Union density is high in Denmark, at around two-thirds of the workforce, although it has fallen in recent years. Most union members are in unions associated with the main confederations, the FH and Akademikerne, which are organised on educational lines. However, more than a quarter of trade union members are in bodies outside the two main confederations.
Union density and structure
There are 2.4 million trade union members in Denmark and 1.96 million trade unionists who are employees or unemployed. With 3.04 million employees this produces a union density of 64.4% in 2024. This is slightly higher than the figure from the OECD, which adjust the union membership figures downwards to take account of retired and unemployed members. It puts union density in Denmark at 60.4% in 2024.
One reason for this high level of membership may be trade union involvement in the administration of unemployment funds. But this is certainly not the only one.
By far the largest trade union confederation in Denmark is FH (Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation). It was created in January 2019 from a merger of what were previously Denmark’s two largest union confederations, LO, and FTF. LO unions organised both manual and non-manual workers in the private and public sectors, while the FTF was largely made up of unions of public sector employees like civil servants, teachers and nurses, but also included some private sector non-manual workers, particularly in banking and finance.
FH has 1.3 million members in 62 separate unions, of whom 1.05 million are employees or unemployed. The individual unions are independent, but FH and, in the past, its predecessors LO and FTF have played a critical role in negotiating the framework agreements which have shaped the Danish system.
The second largest grouping is Akademikerne, sometimes called AC (Akademikernes Centralorganisation), which organises graduate level employees in the public and private sectors. Its 26 affiliated unions have 505,000 members (342,103 if only employees and unemployed members are included).
There are also large number of members in union bodies outside these two main confederations. The confederation for managers and executives and has 130,000 members, of whom 113,754 are employees, and there are another 454,000 employees who belong to other unions outside the confederations. Many of these union bodies, which generally concentrate on membership services rather than negotiations and compete on price, are described as “yellow unions” by the main confederations for failing to sign collective agreements, have local union representatives or engage in collective action.
In total, the union bodies outside the two main confederations had 567,572 employee members in 2024 and made up 28.9% of all trade union members who are employees.
Individual unions
Both the FH and Akademikerne confederations have a large number of separate affiliated unions. FH has 62 and Akademikerne 26.
Most FH unions are either relatively small craft unions or specialist non-manual and technical unions, but some have a wider and much larger membership. Overall, the union structure is complex, with a combination of craft, industry and general unions. There are attempts to limit competition for membership through demarcation agreements, but it still exists in some areas.
Details of membership in FH unions are set out in the table.
Name | Organisational area | Membership in 2024 (employees and unemployed only) |
3F | General workers union | 201,128 |
HK | Retail and clerical workers | 160,456 |
FAO | Public sector | 141,207 |
Dansk Metal | Metalworkers | 69,754 |
Dansk Sygeplejeråd | Nurses | 64,696 |
DLF | Teachers | 57,567 |
BUPL | Childcare staff | 54,165 |
Finansforbundet | Finance | 41,032 |
Socialpædagogerne | Social workers | 34,402 |
Dansk El-Forbund | Electricians | 23,289 |
52 other FH unions | | 203,578 |
Total | | 1,051,274 |
There have been a number of mergers between FH unions in recent years, with the number of FH affiliates dropping from 88 to the current 62. In addition, the financial workers’ union, which had previously not been an affiliate, joined FH in June 2022.
As well as belonging to the FH union confederation, unions are also members of a bargaining groups which play a central role in collective bargaining (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure). The most important of these is CO-industri, which brings together nine unions, including parts of 3F, HK, Dansk Metal and Dansk El-Forbund, with a total of 229,547 members.
