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Topic 10 of 18 · Country Index 2026

Denmark: Peace & Security

Is a country at peace, and how heavily armed is it?

Denmark is placed 20th of 177 countries on peace & security in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Political Stability and Absence of Violence 0.791 (2025); Physical Violence Index 0.97 (2025).

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Peace & Security

20th

of 177 countries placed

Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics

Country Index 2026, all topics2nd of 183 →

01The evidence

The 4 key statistics that decide it

Only these place Denmark on peace & security — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.

Why these keys

  1. Key 1 of 4

    Political Stability and Absence of Violence

    World Bank Group

    Why it is a key

    2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0

    0.791

    Political Stability estimate (−2.5 to 2.5)

    Higher is better

    Denmark: 0.791. Across the 211 countries in this edition, values run from -2.506 (Yemen) to 1.563 (Andorra); the world median is 0.171.

    World median
    0.171
    Best in Northern Europe
    1.321 Iceland
    Land neighbours
    Germany 0.208

  2. Key 2 of 4

    Physical Violence Index

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg

    Why it is a key

    2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    0.97

    Freedom from political killings and torture (0–1)

    Higher is better

    Denmark: 0.97. Across the 176 countries in this edition, values run from 0.053 (North Korea) to 0.989 (Sweden); the world median is 0.79.

    World median
    0.79
    Best in Northern Europe
    0.989 Iceland and Sweden
    Land neighbours
    Germany 0.983

  3. Key 3 of 4

    Political Violence by Non-State Actors

    V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg

    Why it is a key

    2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    -2.986

    Original latent estimate (≈ −3.5 to +4); higher = more violence

    Lower is better

    Denmark: -2.986. Across the 171 countries in this edition, values run from -3.182 (Luxembourg) to 3.375 (Myanmar); the world median is -0.661.

    World median
    -0.661
    Best in Northern Europe
    -3.108 Iceland
    Land neighbours
    Germany -0.265

  4. Key 4 of 4

    Global Militarisation Index

    Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC)

    Why it is a key

    2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY

    121.77

    GMI score (higher means a heavier military weight)

    Lower is better

    Ranked 53rd of 149 by BICC

    Denmark: 121.77. Across the 149 countries in this edition, values run from 3.512 (Haiti) to 351.09 (Ukraine); the world median is 100.66.

    World median
    100.66
    Best in Northern Europe
    43.51 Ireland
    Land neighbours
    Germany 87.52

03In context

Denmark beside its neighbours

A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 177 countries on peace & security, never a place within the region.

Northern Europe
1st177thNot placed · 47 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on peace & security

Denmark and the countries it borders

Standing among all 177; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.

CountryStandingPolitical Stability and Absence of ViolencePolitical Stability estimate (−2.5 to 2.5)Physical Violence IndexFreedom from political killings and torture (0–1)Political Violence by Non-State ActorsOriginal latent estimate (≈ −3.5 to +4); higher = more violenceGlobal Militarisation IndexGMI score (higher means a heavier military weight)
Denmark20th0.7910.97-2.986121.77
Germany53rd0.2080.983-0.26587.52

“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is

Placed either side on peace & security

The countries immediately above and below Denmark in the topic’s list.

04Context, no vote

Where Denmark is ahead of the world, and behind

10 more statistics filed under peace & security, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.

Every country

Ahead of the world median4

Statistics on which Denmark does better than the middle country measured.

  • INFORM Risk IndexEuropean Commission Joint Research Centre, with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee · 2025 · world median 3.71.3No real change since 2016

    Denmark: 1.3 · world median 3.7 · INFORM Risk score (0–10, where 10 is the highest risk). European Commission Joint Research Centre, with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2026 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0.7 to 8.5; lower is better.

    Position 188th of 191 · derived, 1st = worst.

    Chart and every countryThe 2026 dataset

  • Government Cyber Security CapacityV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.1961.533▼ Worsened since 2015

    Denmark: 1.533 · world median 0.196 · Original latent estimate (≈ −3.6 to +3.7); higher = more capacity. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from -2.66 to 3.715; higher is better.

    Position 29th of 176 · derived.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Military Dimension IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.10▼ Worsened since 2015

    Denmark: 0 · world median 0.1 · Military dimension index (0–1; higher = larger military role). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1; lower is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • State Authority over TerritoryV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 95.398.93▼ Worsened since 2015

    Denmark: 98.93 · world median 95.3 · Territory under effective state control (% of official territory). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 47.56 to 100; higher is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

Level with the median, or no median to compare4

  • Deaths in Organized ViolenceUCDP · 2025 · world median 00No real change since 2015

    Denmark: 0 · world median 0 · Deaths in organized violence (people). Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 90,345; lower is better.

    Position 59th of 59 · derived, 1st = worst.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Civilian Deaths in Organized ViolenceUCDP · 2025 · world median 00No real change since 2015

    Denmark: 0 · world median 0 · Civilians killed in organized violence (people). Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 65,911; lower is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Deaths in State-Based Armed ConflictUCDP · 2025 · world median 00No real change since 2015

    Denmark: 0 · world median 0 · Deaths in state-based armed conflict (people). Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 90,323; lower is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

  • Deaths in Non-State ConflictUCDP · 2025 · world median 00No real change since 2015

    Denmark: 0 · world median 0 · Deaths in non-state conflict (people). Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 7,827; lower is better.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

No better end2

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

  • Arms Imports (% of total imports)U.S. Department of State · 2019 · world median 0.30.4Moved since 2009

    Denmark: 0.4 · world median 0.3 · Arms imports (% of all imports of goods and services). U.S. Department of State, 2019 edition, data for 2019.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 61.

    Chart and every countryThe 2019 dataset

  • Refugees by Country of OriginUNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency · 2025 · world median 1,27221Moved since 2015

    Denmark: 21 · world median 1,272 · Refugees under UNHCR's mandate from this country, end of year (people). UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, 2025 edition, data for 2025.

    Published values in that edition run from 0 to 5,224,131.

    Chart and every countryThe 2025 dataset

No current reading for Denmark

Armed Forces Personnel (% of population) and Internally Displaced People of Concern to UNHCR. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.

“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing

05Country Index 2026

Peace & Security among Denmark’s 16 topics

Peace & Security is Denmark’s 10th best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first, each marker at its share of that topic’s field.

On the profile
  1. Governance & Institutions1st of 194
  2. Democracy & Civil Liberties2nd of 198
  3. Development & Human Capital3rd of 196
  4. Risk & Resilience3rd of 193
  5. Economy & Innovation6th of 176
  6. Energyjoint 8th of 165
  7. Food & Agriculture10th of 184
  8. Digital & Technologyjoint 18th of 198
  9. Mobility & Trade17th of 177
  10. Peace & Security20th of 177
  11. Work & Labour21st of 182
  12. Poverty & Inequality22nd of 159
  13. Health & Wellbeing33rd of 200
  14. Gender & Equality31st of 183
  15. Education & Knowledge36th of 198
  16. Environment & Sustainabilityjoint 139th of 186

06The top of the list

Who leads on peace & security

The three countries placed highest of 177, and the leaders Denmark can most readily be measured against.

All 177 countries
  1. 1

    Iceland

    Northern Europe

    1st of 177 · 3 of 4 keys

    Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

  2. 2

    Costa Rica

    Central America

    2nd of 177 · 3 of 4 keys

    Photo: Henry Zbyszynski from Capitola California, USA · CC BY 2.0, greyscale

  3. 3

    Malta

    Southern Europe

    3rd of 177 · 4 of 4 keys

    Photo: Dirk Heldmaier derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

  1. Highest in Europe

    Iceland1st3/4 keys

  2. This page

    Denmark20th4/4 keys

Positions out of 177 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.

07Analysis

Charts and analysis about Denmark and peace & security

All charts

08Questions

Denmark on peace & security: questions answered

Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.

How does Denmark rank on peace & security?

Denmark is placed 20th of 177 countries on Peace & Security in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Political Stability and Absence of Violence, Physical Violence Index, Political Violence by Non-State Actors and Global Militarisation Index). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.

What is the latest Political Stability and Absence of Violence figure for Denmark?

0.791 in 2025 (political Stability estimate (−2.5 to 2.5)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 0.171.

What is the latest Physical Violence Index figure for Denmark?

0.97 in 2025 (freedom from political killings and torture (0–1)), according to V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. The world median in the same edition was 0.79.

How does Denmark compare with Germany on peace & security?

Germany is placed 53rd of 177, and Denmark 20th. Political Stability and Absence of Violence: Germany 0.208, Denmark 0.791; Physical Violence Index: Germany 0.983, Denmark 0.97; Political Violence by Non-State Actors: Germany -0.265, Denmark -2.986; Global Militarisation Index: Germany 87.52, Denmark 121.77.

How have Denmark’s peace & security figures changed?

Political Stability and Absence of Violence fell from 1.444 in 2000 to 0.791 in 2025; Physical Violence Index fell from 0.988 in 2000 to 0.97 in 2025; Political Violence by Non-State Actors fell from -1.691 in 2000 to -2.986 in 2025; Global Militarisation Index fell from 142.33 in 2000 to 121.77 in 2023.

Which peace & security statistics are missing for Denmark?

No current reading is published for Denmark on Armed Forces Personnel (% of population) and Internally Displaced People of Concern to UNHCR. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

09Method

Method, sources and how to cite

What this topic does not measure

Deaths in armed conflict and violent deaths per person are published here as context, because the counts are uneven between years and between sources. Crime in daily life and personal safety are not covered. Humanitarian crises driven by conflict appear in Risk & Resilience.

About peace & security, in full

How the Peace & Security standing is decided

A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 4 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 4 keys to be placed.

The peace & security method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built

The key statistics and their licences

The other 10 statistics on this page come from 5 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

Denmark’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Denmark: Peace & Security — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/denmark/security

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