Tens of thousands of immigrants are living and working illegally in Denmark, according to new analysis from the independent Rockwool Foundation Research Unit.
The analysis found there were about 33,000 illegal immigrants in Denmark in 2013 – more than twice as many as 2008.
”The Scandinavian welfare society is known to be regulated and organised – its citizens through their CPR numbers are granted the right to a number of benefits,” Torben Tranæs, the research head behind the analysis, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
”So it's an awkward situation when there is such a big group of people who don't have any rights whatsoever – or duties.”
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Russia and Pakistan top
The analysis (here in Danish) found that most of the people charged with being an illegal immigrant are from Russia (7.7 percent), followed by Pakistan (7.5), Kosovo (6.3), Philippines (5.2), Vietnam (4), Thailand (3.5), India (3.3), Iran (3.3), Albania (3.2), Iraq (3.1) and Algeria (3).
When it comes to the number of people who are caught working illegally in Denmark, Nigeria and China come top. The two countries accounted for about 30 percent of the total numbers of people caught working illegally in 2013.
The analysis also found that 80 percent of the illegal immigrants caught in Denmark are men, an increase of 13 percent since 2007, while the average age of the illegal immigrants was 32.
