The Danish government is sounding the alarm over the drastic number of immigrants from non-Western countries claiming disability pensions.

Denmark’s government is sounding the alarm over the number of migrants applying for disability pensions. The governing party appears ready to finally take action after a report put out by the Danish Employers’ Confederation showed that immigrants from Iraq, Lebanon and Somalia are claiming disability pensions at a much higher rate than those from other countries.

Labour Minister Ane Halsboe-Jorgensen of the Social Democrats reported that 12 per cent of non-Western foreigners were receiving disability pensions in 2023, compared to only 6 per cent of Danes. But if we single out individual non-Western countries, some of the rates are astronomical: Lebanese and Iraqis claims are at 41 and 32 per cent respectively.

The ministry will be assessing these figures as they are „so drastic that we cannot ignore them” and will introduce „introduce “a plan to target this without causing undue concern for the many Danes who are eligible for disability pensions”.

Countries considered “Western” include all EU member states, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the Vatican, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Troels Lund Poulsen, the deputy prime minister of Denmark and leader of the liberal Venstre party (coalition partner of the Social Democrats), told the Berlingske news portal that the numbers indicate a tendency for more leniency or no checks at all in the approval of disability pensions to these groups. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also recently called on Syrians to return home after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. There are currently around 35,000 Syrians residing in Denmark, many without permanent residency permits. The government has also announced that it will halt individual permit applications from Syrian nationals.

Pensions in Denmark have also attracted a lot of media attention for other reasons. Last month, reports pointed out that two out of three Muslims over 50 in the country are receiving early retirement, putting a massive strain on the pension system.