85.7 Overall Score (up 11.6 since Aug 1st.)

Denmark

  • 64.7 Public Health
    Directives
  • 72.9 Financial
    Response
  • 100 Fact-Based
    Communication
  • 64.7 Public Health
    Directives
  • 72.9 Financial
    Response
  • 100 Fact-Based
    Communication

Denmark's score is very strong, due to a robust healthcare system and to generous fiscal responses that safeguarded employment. Public health directives have improved substantially in recent months.

Pre-COVID Conditions

Denmark’s universal healthcare system, coupled with a high GDP per capita and low debt-to-GDP ratio have contributed to its effective pandemic-response policies, though it is hurt by its low number of hospital beds.

  • Debt/GDP ratio 34.3%
  • GDP/capita $55,675
  • Gini coefficient (out of 100) 28.7
  • Infant mortality rate (out of 1,000 live births) 4
  • Healthcare access score (out of 100) 85.7
  • Hospital beds/1,000 People 17.5

Government Response

Select a data point for more information
(Data points represent policy level as of Mar 15.)
64.7

Public Health Directives

Denmark’s very high testing levels and increasingly strong social restrictions help overcome its relatively low emergency healthcare spending to give it a strong public health score.

  • Stay at home order 1
  • Public gathering restrictions 4
  • School closings 2
  • Public event cancellations 2
  • Testing policy 3
  • Emergency healthcare investments/capita $16.53
  • Travel restrictions 4
  • Tests/1,000 people 3314.8
  • Contact tracing 1
72.9

Financial Response

Denmark’s financial response was strong, with strong income and debt support overcoming a limited stimulus.

  • Financial stimulus as share of GDP 16%
  • Income support 2
  • Debt forebearance 0
100

Fact-Based Communication

Denmark’s prime minister conducts weekly briefings that emphasise clear, fact-based messages.

  • Reliance on science/fact based information 0
  • Press freedom 0

COVID-19 Status as of Mar 15

Denmark scores relatively strongly in this category, with a fairly low death rate and a very low positivity rate.

  • Total deaths 830
  • Death rate per 100K 143.2
  • Total cases 221,763
  • Cases per 100K 2
  • Percent of positive tests 0.5
  • Change in positivity rates -2.7
Case Trend Line
Daily cases Level 1 Lockdown
Date Status New Cases/1M
1 Apr 15 Primary schools reopen 29.35
2 Apr 20 Non-essential health care services and some businesses, such as hair salons, reopen 22.62
3 May 11 Retail stores reopen 14.50
4 May 18 Restaurants and secondary schools reopen 7.08
5 May 21 Museums and zoos reopen 11.22
6 May 27 Cultural activities reopen 9.15
7 Jun 08 Numbers allowed at public gatherings raised from 10 to 50 2.42
8 Jul 01 Numbers allowed at public gatherings raised from 50 to 100 4.49
9 Aug 22 Facemasks mandatory on public transportation 19.34
10 Sep 19 Public gatherings limited to 50 people, and bars and restaurants must close at 10pm, until October 4th 101.86
11 Dec 07 Implemented targeted lockdowns in 38 of 98 municipalities 353.23
12 Dec 15 Lockdown extended to all municipalities 516.90
13 Jan 13 Lockdown extended until February 7 234.63
14 Jan 28 Lockdown extended to 2/28 115.33

Differentiating Factors

Compared with Neighboring Countries
  • 44.1
    Norway 81,305
    Cases
    1
    Per 1M
    791
    Deaths

    Norway scores just below the median, pulled down by its weak public health and financial response scores, despite a strong reliance on facts and a free press.

  • 60.8
    Sweden 712,527
    Cases
    20
    Per 1M
    3,938
    Deaths

    Despite being known for a relatively strong public healthcare system, Sweden has been hit hard with cases; the country’s lack of stay-at-home orders and school closures, limited testing, and few gathering restrictions overshadowed its financial support, reliance on facts, and accountability with an open press.

  • 61
    Germany 2,585,385
    Cases
    209
    Per 1M
    10,229
    Deaths

    Germany has improved its score a bit in the past few months, after a sharp decline in the fall. Its improvements in contact tracing, which are already likely underestimated in the data, and restrictions on public gatherings, have played important roles in this turnaround, although there has been a recent spike in cases, likely due to both recent restriction relaxations and vaccine rollout issues.

Further Reading From Foreign Policy

Be the source of actionable insight.

Select one of the subscription options below to read the full Covid-19 Global Response Index. Unlock even more global intelligence with a subscription to FP Insider.

Already an FP Insider?

Best Value

One-Year All Access
FP Insider

$450

1-year of full access to FP Insider exclusive content and subscription benefits

See benefits  ▾

  • All FP Analytics Special Reports, including the COVID-19 Global Response Index
  • FP Analytics Power Maps
  • Editorial conference calls
  • Unlimited articles on ForeignPolicy.com
  • Digital and print editions of FP’s award-winning magazine
  • Print archive, containing 50 years of FP journalism
  • Subscriber-only newsletters
  • Security and defense news alerts
  • Bonus episodes of FP podcasts
  • FP mobile app

❌ Hide benefits

 

One-Month
COVID-19 Report Bundle

$150

30-day Access to the COVID-19 Global Response Index and Global Race to Vaccinate report

Looking for group access? Contact us directly

New Zealand

Statistics and government response factors available on each country profile include:

Pre-COVID Conditions:

  • Debt to GDP ratio
  • Infant mortality rates
  • Hospital beds per 1,000 people
  • Gini coefficients measuring inequality
  • Health access and quality

COVID-19 Public Health Directives:

  • Stay-at home orders
  • School-closing policy
  • Public-gathering restrictions
  • Cancellation of public events
  • Testing policy and rates per 1,000 people
  • Emergency healthcare spending per capita
  • Travel restrictions
  • Contact tracing

COVID-19 Financial Response:

  • Stimulus package as a share of GDP
  • Income support
  • Debt-forbearance

Public Communications:

  • Instances of misinformation by leadership
  • Limitations on press freedom, censorship

Current/Historic In-Country COVID-19 Status:

  • Death rates per 1 million
  • Case rates per 1 million