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1. Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority

4. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

In Denmark, there is no single overarching national strategy dedicated specifically to the social inclusion of young people. Instead, inclusion-related initiatives are embedded within a range of sectoral strategies and programmes addressing issues such as education, employment, health, equality, and civil society. These initiatives are coordinated by different ministries and public authorities, and they often target vulnerable groups, including young people at risk of marginalisation. The following are particularly relevant when it comes to the question of social inclusion of young people.

Strengthened rights and possibilities for LGBT+ persons

The Danish government adopted the national LGBT+ Action Plan (2022-2025) “Plads til forskellighed i fællesskabet” (‘Room for diversity in the community - LGBT+ action plan 2022-2025’) in 2022. The plan includes 39 initiatives aimed at promoting equal rights and improving living conditions for LGBT+ persons across Denmark. It focuses on combating discrimination, strengthening inclusive educational and work environments, and improving mental health support. The majority of the plan has been implemented, and the remaining components are scheduled for completion during 2024–2025. The plan builds on the earlier policy proposal “Freedom to Diversity” from 2020, which laid the foundation for a more systematic approach to LGBT+ inclusion.

Strategy on social inclusion in healthcare

The government and the Danish Parliament, regional authorities, and municipalities have agreed on a 10-year plan for psychiatry (2022-2032), with legislative and budgetary commitments to ensure sustained development of mental health services. The agreement will increase psychiatry by DKK 4.6 billion in 2030 compared to 2019. It continues to prioritise the mental health and inclusion of children and young people as a key policy area. The agreement sets out four overall goals: 

• More people should be treated early and closer. 

• The quality of treatment should be improved and waiting times should be reduced. 

• Patients should experience more coherent processes. 

• Psychiatry should be a safe and attractive workplace.

Strategy on parallel societies

The Danish government’s national strategy Ét Danmark uden parallelsamfund – Ingen ghettoer i 2030 (A Denmark Without Parallel Societies. No Ghettos by 2030) was introduced in 2018. The strategy laid out six major agreements aimed at preventing and dismantling parallel communities. These agreements were translated into legislation and policy measures. The six pillars of the strategy included:

1. Better allocation (placement) in daycare institutions
2. Ensuring children from vulnerable residential areas attend daycare
3. Restricting people on social welfare from moving into transformation areas (previously designated “hard ghetto” areas)
4. Agreement on reforms in primary and lower secondary school
5. Housing initiatives to prevent the formation or strengthening of parallel societies
6. Funding and financing measures to support prevention of parallel societies (Regeringen)

Many elements have been enacted as laws or regulations, and implementation has been ongoing.

Scope and contents

Strengthened rights and possibilities for LGBT+ persons

Denmark is considered a frontrunner in promoting equal rights for LGBT+ persons and has a long tradition of legal recognition and protection, with same-sex partnerships becoming legal as early as 1989. However, surveys continue to show that LGBT+ young people in Denmark experience higher levels of harassment, discrimination, and reduced well-being compared to their peers. Studies from the Danish Health Authority and youth organisations point to challenges related to mental health, bullying in schools, and social acceptance among LGBT+ youth.

The Danish government’s objective is to create a society in which everyone – including young LGBT+ persons – has equal opportunities, protection from discrimination, and respect for private and family life. To strengthen these rights, the government has presented a national initiative, LGBT+ Action Plan (2022-2025) “Plads til forskellighed i fællesskabet”, containing ten actions within three focus areas: anti-discrimination and hate crimes, family law, and legal gender recognition.

Several of the measures are directly relevant to young people, particularly the initiative introducing the possibility of legal gender recognition for minors under the age of 18. Other actions indirectly support young LGBT+ persons by promoting inclusive environments in schools, workplaces, and local communities, and by ensuring that transgender and intersex individuals are protected by explicit anti-discrimination laws both inside and outside the labour market.

Strategy on social inclusion in healthcare

In recent years, the number of young people in Denmark experiencing poor mental well-being has increased. According to the Danish Health Authority’s survey Danskernes Sundhed (2023), one in four individuals aged 16–24 reports low mental well-being. This development highlights the need for stronger preventive measures and better mental health support targeting youth.

To improve the mental health of children and young people the 2022 agreement ”Aftale om en 10-årsplan for psykiatrien og mental sundhed"  (a 10-Year Plan for Psychiatry and Mental Health), allocated 250 million DKK annually to implement a new easily accessible intervention in the municipalities for children and young people experiencing mental distress and symptoms of mental illness. The aim of the intervention is to ensure that all children and young people receive timely and consistent access to treatment, before their mental distress worsens and is now fully implemented in all the municipalities. As a part of the 2025 agreement ”Aftale om en samlet 10-årsplan for psykiatrien-2025” (Agreement on a Comprehensive 10-Year Plan for Psychiatry) the parties agreed to strengthen and further develop the easily accesible intervention so more children, young people and parents can benefit from the intervention easily, quickly, and locally. Therefor additional funds will be distributed in stages over several years, with further DKK 300 million allocated yearly to the easily accessible intervention from 2029 onwards.

Responsible authority

Strengthened rights and possibilities for the social inclusion of LGBT+ persons

The Minister for Gender Equality has the coordinating responsibility for the LGBT+ area. The Minister for Gender Equality, the Minister for Social Affairs and Senior Citizens and the Minister for the Interior and Health will submit the specific bills.

Strategy on social inclusion in healthcare

The Ministry of Health is the top-level responsible authority. The healthcare system is the responsibility of the Danish regions.

Although the action plan includes six measurable benchmarks and indicators—such as reducing the proportion of young people with poor mental health by 25% by 2025—the implementation of monitoring and evaluation remains partial. Data quality and sector-coverage vary, and a comprehensive evaluation report covering all initiatives and their impact on youth is yet to be published.

Strategy on parallel societies

The strategy on parallel societies is a cross-sectoral initiative involving several ministries and supported by a broad majority in the Danish Parliament. The government serves as the overall coordinating authority, while individual ministries are responsible for implementing specific parts of the strategy. The Ministry of Children and Education oversees initiatives concerning children in day-care institutions as well as pupils in primary, lower secondary (Folkeskole), and upper secondary education. The Ministry of Employment is responsible for measures related to people receiving social security benefits, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing is in charge of transforming and developing vulnerable residential areas. Once initiatives have been adopted by Parliament, the municipalities are responsible for their local implementation.

As part of the political agreement on the prevention of parallel societies, three governmental representatives have been appointed to monitor the implementation and effects of the measures. These representatives have the authority to intervene by submitting recommendations to municipalities where progress is deemed unsatisfactory. They are required to report annually on the status of the initiatives. In addition, the government organizes an annual high level meeting, bringing together the affected municipalities and social housing associations to discuss the progress of the transformation.

In order to prevent the development of new vulnerable residential areas and parallel societies the social housing legislation also identifies prevention areas. Measures targeted these residential areas include initiatives to attract new tenants in employment and education with the aim of changing the composition of the population in residential areas at risk of being classified as parallel societies.

Revisions/Updates

Strategy on the social inclusion of LGBT+ persons

There have been no revisions to the action plan.

Strategy on social inclusion in healthcare

There have been no revisions to the action plan.

Strategy on parallel societies

In June 2021, the parliamentary majority behind the strategy on parallel societies agreed to extend the efforts to combat parallel societies to also focus on residential areas at risk of being classified as parallel societies. Measures include initiatives to attract more people in employment and education to such residential areas, thus, changing the composition of the population in residential areas at risk of being classified as parallel societies.

Regarding the term ‘ghetto’, the political agreement also contains an agreement on changing the terminology from ‘ghetto’ to ‘parallel society’ and from ‘hard ghetto’ to ‘transformation residential area’. The legislation implementing the political agreement was adopted by the Danish Parliament and entered into force in December 2021.