fun into people’s lives. The second oldest park is the Tivoli Gardens, the most visited amusement park of Scandinavia, standing and in operation since August 15^th, 1843.
Probably the best-known Danish invention is the LEGO brick, invented by a Danish woodworker named Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1949. Originally, he had started manufacturing wooden toys and brick to supplement his living and gave it a name, mixing the words “Leg godt” meaning play well in Danish. Come 1949, through implementing new technologies of injection-molded plastics, the LEGO brick, as we know it, was born.
Denmark is a great promoter of LGBT rights. It was the first country in the world to legalize same sex unions in 1989, and after, marriages in 2012.

Quick facts about Denmark

The size of Denmark proper is 42.933 km2 whereas the territory of the entire Kingdom, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands is 2,220,930 km2.
Population: 5.9 million citizens.
9.8% of the population (or ca. 543 000 people) are expats.
Denmark proper is a member state of the European Union since 1973 and is an active and founding member of NATO. Neither Greenland, nor the Faroe Islands are part of these organizations.
The currency of Denmark is the Danish Krone.

healthcare

in Denmark

The underlying principle of healthcare in Denmark is universal accessibility, meaning that all public healthcare services, including emergency care are free off charge to every citizen of the country. This includes dental and orthodontic care for children under the age of 18. There are a few outlier services, such as adult dental care, physiotherapy or chiropractic care that are only partially subsidized by the government, but in general Denmark continues to invest in the continuous modernization of it’s healthcare system and is considered amongst the best performing public healthcare systems in the world. There are both public and private facilities in operation, however according to the majority of the inhabitants (both local and expat), the public system covers all arising needs efficiently enough to be the number 1 choice over private facilities.

Upon being granted residency in Denmark, you will automatically receive a CPR card, also known as a Yellow Card, and get assigned to a General Practitioner within your municipality. Your CPR card will contain the information (Address, Telephone number) of your GP, whom you can contact in case of a medical issue, and who will refer you to the relevant specialist if need be. The common practice however is to prioritize patients based on the severity of the medical case, so if you do not have a big problem, you might find yourself waiting a couple of days before being seen by a doctor.

Work and salary in Denmark

Salary as a staff specialist doctor in Denmark:

As a specialist doctor in Denmark, your salary (amongst other things) will be regulated in accordance with the Collective Agreement of Danish Doctors and will amount to minimum gross annual income of 809 551 DKK (€108 000) including pension savings, resulting in a monthly salary of 67 463 DKK
DKK (€9 055) pre-taxes. Denmark is famous for its high taxation rates. Realistically, you will pay around 40% of your salary in taxes and an annual 18,56% is deduced for pension savings (150 252 DKK/annum), but as a result you will have access to free healthcare, free education on every level, child benefits, generous maternity leave construction and many more public benefits provided by the state. In turn, you will also receive tax grants and supplements for your overtime work, evening and night shifts etc. as regulated by the Collective agreement.

How are the working conditions in Denmark:

In Denmark, the working plan of a staff specialist doctor is defined in norm periods, which usually are periods of 14 weeks. One working week consists of 37 working hours, therefore working hours must be planned to reach an average of 37 working hours per week over a norm period, varying between day, evening and night shifts. This regulation takes into account mandatory time off work, holidays and frequency of shifts, including laws concerning evening and night shifts and it allows for a reasonably flexible, well-balanced life at and away from your workplace. You will have 6 weeks of payed vacation every year.

In Denmark, a medical professional is prohibited by law to work over 11 hours at once, and after every 11-hour shift, they are entitled to a rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours. This is only one example, how the Danish system aims to give medical specialists the opportunity to be well-rested, avoid being overworked and give their best to the patients every day.

Denmark employs over 2000 foreign medical specialists, the majority of whom had found balanced working conditions, well-equipped hospitals and a less stressful life with plenty of opportunities and support for self-improvement and lifelong learning.

Work-life balance:

Could it be that the Danes are always being voted the happiest people in the world because of their healthy balance between work and private life?

Denmark prides itself on having a healthy work-life balance. The Danish welfare model, with its flexible working conditions and social support networks, including maternity leave and childcare facilities, not only puts Denmark at the top of the international equality league table, but also contributes to a generally high standard of living.

Apply now to medical jobs in Denmark

Famous Danes

Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875) World famous poet and writer, famous mostly for his unique fairy tales and short stories.
Karen Blixen, (1885 – 1962) A writer, who published her books under synonym names – e.g. Isak Dinesen. The life of Karen Blixen is depicted in the movie ‘Out of Africa’ 1985, starring Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen.
Niels Bohr (1885 – 1965) He received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1922 for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them.
Søren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) A philosopher and writer. Kierkegaard is among other things known as “the father of existentialism”.
Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) An astronomer and scientist who has entered into history as one of the forefathers of science in general, known mostly for his great influence on the development of astronomy.
Lars von Trier (1956 – Present) A world famous Danish movie director, creator of the new wave cinematographic movement of the Dogme95. Lars von Trier has received recognition for his work through several awards. Some of his best-known movies are: "Breaking the Waves" (1996), "Dogville" (2003), and "Antichrist", (2009).
Jørn Utzon (1918 – 2008) Danish architect and designer of the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Denmark

in general

What are the costs of Housing in Denmark?

The housing prices in Denmark represent the general standard of life in the country, therefore it is not cheap to find accommodation in Denmark. It is universally true however, that the prices vary depending on which city you live in and which kind of house you want. It is quite straightforward, that living in bigger cities will be more expensive than in their smaller counterparts. The rental prices typically do not include utilities. These are payed by the landlord and the tenant together on an agreed upon basis. Danes value the word of a contract very much, therefore make sure, you have checked everything and put your agreement on paper as discussed. For rentals in Denmark it is custom to pay three months’ rent of deposit and the first month payment in advance

The Danish welfare system

The basic principle of the Danish welfare system, often referred to as the Scandinavian welfare model, is that all citizens have equal rights to social security. Janteloven is an underlying law of the Danish culture. It is a cultural axiom, putting emphasis on the equality of each and every citizen of Denmark. No one person is better than the others and the success of one, is the success of them all. That is the reason why Danes prefer teamwork above anything else and don’t like to brag about personal accomplishments. Within the Danish welfare system, a number of services are available to citizens, free of charge. This means that for instance the Danish health and educational systems are free. The Danish welfare model is subsidized by the state.

Child benefit from the state

If you and your child live in Denmark and lead a life in compliance with the law, you are automatically entitled to and will receive child and youth benefits until your child is under the age of 18. The exact amount receivable depends on how old your child is. The benefits are received on a quarterly basis and switch into the new category from the month after your child’s birthday.

The amounts for 2020 are as follows:

0-2 years	DKK 4,596 per quarter
3-6 years	DKK 3,639 per quarter
7-14 years	DKK 2,862 per quarter
15-17 years	DKK 954 per quarter

Childcare and education in Denmark

In Denmark it is widely spread to enroll children in one of the many day-care options offered by the municipalities from considerably early. Day-cares accept children from 6 months to 3 years old and 91% of all 1-2-year-olds are attending day-care (Vuggestue), kindergartens with a day-care department (Integrerede institutioner) or in-home day-care (Dagpleje). These facilities are staffed with carefully selected and specially trained social educators and pedagogues, who organize play-based classes focused on the early education and development of the children. Later on, in kindergarten (børnehave) children of 3 to 6 years of age continue the path of playful learning, developing social skills and preparing for school.

At the age of 5-6 children may enroll in so called børnehaveklasser, which are pre-school classes organized by the local elementary schools. At the age of 6, children enroll in Folkeskole, which serves as the primary – lower secondary education and is attended usually until the age of 16. After that, children continue on into one of the many types of secondary schools and receive either general or specialized education to prepare them for what they would want to do. Around 60% of Danish youngsters attend university, which is, as the rest of the schools, completely state financed.

Denmark ranks 10^th on the United Nations Educational Index and it is mostly due to an enormous percentage of the GDP being spent on education and all of its supplements. It is being continuously modernized and children of all ages are educated by highly trained professional educators, who had passed rigorous criteria to be proven trustworthy of handling the future generations.

How is the weather?

Many people think of Denmark as a place where it always rains or snows but that is not entirely the truth. The climate of Denmark is temperate, which means that you will be acquainted with the feeling of fresh and clean air. The greatest rainfall comes between September and November and snow is rare.

Denmark has a considerably low-humidity air, which contributes to a nice clear weather. Because of this, Denmark offers rich flora that is diverse around the country. Of course, due to its northern position, similarly to its Nordic neighbors, Denmark also experiences large seasonal variations in daylight. In winter, days are very short, in summer – very long, but Unlike Sweden or Norway, the average yearly temperatures fluctuate between 1ºC in the winter to 17.5ºC in the summer.

Given the temperature being so mild, the country is exceptionally gifted in hiking and trekking trails, cycling paths and generally any outdoor activities.

FAQ