The health of Danes in 2025: On many fronts, the development is heading in the wrong direction

The Danish National Institute of Public Health, the five regions and the Danish Health Authority have once again taken the temperature of the health and well-being of the Danish population. The survey is based on responses from more than 135,000 people aged 16 years and older and provides an overall picture of the status and development of health, disease and well-being in Denmark.

There are a few bright spots – including a decline in daily smoking and in the proportion who drink more than 10 units per week – but overall, the results point in a worrying direction, says project manager and research manager Anne Illemann Christensen from the Danish National Institute of Public Health:

“There are positive trends, but overall, we can see that developments are heading in the wrong direction on the vast majority of the indicators we have measured,” she says.

Mental well-being under pressure

One in three Danes (29 percent) has a high score on the stress scale – an increase of almost 9 percentage points since 2010. At the same time, a considerable proportion experience sleep problems, and young women in particular continue to have markedly poorer mental well-being than the rest of the population.

Dietary habits are also moving in the wrong direction. The proportion with a low score on the dietary scale has increased from 13.3 percent in 2010 to 18.4 percent in 2025.

Almost one in five Danes has severe obesity, and the prevalence has remained stable since 2021.

We live longer – but with more disease

Life expectancy has continued to increase. Among men, it has risen from 76.5 years in 2010 to 79.6 years today, and among women from 80.8 to 83.4 years. At the same time, however, there is a general decline in the proportion of remaining life expectancy spent in good health.

In addition, the proportion of people with long-term illness or health problems has increased from 33.4 percent in 2010 to 38.3 percent in 2025 – an increase of just under five percentage points since 2010.

Pronounced social inequality in health

The survey also shows that social inequality in health remains very pronounced. People with shorter education or without attachment to the labour market more often have poorer health, less health-promoting behaviour and a greater accumulation of risk factors.

“We see a pronounced social inequality that recurs across all the conditions we have examined. For example, people with shorter education have a greater likelihood of smoking, having severe obesity, more diseases and poorer mental well-being than people with longer education,” says Anne Illemann Christensen.

Fewer people smoke and drink – but the picture is nuanced

By contrast, developments are heading in the right direction when it comes to the proportion of people who drink more than 10 units per week.

Today, this applies to 14.4 percent of the adult population (including 20.7 percent of men and 8.4 percent of women) who drink more than the recommendations of the Danish Health Authority – compared with 24.6 percent in 2010. The decline is greatest among 16–24-year-olds and 55–64-year-olds.

Daily smoking has also declined since 2010 and now stands at around 11 percent.

“These are positive trends, but be aware that both alcohol and tobacco consumption previously were at a very high level, especially among young people. At the same time, we know from other studies that the decline in smoking is accompanied by an increase in the use of smokeless nicotine products,” says Anne Illemann Christensen.

Since 2021, there has also been a decline in the proportion who do not meet the WHO’s minimum recommendation for physical activity, just as there is a slight increase in the proportion with high mental well-being. Loneliness and social isolation have declined slightly.

According to Anne Illemann Christensen, these results should, however, be interpreted with caution:

“Data from 2021 were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, when restrictions and temporary measures had a marked impact on everyday life. This has most likely also influenced the responses, and therefore developments over time should be interpreted with caution.”

Significant potential for prevention

Anne Illemann Christensen points out that the results both underline the need for broad and structural preventive efforts – and that many people themselves would like to change their health behaviour:

“For example, three out of four among those who smoke daily would like to quit, and among those who drink more than 10 units per week, one in four would like to reduce their consumption. This shows that there is significant potential for early and effective prevention,” she says.

About the survey

The Danish National Health Survey 2025 is based on a questionnaire that was sent to 314,500 randomly selected people aged 16 years or older living in Denmark. In total, 135,293 people completed the questionnaire fully or partially, corresponding to a response rate of 43.0.

The survey was conducted simultaneously in all regions and municipalities in Denmark, making it possible to follow developments in health and well-being at local, regional and national levels.

Facts – selected results

• 20.7% of men and 8.4% of women drink more than 10 units per week
• 10.5% smoke daily
• 16.3% have been very bothered by sleep disturbances or sleep problems
• Among men, 11.5% have 3–5 simultaneous risk factors, while the proportion is 7.1% among women
• 16.1% have high mental well-being
• 10.8% feel lonely
• 18.5% have severe obesity
• Almost four out of ten live with long-term illness, long-term effects of injury, disability or another long-term condition

Contact: Project manager and research manager Anne Illemann Christensen, e-mail: anch@sdu.dk, phone: +45 6550 7773, Danish National Institute of Public Health, SDU.