Somalis in Denmark

Demographics

As of 2016, there were an estimated 20,811 Somali residents in Denmark. Of these, around 10,200 were first generation and 7,500 were second generation immigrants in 2013. Most emigrated from Somalia following the start of the civil war, in the period between 1995 and 2000.

Many Somali immigrants arrived as asylum seekers, who are legally not allowed to work while their residence status is being processed by the Danish government. Consequently, the employment rate in 2009 for Somali residents aged 16-64 was 38.6% according to Statistics Denmark. During the local job crisis of 2011-2012, when general employment declined sharply for all immigrant groups, the employment rate among Somali adults had dropped to 28.5%.