New analysis points to significant employment potential among immigrants from MENAPT countries, that is, countries in the Middle East and North Africa as well as Pakistan and Turkey.
There is still considerable untapped labour potential in Denmark among immigrants from the so-called MENAPT countries, which include countries in the Middle East and North Africa as well as Pakistan and Turkey.
This is according to a new analysis from SMVdanmark, which estimates that 33,100 more full-time workers would be in employment in 2025 if the group had the same employment rate as people of Danish origin.
According to the analysis, 44.6 per cent of the 158,800 MENAPT immigrants of working age were in wage employment in 2025. By comparison, the employment rate for people of Danish origin was 65.5 per cent. This means the employment gap is estimated at 20.9 percentage points.
SMVdanmark also estimates that fully closing the gap could strengthen public finances by DKK 11.8 billion at 2025 prices. The calculation is based on previous estimates by the Ministry of Finance of immigrants’ net contribution to public finances.
Progress since 2015
However, the analysis also shows that developments are moving in the right direction. Since 2015, the employment rate for MENAPT immigrants has increased by 16.2 percentage points, while the increase for people of Danish origin over the same period was 3.3 percentage points.
At the same time, new immigrants are entering the labour market faster than before. In 2019, 33.2 per cent of immigrants from MENAPT countries were in employment during their first year after being granted residency. By 2024, that share had risen to 42.6 per cent.
Even though progress is being made, the group still lags significantly behind both people of Danish origin and other non-Western immigrants. In 2025, the employment rate for other non-Western immigrants was 58.3 per cent. That was 13.7 percentage points higher than for the MENAPT group.
In the analysis, SMVdanmark points out that a large part of the potential is found among people outside the labour force, including disability pension recipients, people in flex jobs, students and recipients of cash benefits. The organisation therefore argues for changes aimed at increasing the incentive to take up work.
