Funeral services in Denmark – where to open

Active in Denmark

530

0.9 per 10,000 residents

3-year change

+5.6%

12 months: +8.6%

Opened / closed (12 mo.)

77 / 35

Median gross profit

DKK 1.3m

68% profitable

Deeper numbers

Survival, trouble signs, competition and people for funeral services in Hele Danmark.

Survival

Still open after 1 year91%

Still open after 3 years76%

Still open after 5 years61%

Businesses that closed in the last 10 years were open for 8.1 years on average.

Share of businesses started in the 10 years before each mark that were still open after 1, 3 and 5 years.

Trouble signs

Closed within 2 years of opening (last 12 months)3 · 9% of all closures

Companies with negative equity9%

Losses two years in a row16%

Equity and losses from annual reports 2025.

Financial health

Made a loss32%

Median equity ratio50%

Gross profit per employeeDKK 717k

Staff costs per employeeDKK 554k

Medians of companies that filed annual reports for 2025 - 138 companies.

Competition

Run by chains (3+ places)46%

Share of the 3 largest operators16% · 303 owners

	44 places
	27 places
	11 places
	10 places
	10 places

New and established

Openings per 10,000 residents (12 months)0.13

Average age of active businesses10.8 yrs

Younger than 2 years21%

Older than 10 years39%

Distance to the nearest one

Residents more than 5 km from one1,313,840 · 22%

More than 10 km432,077

Farthest parish (5,000+ residents)28.0 km · Skagen Sogn (Frederikshavn)

Measured from each parish centre.

When businesses open and close

OpenedClosed

Per calendar month, 2021–2025. Many closures are dated 31 December (the end of a financial year), so December's closures are higher than when businesses actually stopped.

Jobs

Average number of employees reported in the annual reports of companies that file accounts, sole proprietorships are not included.

Farthest from the nearest funeral services

Postcodes with at least 10,000 residents, measured from the postcode centre (the average of its addresses) – possible gaps in the local offer.

Postcode	Residents	Distance
6760 Ribe	14,949	17.1 km
6900 Skjern	13,125	16.6 km
9440 Aabybro	11,463	14.4 km
9240 Nibe	12,523	12.7 km
5450 Otterup	10,797	11.4 km
9560 Hadsund	10,316	11.3 km
7080 Børkop	13,849	9.4 km
8382 Hinnerup	15,257	7.9 km
9230 Svenstrup J	11,655	7.3 km
6430 Nordborg	11,321	7.1 km

Active in Denmark over time

Openings and closures per year

OpenedClosed* 2026 so far

Best opportunities

Municipalities with room in the market.

Vallensbæk Kommune	77
Århus Kommune	69
Lejre Kommune	68
Greve Kommune	67
Solrød Kommune	66
Albertslund Kommune	65
Aalborg Kommune	64
Ballerup Kommune	64
Glostrup Kommune	63
Høje-Taastrup Kommune	63

Growing fastest

3-year change in active businesses.

Aalborg Kommune	16	+45%
Århus Kommune	28	+40%
Silkeborg Kommune	8	+33%
Faxe Kommune	8	+33%
Viborg Kommune	9	+29%
Guldborgsund Kommune	9	+29%
Horsens Kommune	9	+29%
Frederikshavn Kommune	10	+25%
Køge Kommune	6	+20%
Ringsted Kommune	6	+20%

Declining

Municipalities where this type is shrinking.

Assens Kommune	5	-44%
Vejen Kommune	3	-40%
Herning Kommune	5	-38%
Kalundborg Kommune	4	-33%
Slagelse Kommune	5	-29%
Gentofte Kommune	5	-29%
Esbjerg Kommune	8	-27%
Randers Kommune	6	-25%
Odense Kommune	12	-25%
Haderslev Kommune	4	-20%

All trends for this type →

Most per resident

Densest municipalities (15,000+ residents).

Hørsholm Kommune	2.4
Hillerød Kommune	2.2
Faxe Kommune	2.1
Ishøj Kommune	2.0
Struer Kommune	2.0
Allerød Kommune	1.9
Herlev Kommune	1.9
Syddjurs Kommune	1.8
Frederikshavn Kommune	1.7
Ringsted Kommune	1.7

Financials of companies filing accounts

Median gross profitMedian result

Based on annual reports from Erhvervsstyrelsen. Sole proprietorships don't publish accounts.

By year

Year	Filers	Median gross profit	Middle 50%	Profitable
2025	138	DKK 1.3m	DKK 637k – DKK 3.6m	68%
2024	137	DKK 1.3m	DKK 534k – DKK 3.4m	72%
2023	138	DKK 1.3m	DKK 597k – DKK 3.2m	77%
2022	135	DKK 1.4m	DKK 567k – DKK 3.5m	73%
2021	134	DKK 1.2m	DKK 439k – DKK 3.1m	74%
2020	131	DKK 1.1m	DKK 471k – DKK 3.0m	75%
2019	125	DKK 1.2m	DKK 568k – DKK 2.9m	69%
2018	115	DKK 1.5m	DKK 530k – DKK 3.3m	74%
2017	84	DKK 1.6m	DKK 566k – DKK 3.1m	73%

By region

Region	Active	Per 10k	3-yr change
Region Hovedstaden	182	0.9	+1%
Region Midtjylland	111	0.8	+28%
Region Nordjylland	50	0.8	+32%
Region Sjælland	80	0.9	+3%
Region Syddanmark	98	0.8	-11%

What's included

Businesses whose main Danish branche code (DB07/DB25) starts with:

`9603…`	Bedemænd og begravelsesvæsen
`9630…`	Drift af bedemandsforretninger og begravelsesvæsen

Also found by searching: funeral, bedemand, begravelse