Disadvantaged children and young people
Here you can see how many children in Denmark are placed in out-of-home care and how many notifications of concern are made per year. You can also find statistics on support, given to children, young persons and families that are in need of special help in everyday life. In addition, statistics on public net expenditures, related to those groups, are also presented.
Selected statistics on Disadvantaged children and young people
Notifications of concern
Data are received from the Danish municipalities by Statistics Denmark, which functions as a data processor for the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing, and Senior Citizens. The Danish Social Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen) was responsible for data collection in the period from 01/04/2014 to 31/06/2016. Notifications of concern collected from 01/01/2016 and onwards are primarily transferred directly to Statistics Denmark from the administrative data systems of the municipalities through a web-based database. The municipalities can access the database and their data through the information webpage of the statistics, oplysningssiden.
Children and young persons placed outside of own home
Data stem from municipalities' digital systems used for the administration of cases regarding children and young people. In addition, the municipalities can upload data through a webplatform provided by Statistics Denmark. In the period 2006-2016, Ankestyrelsen, (The Danish Social Appeals Board) was responsible for collecting data on placements in out-of-home care.
Preventive measures given to children and young persons
Data is reported by the 98 municipalities in Denmark. Regarding supportive measures for children and youth, municipalities have the option to utilize a computerized system that directly transmits data to Statistics Denmark, which processes the data on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing, and Senior Citizens. Alternatively, municipalities can choose to report data using a web-based platform provided by Statistics Denmark, accessible through virk.dk or the information webpage of the statistics.
Disadvantaged children and young persons as a percentage of the population
Data is reported by the 98 municipalities in Denmark. Regarding supportive measures for children and youth, municipalities have the option to utilize a computerized system that directly transmits data to Statistics Denmark, which processes the data on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing, and Senior Citizens. Alternatively, municipalities can choose to report data using a web-based platform provided by Statistics Denmark, accessible through virk.dk or the information webpage of the statistics.
On the statistics – documentation, sources and method
See the documentation of statistics to learn more:
The statistics provide yearly estimates of the municipalities’ initiated placements and placements of children and young persons in out-of-home care. The figures are classified by provinces, municipalities, type of measure, place of accommodation, cause of placement in out-of-home care, cause of change in the placement of out-of-home care, sex, and age groups. They are published in StatBank Denmark and in a Danish-language article by Statistics Denmark in The New York Times.
The municipalities have not indicated that data regarding placements of children in out-of-home care for the period 2020-2021 are affected by the special circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The purpose of these statistics is to highlight the number of measures and support (previously called preventive measures) granted by the 98 municipalities in Denmark to children and young people, in accordance with the legislation on special support for this age group. These statistics have existed since April 1976. Since July 1, 1998, the services have been granted pursuant to specific sections of the Consolidation Act on Social Services. Since January 1, 2020, the statistics have also included collected data on services granted pursuant to the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act. In their current form, the statistics are comparable from the year 2007 onwards. As of January 1, 2024, the relevant legislation has changed from the Consolidation Act on Social Services to the Danish Children’s Act.
The purpose of these statistics is to monitor notifications of concern received by the municipalities regarding children and youth in Denmark. The statistics are used in the preparation of governmental policies, public debate, and research. The statistics were initially started by The Danish Social Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen). Statistics Denmark has been responsible for the statistics since the year 2016.
The purpose of the survey is to establish the available social resources (capacity, number of users, and general organization, etc.) in Danish municipalities. Furthermore, the survey analyses the social- and health-care related services administered by municipalities. These services include care for the elderly, dental services for children and young people and special institutions for children and young people etc. The social resources survey includes public and privately owned institutions. The statistics are published for the first time in 1972 but have been changed over time due to changes in legislation an user needs.