Society

For 26 years, Asif Mehmood has lived in a public housing project in a Copenhagen neighborhood that has a large population of immigrants and second-generation Danes.

Asylum requests have fallen dramatically thanks to policies that belie the country’s liberal image. No wonder Priti Patel is watching closely.

Copenhagen has ranked fourth in an analysis of 77 metropolises by The Wellbeing Index, which chiefly focuses on living costs, gender equality and mental health, comprising 15 different categories.

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union gives rise to great uncertainty about the future for all those concerned. In particular, the risk of a possible no deal-scenario is a source of great concern for British citizens and their family members living in Denmark. Together with the other EU Member States, Denmark has worked to come to an agreement with the United Kingdom on the Withdrawal Agreement.

Denmark is one of the most digitalized countries in the EU according to the recent Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2019, published by the European Commission. Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom make up the top five in the annual ranking.

According to the recently published Startup Ecosystem Rankings by Startup Blink, Denmark has failed to keep its place in the top 10. Denmark has tumbled from seventh to 16th down a rankings led by the US, the UK, Canada and Israel – the top four when the report was last published in 2017.

Denmark is the second hardest country to settle in among the 64 participant nations in Expat Insider 2019, a survey conducted by InterNations. The Danes finished in the bottom fifth of all four sub-categories that make up the rating: feeling at home (62), finding friends (64), friendliness (63) and language barriers (53).

Whilst British PM Boris Johnson recently illegally suspended Parliament, and US President Donald Trump faces an impeachment inquiry, new Danish PM Mette Frederiksen has faced far less turbulent times, particularly as a ferocious Venstre power struggle has taken up all the domestic focus in recent months.

On 30 April 2019, the Danish Government passed parts of the bill tabled by the Minister for Immigration and Integration earlier this year with a view to realising the Government’s 21 initiatives for strengthening recruitment of foreign employees. The parts of the bill that have been passed will come into force as early as 1 June 2019.

According to the global expat community network InterNations, Denmark is the number one country in the world when it comes to the work-life balance of its expats. The finding showed that 76 percent of expat respondents in Denmark were satisfied with their work-life balance, while 82 percent were happy with their working hours.