Married couples on welfare are mostly of non-Western origin

Cost of supporting them a huge drain, claims Cepos

Lucie Rychla

Mar 14, 2016

Figures from the Employment Ministry reveal that 84 percent of the married couples in Denmark who are both receiving welfare benefits (kontanthjælp) are of non-Western origin.

Tabloid newspaper Ekstra Bladet jumped on the news in its Monday issue, pointing out only 8 percent of the total population aged 16-66 has a non-Western background.

According to calculations from the independent Danish think-tank Cepos, citizens of a non-Western origin on benefits cost the Danish state an average of 11 billion kroner per year. And they are far more likely to be unemployed.

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