As of 1 July 2025, women in Denmark are officially equal to men in terms of military service. According to the new rules, all female citizens of the country are subject to compulsory military registration and can be called up for compulsory military service if they are selected in a special lottery. This is reported by the Associated Press agency.
Until recently, women could serve in the Danish army exclusively on a voluntary basis. Now, under the new legislation, they are included in the general system of military registration. At the same time, as AP stresses, when forming the next set of volunteers will continue to be given priority regardless of gender, and the remaining places will be distributed randomly – through a lottery among all the military.
In addition to expanding the number of persons subject to conscription, the period of service has been increased from the previous four months to eleven months. Of this period, five months are allocated for basic training. Colonel Kenneth Strøm, head of the Danish conscription programme, explained to journalists that the increase in the number of soldiers directly contributes to the country’s defence capability.
The decision to equalise women’s and men’s military responsibilities is driven by a number of factors. First, it is a response to Denmark’s commitment to NATO to increase defence spending. Second, the reform comes in response to deteriorating security in Europe due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Copenhagen is not only seeking to address the Alliance’s requirements, but also intends to strengthen the army, including expanding the conscript battalion.
Military service for women was introduced by Norway in 2013 and by Sweden in 2017.
