Denmark to draft women into army from 2026

Denmark is accelerating reforms to increase the size of its Armed Forces — the country will begin conscripting women into the army next year.

This is reported by Bloomberg.

Women can now join the military voluntarily, while men are required to serve if called up. Copenhagen will extend mandatory military conscription to women a year earlier than originally planned, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said at a briefing on March 25.

The Danish Ministry of Defense also wants to spend 12 billion kroner

on investments in Denmarkʼs heavy brigade — it is designed for battles using tanks, armored vehicles and artillery and can participate in NATO operations.

The money will also go towards the purchase of two aerial refueling aircraft. The costs will be financed by the government’s Acceleration Fund, which was announced in February. Denmark plans to increase defense spending to better counter the growing threat from Russia, Bloomberg writes.

• Denmark will become the third country in Europe to call up women for military service. The first was Norway, which introduced the reform in 2015. Sweden reinstated conscription in 2017, extending it to women.
• In November 2024, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds supported mandatory conscription of women into the National Defense Service. He suggested that the innovations could be introduced in 2028.

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