Digital Government Outlook 2026: Denmark
Table of contents
This country note presents an overview of the digital government landscape in Denmark drawing on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI). The note outlines key policy developments in the country observed during the assessment period. It aims to inform policy dialogue and support Denmark in advancing a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation in the public sector.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD Digital Government Index, Denmark attained a score of 0.83, above the OECD average of 0.70. This represents a 0.02 increase since 2023 (Figure 1).
Denmark recorded higher scores in Government as a Platform (0.92), Digital by Design (0.88), Data-driven Public Sector (0.83), Open by Default (0.81) and Proactiveness (0.79), compared with OECD averages of 0.71, 0.75, 0.74, 0.59 and 0.67, respectively. These results show that Denmark has advanced in developing shared platforms and infrastructure, embedding digital technologies across government, and promoting openness and transparency.
Denmark scored above the OECD average in User-Driven (0.72 vs 0.71), though this remains its comparatively lowest dimension. This suggests that Denmark could further strengthen its efforts in placing user needs and feedback at the centre of service design and delivery processes.
Denmark has established a collaborative governance model for digital government based on co-operation between the national government, regions and municipalities. The Ministry of Digital Affairs is responsible for national digital policy and the National Strategy for Digitalisation (2023), while the Joint Government Digital Strategy (2022-2025) is developed within the Partsforum, bringing together all three levels of government; the state, Local Government Denmark (KL), and Danish Regions.
Ex-post evaluation of digital investments is systematically applied in Denmark. The National Audit Office of Denmark (Rigsrevisionen) conducted a cost-benefit analysis of government IT projects in 2020, covering 44 projects across 11 ministerial areas. A follow-up study in 2024 assessed whether ministries had addressed identified shortcomings, finding improved benefit realisation practices and concluding the case satisfactorily.
Digital project management in Denmark is supported by a comprehensive methodology for managing and evaluating ICT projects. The State IT Project Model provides a lifecycle framework covering five principles, mandatory management documentation, benefit realisation processes, risk management, and stakeholder engagement. It is mandatory for all projects with budgets of DKK 15 million or above and available as guidance for smaller projects.
Denmark performs well in data quality, standards and data protection, but institutional steering for public sector data governance could be strengthened. A dedicated public sector data leading institution is not yet in place. Establishing formal data leadership could enhance strategic coordination of government-wide data management.
While Denmark achieves strong scores in service standards, catalogues, and user engagement, broader components of its service delivery framework could be strengthened. Mechanisms supporting the Once-Only Principle, formal requirements for user involvement in policy design, and performance measurement remain areas for development.
The OECD Digital Government Outlook (DGO) provides a comprehensive assessment of digital government policies across OECD Members and accession candidate countries. It draws on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI) to evaluate progress and identify persistent gaps in digital transformation across the public sector.
The DGI assesses the enabling foundations for digital transformation across six dimensions: Digital by Design, Data-driven Public Sector, Government as a Platform, Open by Default, User-Driven and Proactiveness. Rather than measuring the digitalisation of specific services, the DGI focuses on the strategies, policy levers, implementation practices and monitoring mechanisms that enable coherent, whole-of-government digital transformation.
The OURdata Index benchmarks the robustness of open government data policies across three pillars: data availability, data accessibility and government support for data re-use. It supports policymakers in monitoring the design and implementation of national open government data policies. Denmark did not participate in the 2025 edition of the OURdata Index.
Both indices were developed with OECD Member countries through the OECD Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) and approved by the OECD Public Governance Committee.
Figure 1: The 2025 DGI OECD average does not include Germany and the United States. 2025 data cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. The 2023 OECD average does not include Germany, Greece, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States. 2023 data cover the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2022. The composite score is the unweighted average of the six-dimension scores.
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The full book is available in English: OECD (2026), Digital Government Outlook 2026: From Foundations to Transformational Impact, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0496b2bc-en.
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