Island municipalities such as Læsø, Samsø, Langeland, and Lolland rank among the Danish municipalities with the highest expenses per public school student. According to data from Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik), Læsø Municipality leads the list with expenditures of 141,500 Danish kroner (approximately $20,800) per student in 2023. In contrast, Kolding Municipality spends only 64,000 Danish kroner (around $9,200) per student.
Maximilian Jerome Hueg, an analyst at Statistics Denmark, explains that the difference in expenditures is primarily due to the small student populations in island municipalities. “Small schools have higher costs per student because maintenance of school buildings and teacher salaries must be covered regardless of the number of students,” he states.
Public schools constitute about 15.5 percent of municipal operating expenses, a figure that has remained stable since 2012. In 2023, municipalities collectively spent approximately 62 billion Danish kroner ($9.1 billion) on public education, a sum that includes funding for after-school care programs (SFO), special education, counseling, and sports facilities.
The largest area of expenditure for municipalities in Denmark is social services and employment, which accounted for 58 percent of the total 402 billion Danish kroner ($57.6 billion) in operating expenses in 2023. This category includes services for the elderly, adults with special needs, early childhood care, and early retirement benefits.