Editing Denmark (section)

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Regions of Denmark|Municipalities of Denmark}}
{{Hatnote|Also related: [[Municipalities of the Faroe Islands]], [[Administrative divisions of Greenland]], and [[NUTS statistical regions of Denmark]]}}
<!--This section only details divisions with an administrate purpose-->
{{Danish regions|float=right}}

Denmark, with a total area of {{convert|43,094|km2|sqmi|lk=in|sigfig=5}}, is divided into five administrative regions ({{langx|da|regioner}}). The regions are further subdivided into [[List of municipalities of Denmark|98 municipalities]] (''{{lang|da|kommuner}}''). The easternmost land in Denmark, the [[Ertholmene]] archipelago, with an area of 39 hectares (0.16 sq mi), is neither part of a municipality nor a region but belongs to the [[Ministry of Defence (Denmark)|Ministry of Defence]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Jonas |last=Michael Kjær |title=Christiansø betaler ikke sundhedsbidrag |date=15 November 2006 |url=http://www.dr.dk/Regioner/Bornholm/Nyheder/Christiansoe/2006/11/15160130.htm |work=dr.dk |access-date=12 August 2007 |language=da |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011075640/http://dr.dk/Regioner/Bornholm/Nyheder/Christiansoe/2006/11/15160130.htm |archive-date=11 October 2007 }}</ref> The [[provinces of Denmark]] are statistical divisions of Denmark, positioned between the [[Regions of Denmark|administrative regions]] and [[municipalities of Denmark|municipalities]]. They are not administrative divisions, nor subject for any kind of political elections, but are mainly for statistical use.

The regions were created on [[2005 Danish local elections|1 January 2007]] to replace the 16 [[Counties of Denmark|former counties]]. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, reducing the number from 271 to 98.<ref name="nuts">{{cite web | title=Regioner, landsdele og kommuner, v1:2007- | website=Danmarks Statistik | url=https://www.dst.dk/da/Statistik/dokumentation/nomenklaturer/nuts | language=da | access-date=29 Apr 2025}}</ref> Most municipalities have a population of at least 20,000 to give them financial and professional sustainability, although a few exceptions were made to this rule.<ref>[http://www.citypopulation.de/Denmark.html Denmark: Regions, Municipalities, Cities & Major Urban Areas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408144050/http://www.citypopulation.de/Denmark.html |date=8 April 2012 }} – Statistics and Maps on ''City Population''.</ref> The administrative divisions are led by directly elected councils, elected proportionally every four years; the most recent [[2021 Danish local elections|Danish local elections]] were held on 16 November 2021. Other regional structures use the municipal boundaries as a layout, including the [[Police of Denmark|police districts]], the [[courts of Denmark|court districts]] and the [[Ward (country subdivision)|electoral wards]].

==== Regions ====
The governing bodies of the regions are the [[local government|regional councils]], each with forty-one councillors elected for four-year terms. The councils are headed by regional district chairmen (''{{lang|da|regionsrådsformand}}''), who are elected by the council.<ref name="brief">{{cite book|title=The Danish Regions – in Brief|date=2007|publisher=Danske Regioner|location=Copenhagen|isbn=978-87-7723-471-2|edition=3rd rev.}}</ref>
The areas of responsibility for the regional councils are the [[health care in Denmark|national health service]], [[social services]] and [[regional development]].<ref name="brief" /><ref name=regioner>{{cite web|title=Regional Tasks in Denmark|url=http://www.regioner.dk/in+english/regional+denmark/regional+tasks|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510023358/http://www.regioner.dk/in+english/regional+denmark/regional+tasks|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2014|publisher=Danske Regioner|access-date=23 August 2015}}</ref> Unlike the counties they replaced, the regions are not allowed to levy taxes and the health service is partly financed by a national health care contribution until 2018 (''{{lang|da|sundhedsbidrag}}''), partly by funds from both government and municipalities.<ref name=taxation1>{{cite web|title=The Danish Tax System|url=http://ias.au.dk/taxation/the-danish-tax-system/|publisher=[[Aarhus University]]|access-date=23 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821030836/http://ias.au.dk/taxation/the-danish-tax-system/|archive-date=21 August 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> From 1 January 2019 this contribution will be abolished, as it is being replaced by higher income tax instead.

The [[area]] and populations of the regions vary widely; for example, the [[Capital Region of Denmark|Capital Region]] has a population three times larger than that of [[North Denmark Region]]. Under the county system certain densely populated municipalities, such as [[Copenhagen Municipality]] and [[Frederiksberg Municipality|Frederiksberg]], had been given a status equivalent to that of counties, making them first-level administrative divisions. These ''[[sui generis]]'' municipalities were incorporated into the new regions under the 2007 reforms.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Danish language|Danish]] name !! English name !! [[Administrative centre|Admin. centre]] !! Largest city<br />(populous)|| Population<br />(April 2021) !! Total area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
|| {{lang|da|Hovedstaden}} || [[Capital Region of Denmark]] || [[Hillerød]] || [[Copenhagen]] || style="text-align:right;"| 1,856,061 || style="text-align:right;"| 2,568.29
|-
|| {{lang|da|Midtjylland}} || [[Central Denmark Region]] || [[Viborg, Denmark|Viborg]] || [[Aarhus]] || style="text-align:right;"| 1,333,245 || style="text-align:right;"| 13,095.80
|-
|| {{lang|da|Nordjylland}} || [[North Denmark Region]] || [[Aalborg]] || [[Aalborg]] || style="text-align:right;"| 590,322 || style="text-align:right;"| 7,907.09
|-
|| {{lang|da|Sjælland}} || [[Region Zealand]] || [[Sorø]] || [[Roskilde]] || style="text-align:right;"| 839,619 || style="text-align:right;"| 7,268.75
|-
|| {{lang|da|Syddanmark}} || [[Region of Southern Denmark]] || [[Vejle]] || [[Odense]] || style="text-align:right;"| 1,224,100 || style="text-align:right;"| 12,132.21
|-
| colspan=6 |Source: [https://web.archive.org/web/20180208230627/http://www.noegletal.dk/ Regional and municipal key figures]
|}