Croissant or currywurst? Applicants for language programs plummet

Croissant or currywurst? Applicants for language programs plummet

In five years, admissions to language programs have nearly halved.

Students in the teacher training program at Copenhagen University College on Nyelandsvej in December 2025. SMVdanmark fears that we will face a shortage of German and French teachers in the future, as applicants for language programs decline. (Photo: © Ida Marie Odgaard, Ritzau Scanpix) 32 minutes ago

Fewer and fewer are applying for language programs.

On Tuesday, an admission letter arrived in the inboxes of a total of 58,673 hopeful applicants.

But only 73 of the newly admitted students will start a general program in German and French.

That is a 13 percent decrease compared to 2025.

In five years, interest in language programs has plummeted. In 2021, 2,369 students were admitted to a language program, while this year 1,218 are admitted. That is nearly a halving of the number admitted.

This is shown by figures from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Digitalization.

Copenhagen University's premises near Vor Frue Church in Copenhagen. In 2016, Copenhagen University closed Finnish, Indology, Tibetology, and Southeast Asian Studies as full programs. This was done as a result of high dropout rates among students and declining state subsidies for language programs. (Photo: © Sebastian Elias Uth, Ritzau Scanpix)

The development frustrates SMVdanmark, the interest organization for small and medium-sized enterprises. Because there is great demand for good language skills in the business sector, says Jesper Beinov, director of policy, analysis, and communication at SMVdanmark on P1 Morgen.

- Germany is the largest trading partner for SMEs. That means Germany plays an even bigger role than the USA in terms of trade. Therefore, there is a need for young people working in companies to also know some German, alongside everything else.

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'Bizarre, ritual tribal dance'

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The large drop in admissions to language programs does not come as a surprise to Helene Caprani, chairwoman of the Magistrenes A-kasse (unemployment insurance fund for academics) and Spanish teacher at Midtsjællands Gymnasium.

She calls the annual admissions to language programs a "bizarre, ritual tribal dance."

- Every single year, we get the figures from the language programs at the university. They are worse than the year before. Then some language people like myself go out and lament it. Then a couple of politicians go out and say it's too bad, and then nothing happens.

She calls for political action in this area.

- Because otherwise, we risk that language subjects will very quickly die out in Denmark.

Education Minister Christina Egelund (Moderates) already stated in July last year that she was "concerned" about the decline in applicants for language subjects.

The government therefore allocated a total of 68 million kroner in November 2025 to strengthen language programs.

The funds were intended both for language subjects at universities and to strengthen language training for student teachers in German and French.

Education Minister Christina Egelund (Moderates) was unable to appear on P1 Morgen on Wednesday. She writes in a written comment:

"It takes time for such initiatives to take effect and have an impact, but I will follow the area closely and continuously assess whether we need to do more."

Research, Education, and Digitalization Minister Christina Egelund (Moderates) at a meeting in the Folketing chamber on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. She is concerned about the declining interest in language subjects. (Photo: © Ida Marie Odgaard, Ritzau Scanpix)

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The threat from artificial intelligence

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Artificial intelligence is in the process of tearing apart familiar work processes and reassembling them in new ways.

This also applies to language subjects, where jobs such as translator and copywriter face new competition from artificial intelligence.

But artificial intelligence cannot replace the skills gained from a language education. This is according to Jesper Beinov, director of policy, analysis, and communication at SMVdanmark:

- Language subjects are also cultural subjects that provide an understanding of what kind of country you are dealing with.

It matters when the director can speak with his employees in their native language, or when Danish exporters can understand German business culture, he says.

- When do you use the informal 'du'? When do you use the formal 'Sie'? How do you write a business letter? What do you not write? And so on. None of that can be handled just by artificial intelligence and language translation programs.

The Magistrenes A-kasse also does not share the fear of unemployment among language graduates.

Unemployment is between two and four percent for those members of the A-kasse who have skills in German, French, Spanish, and Italian, says Helene Caprani.

- That is quite low, especially in the humanities. It should be noted that our average unemployment rate among all our members is 4.8 percent, so it is actually lower for those with language skills.

You can listen to the story on P1 Morgen:

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