Turnout: 70.80%
About this election
The 2017 Danish regional elections, held on 21 November 2017 alongside the municipal elections, chose the councils of Denmark's five administrative regions (regioner). The regions' central task is running the public hospital and health service, and the elections are fought largely on health and transport rather than national party politics. The Social Democrats emerged as the clear winner, strengthening their hold on the regional level.
Each of the five regions — Capital (Hovedstaden), Zealand (Sjælland), Southern Denmark (Syddanmark), Central Jutland (Midtjylland) and North Jutland (Nordjylland) — elects a 41-member regional council by proportional representation for a four-year term. The councils have no taxing power (they are financed by the state and municipalities) and exist mainly to govern the health system, so turnout and party fortunes often track the parallel municipal vote held the same day.
The campaign was dominated by hospital waiting times, staffing and the centralisation of services into large "super-hospitals". Nationally the Social Democrats won about 30.4% of the regional vote and 70 of the 205 council seats, comfortably ahead of Venstre on roughly 24% and 54 seats. The Danish People's Party, Conservatives, Socialist People's Party and Red–Green Alliance followed. The Social Democrats led the vote in four of the five regions, with Venstre strongest in Southern Denmark.
Turnout was about 70.7%, high for a sub-national election and boosted by the simultaneous municipal poll. The Social Democrats' regional dominance reflected their broad national strength in 2017; the map above shows the largest party in each regional council, with the full breakdown available on click.
The Social Democrats retained the chair (regionsrådsformand) in most regions, consolidating their control of the health service in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic. The result, alongside the party's strong municipal showing the same day, signalled the recovery of the centre-left at local level that would carry through to the 2019 general election.
Official results from Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) — dst.dk/valg. The map shows the largest party in each of the five regional councils.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.