Campaign against hate crime and discrimination
Copenhagen Municipality and the Danish Institute for Human Rights launched a poster campaign stating: “You are a Copenhagener, no matter what you wear.” A QR code on each poster links to new hotline Diskriminationslinjen, which offers legal advice to victims and witnesses of racism and discrimination.
The campaign is part of the city’s three-year action plan against racism and hate crime. The plan identifies specific groups as being particularly at risk: people who are Muslim and have a refugee background, people from African countries, and people who are Jewish or from Greenland, including both first- and second-generation migrants.
The plan also includes initiatives in housing, employment, education and social services, designed to promote equal access to opportunities and support long-term migrant integration.
Integration lessons from the municipality of Tingbjerg
The Copenhagen neighbourhood of Tingbjerg has seen a marked turnaround in school performance and safety. Listed as a “hard ghetto” – a governmental term for an area with a high proportion of residents from countries outside Europe, low employment and crime, targeted for integration measures – in 2019, the area was once associated with crime and poor educational outcomes, and was home mainly to third-country nationals including people with refugee status. Today, Tingbjerg is considered safe, attracts families buying homes, and its local school achieves above-average results. This reflects long-term cooperation, ongoing since 2014, between residents, a reform-minded school leadership, the municipality and a housing company, focusing on positive expectations, education, housing renewal and local opportunities.
New book highlights increasing social interaction between migrants and native Danes
A new open-access book presents findings from six-year research project Measuring Intense Migrant-Native Contact and Its Consequences (MNcontact). The 83-page study examines mixed partnerships and friendships, workplaces, schools, and children of mixed descent, showing that Danish society is becoming increasingly integrated.
Key findings shared in the publication include that in 1985, 94% of couples comprised two people of Danish descent, falling to 83% by 2020; the proportion of all 0–16-year-olds represented by children of mixed descent born in Denmark rose from 4.4% in 1985 to 8.2% in 2019; the likelihood of Danish adults meeting a migrant at work increased from 3.1% in 1996 to 13.3% in 2019. The book highlights sustained progress in integration through social mixing.
Increased use of voluntary return programme by Syrian refugees
In the first nine months of 2025, 413 Syrian residents in Denmark chose to return to Syria with financial support from the Danish state, a significant increase from 94 the previous year. The return programme, run by municipalities and the Danish Refugee Council since 1993, offers a one-time payment to residents who permanently give up their residence permit. Rising participation demonstrates that the programme is a success and reflects certain challenges in integration, including growing negative attitudes toward Muslim refugees. Most Syrian refugees in Denmark remain settled and view the country as home, highlighting the importance of supportive integration policies.