
Denmark
Denmark
On the rise
Denmark has recovered the position had in 2015, and lost after Swedish journalist Kim Wall’s murder near Copenhagen in 2017 by Danish inventor Peter Madsen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2018. Her murder shocked Denmark and Sweden, relatively small countries where both Wall and Madsen were already well known. Free speech in Denmark is guaranteed by article 77 of its 1849 constitution, which says: “Every person shall be at liberty to publish their ideas in print, in writing, and in speech, subject to their being held responsible in a court of law. Censorship and other preventive measures shall never again be introduced.” It was Denmark’s newspaper Jyllands Posten that published 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed that were later reprinted by Charlie Hebdo in France.
Ranking
+2
5 in 2019
Global score
-1.74
9.87 in 2019