Danish museums are experiencing record-high visitor numbers in 2023, according to the latest data from Statistics Denmark. Throughout the year, museums have had a total of 17.4 million visits, which is the highest number of recorded guests in the last 40 years. Since Statistics Denmark began keeping detailed records of museum visitation in 1984, there has never been such a high number of visitors. This marks a significant increase compared to previous years, with state-supported museums in particular seeing growth. These museums accounted for 14.5 million of the total visits, representing a seven percent increase compared to 2019. Museums without state support also saw positive development with 2.9 million visits.
It is worth noting that 2023 is the first year where museum visitation has not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have contributed to the increased interest. Interest in museums is not limited to their exhibitions. Statistics show that 2.3 million guests visited museums without necessarily viewing the exhibitions, instead opting to enjoy the museums’ cafes, gardens, or parks. Geographically, the increase in visitor numbers is spread across the entire country, with notable growth in the Capital Region and North Jutland. In the Capital Region, there were approximately one million more visitors than the previous year, while North Jutland saw an increase of 188,000 guests.
Among the most popular museums in 2023 was the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, which alone attracted 702,000 visitors. The National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen and ARoS in Aarhus were also among the top ten most visited museums in Denmark. This positive trend demonstrates that both Danes and international guests continue to appreciate cultural experiences, and that museums play an important role in Denmark’s cultural landscape.