Nearly Twice as Many New Software Firms in Denmark in 2026
From January to October 2026, 2,152 new companies were founded in the Danish CVR register with computer programming as their industry. The same months of 2025 produced 1,120, so the increase is 92%. Over the same period, the total number of new companies in the register rose from 56,973 to 60,342, or 5.9%.
The numbers
Programming does not stand alone. Other software publishing rose from 274 to 643 new companies. Add the computer consultants and the three IT industries went from 2,294 to 3,784 new companies. Outside holding companies, new registrations grew by 2,149, and the three IT industries account for nearly 70% of that growth.
| Industry (new companies Jan–Oct) | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other software publishing | 274 | 643 | +135% |
| Computer programming | 1,120 | 2,152 | +92% |
| Business and management consultancy | 2,457 | 3,080 | +25% |
| Computer consultancy | 900 | 989 | +10% |
| All new companies | 56,973 | 60,342 | +5.9% |
The jump came at the turn of the year. Each quarter of 2025 saw between 297 and 380 new programming firms. In the first quarter of 2026 the figure was 607, and it has stayed above 600 in every full quarter since, with 684 in the third quarter.
59% of the new programming firms use a personally owned legal form (sole proprietorships, small personally owned businesses and partnerships). Sole proprietorships rose from 361 to 798, more than doubling. Private limited companies (ApS) rose from 471 to 870. The growth also reaches beyond the capital: Copenhagen went from 337 to 533 new programming firms, while Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense each registered about twice as many as last year.
Who went the other way
Among industries with at least 150 new companies in 2025, bookkeeping and auditing fell the most. It saw 393 new companies against 522 the year before, a drop of 25%. Public relations and communication fell from 303 to 233. Alternative therapies fell from 456 to 369, and other eating places from 334 to 266.
| Industry (new companies Jan–Oct) | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping, auditing and tax advice | 522 | 393 | −25% |
| Public relations and communication | 303 | 233 | −23% |
| Other eating places | 334 | 266 | −20% |
| Alternative therapies | 456 | 369 | −19% |
What it means
The register records the industry the founder chose, not what the firm does in practice. Many of the new programming firms are sole proprietorships, and 147 of the 2,152 have already been dissolved. The comparison is still like for like: the CVR has used the new DB25 industry classification since 1 January 2025, so both 2025 and 2026 are registered with the same codes.
Holding companies grew too. Founders set up 10,831 new non-financial holding companies against 9,611 the year before, an increase of 13%. Most holding companies have no operations, so they are left out of the comparison of operating industries above.
One industry grew for a different reason. Sea fishing went from 295 to 630 new companies, and 597 of them are in Greenland, which uses the Danish CVR register. Greenland's fisheries act requires a CVR number for a commercial fishing licence, and the Greenland government has run campaigns to register fishers since summer 2025.
Explore the data on Virkly
- Computer programming, every company in the industry
- Other software publishing, the fastest-growing industry in percentage terms
- Computer consultancy, the IT consultants
- Bookkeeping and auditing, the industry with the largest drop
- Sea fishing, where the Greenlandic fishers register
Method
The counts cover companies in the CVR register by founding date from 1 January to 31 October in 2025 and 2026, grouped by primary industry code (DB25). Companies dissolved since then count in the year they were founded. The lists of growing and shrinking industries include industries with at least 150 new companies in 2025. Deleted and anonymised records are excluded. Companies can be registered with a backdated founding date, so figures for the latest months may rise slightly. The information on Greenland's fisheries act comes from the Greenland government's answer to the Greenlandic parliament (Inatsisartut) in 2026. Source: Danish Central Business Register (CVR), queried 11 November 2026.