Regions of Denmark

The five regions of Denmark (Danish: regioner) were established as administrative units positioned between municipalities and the central government in the public sector. This restructuring came into effect as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which did away with the former 13 counties (amter). At the same time, the number of municipalities (kommuner) was significantly reduced—from 270 (271 in 2006) to just 98. The reform was passed into law by the Danish Parliament (Folketing) on 26 June 2005, with elections to the 98 municipalities and 5 regions held on Tuesday, 15 November 2005.

Danish Name	English Name	Seat of Administration	Total Area (km²)	Population Density (per km²)
Region Hovedstaden	Capital Region of Denmark	Hillerød	2,568	~730
Region Sjælland	Region Zealand	Sorø	7,273	~115
Region Syddanmark	Region of Southern Denmark	Vejle	12,191	~100
Region Midtjylland	Central Denmark Region	Viborg	13,142	~105
Region Nordjylland	North Denmark Region	Aalborg	7,933	~75

Each of the five regions is governed by a directly elected regional council consisting of 41 members, who in turn select a regional chairperson. Altogether, this amounts to 205 council members. However, changes are already on the horizon: starting 1 January 2027, the number of regions will be reduced to four. In line with this shift, the number of council members will vary between 25 and 47 following the 2025 local elections, bringing the total to 134 across the four regional councils.

The regions’ primary responsibility is healthcare—by far their bread and butter. In addition, they handle public transport, environmental planning, soil pollution management, and certain aspects of coordinating secondary education, though these roles are more limited in scope.

Unlike the former counties (1970–2006), the regions do not possess municipal powers. They cannot levy taxes and instead rely partly on block grants from the central government (including the former health tax, sundhedsafgift, in place until 2018) and partly on contributions derived from municipal taxation. Moreover, regions do not have full control over their budgets; they must allocate funds in accordance with guidelines set by the central government. In short, their authority has been scaled back considerably, tipping the balance of power toward the local level. Since they are not municipalities, regions are not permitted to have coats of arms, though they do use modern logos.

The small archipelago of Ertholmene, located northeast of Bornholm, falls outside both regional and municipal jurisdiction. Its residents neither pay municipal taxes nor did they contribute to the central government’s healthcare tax (2007–2018) or the county-level taxes that existed prior to 2007.

The representative body Danske Regioner was established on 23 March 2006. It serves as an advocacy and lobbying organization representing all regions, including negotiating labor agreements and the like. The organization also maintains an office in Brussels, following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Amtsrådsforeningen. As a central voice within the Danish healthcare system, it wields considerable—if unofficial—influence. Before 2006, its counterpart was Amtsrådsforeningen (ARF), which represented the counties and held comparatively greater formal power.

Looking ahead, the government is currently working on merging the Zealand Region and the Capital Region into a single entity to be known as Eastern Denmark, effective 1 January 2027. The new regional council will consist of 47 members elected in the 2025 local elections, and it will be based in Sorø, the current seat of Region Zealand. The legislation establishing this new region has already been approved by the Danish Parliament (Folketing) and signed into law by the head of state on 20 June 2025.

Much like their geographical boundaries, several of the regional names are in fact neologisms. The term Syddanmark (“Southern Denmark”) did exist prior to the reform, but not in its current sense. Historically, it was sometimes used to distinguish mainland Denmark from the North Atlantic parts of the Danish Realm—namely the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Similarly, Midtjylland has long been used—and still is in everyday language—to refer to the central interior of Jutland, but never to the peninsula’s coastal areas, such as West Jutland or East Jutland.

When it comes to international branding, the regions of North Jutland and Central Jutland have opted for the names “North Denmark Region” and “Central Denmark Region,” respectively. While these labels may sound straightforward, they don’t exactly roll off the tongue in a Danish context and can be somewhat misleading, as they lack roots in traditional geographical terminology.

In English-language publications, the Danish government tends to stick with the original Danish names or uses direct translations—such as “Greater Copenhagen,” “Zealand,” “North Jutland,” “Southern Denmark,” and “Central Jutland”—rather than adopting standardized alternatives across the board.

Strictly speaking, there is no single authority that lays down the law when it comes to official English names. The legally binding names are defined only in Danish legislation, which exists solely in the Danish language, leaving the English equivalents somewhat open to interpretation.

On this blog, I´ll describe the all places I´ve visited in the regions mentioned above. Providing so much detail about Denmark´s administrative divisions might seem a bit overhelming for some, but I want you to be able to place this unique spots geographically and within the current political context as we explore them together.

References:

1. NYHEDER (retrieved 2024-09-17)

2. RETSINFORMATION (retrieved 2025-06-24)

3. REGIONER (retrieved 2026-04-14)