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Sep 2025
In collaboration with partners, Digital Hub Denmark has created a first-of-its-kind study exploring what drives international talent to leave Denmark.
Denmark faces increasing pressure to strengthen its digital workforce. Despite a strong digital ecosystem and reputation for quality of life, the country is becoming less successful at attracting and retaining international digital talent, risking a competitive disadvantage in the global race for digital skills.
This new report Exit Interviews: Why do international tech professionals leave Denmark? explores why international tech professionals decide to leave Denmark, even after building a life and career here– and what might have made them stay. While many initiatives focus on those who stay, this study zooms in on the ones who have already left. We spoke to tech talents who once lived and worked in Denmark’s tech industry - and asked them, quite simply: Why did you leave?
Based on 26 in-depth interviews with international tech talent that has left Denmark combined with insights from nearly 50 Danish companies, the study offers a rare and honest picture of the underlying departure factors. From career stagnation and unclear growth paths to cultural disconnect and everyday frictions, the report sheds light on challenges that are often overlooked in both policy and retention efforts.
The cost of departure is high: when skilled international professionals leave, Denmark loses not just talent, but also diversity, innovation capacity, and the return on earlier investments.
The report also presents 10 recommendations for public actors, companies, and international professionals themselves, aimed at reducing friction and supporting stronger retention of global talent in Denmark.
The Exit Interviews project runs under the lead of Digital Hub Denmark together with a strong coalition of partners: the City of Copenhagen, The Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), Copenhagen Capacity, the Danish Chamber of Commerce, the Confederation of Danish Industry, the City of Aarhus, Erhverv Aarhus, and Tech Hub Aarhus. HBS Economics acts as research partner, shaping the study’s methodological framework and validating its insights.
See the ten recommedations here below and see the report for a detailed description of the challenges and recommendations.
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