The mass migration of Danes from the rural areas of the country to the cities seems to have slowed down considerably recently.

Last year there was a net gain of just 764 new citizens in Copenhagen and 448 in Aarhus, which are the lowest rises since the financial crisis started in 2008.

Property prices a major factor
One of the main reasons is soaring property prices in the cities, contends Morten Skak, a professor at the University of Southern Denmark.

“Many purchased an apartment in the city and were stuck there when the prices fell,” he told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

“But now the prices are so high that switching an apartment in the city to a home in the rural areas is the best it’s ever been.”

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Immigration not urbanisation
It’s mostly families with children who have made the move out of the urban areas in order to find a more affordable place to live, although they don’t tend to stray too far from the cities in order to maintain their jobs.

But despite the exodus, the capital and Aarhus are still growing, although that has more to do with immigration and an increase in births than urbanisation.