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Over the past decade, the age group of people aged 16 years and younger in Denmark declined, and the number of pupils in Danish schools has decreased accordingly. Since 2013, the number of pupils in primary education declined in Denmark, dropping from 710,000 in 2013 to 679,000 by 2023. Consequently, the number of primary schools also dropped during this period, amounting to 2,144 schools in 2022.

Mandatory primary education

All children are obligated to receive at least 10 years of primary education in Denmark, starting the calendar year when the child turns six years old. There are several types of primary schools, of which the free public school, folkeskolen , is most common. Primary schools usually consist of a kindergarten - zero grade class – followed by first to ninth grade. Pupils can additionally choose an optional tenth grade.

Highest education completed

When taking the whole Danish population into consideration, primary education was the highest completed education of nearly one in four Danes. However, over the course of 10 years, the number of students in upper secondary education increased significantly, and the same tendency can be seen for university students, which increased rapidly up to 2014, before stabilizing at around 150,000 students since.