Region of Eastern Denmark

For the Danish linguistic region, see East Danish.

The Region of Eastern Denmark^[2] (Danish: Region Østdanmark) is a future administrative region of Denmark to be formed on 1 January 2027 from the merger of the Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand. It will contain 46 municipalities, including Copenhagen, Denmark's capital and largest city. The regional headquarters will be located in Sorø, where the headquarters of Region Zealand are currently located.^[3]

Region of Eastern Denmark Region Østdanmark (Danish)
Region
Coordinates: 55.5°N 12°E / 55.5; 12
Country	Denmark
To be established	1 January 2027
Capital	Sorø
Largest city	Copenhagen
Municipalities	46 Albertslund Allerød Ballerup Bornholm Brøndby Copenhagen Dragør Egedal Faxe Fredensborg Frederiksberg Frederikssund Furesø Gentofte Gladsaxe Glostrup Greve Gribskov Guldborgsund Halsnæs Helsingør Herlev Holbæk Hillerød Hvidovre Høje-Taastrup Hørsholm Ishøj Kalundborg Køge Lejre Lolland Lyngby-Taarbæk Næstved Odsherred Ringsted Roskilde Rudersdal Rødovre Slagelse Solrød Sorø Stevns Tårnby Vallensbæk Vordingborg
Area [1]
• Total	9,791 km2 (3,780 sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Website	Official website

Geography and demographics

The Region of Eastern Denmark includes all of Denmark east of the Great Belt, including the islands of Zealand, Amager, Lolland, Falster, Møn, Bornholm, and Ertholmene. To the west, Zealand is connected to the island of Funen in the Region of Southern Denmark via the Great Belt Fixed Link. To the east, Copenhagen is connected to Malmö, Sweden via the Øresund Bridge. To the south, the Fehmarn Belt fixed link from Lolland to the German island of Fehmarn is under construction.

In 2027, the Region of Eastern Denmark is projected to have a population of 2.78 million, corresponding to 46 percent of Denmark's population.^[4] Over 530,000 people in the region are projected to be over 65 years of age.^[5]

Creation and responsibilities

The Region of Eastern Denmark was created as a result of the healthcare reforms approved by the Danish government on 15 November 2024.^[6] The division of Zealand between two health regions led to an unequal distribution of health resources, which the merger aims to overcome.^[3] The act establishing the new region was signed into law on 20 June 2025.^[7]

Healthcare will be the main responsibility of the regional administration.^[8] In 2025, healthcare expenditures accounted for over 95% of Danish regional budgets.^[9] The region's responsibilities will include the management of hospitals, the integration of somatic and psychiatric care, and the planning and financing of primary care services delivered by general practitioners. The region will also be responsible for delivering specialized home nursing, rehabilitation, and local acute care, which are currently municipal responsibilities.^[6]

Beyond healthcare, other responsibilities of the region will include providing social services for citizens with special needs; soil remediation and groundwater protection; mining; climate neutrality; youth and adult education; and regional bus and rail public transport in concert with Movia, the regional transit agency.^[10] The municipality of Bornholm operates its own transit agency, BAT (Bornholms Amts Trafikselskab) [da].^[11]

Health councils and municipalities

Map of the municipalities of the Capital Region

Map of the municipalities of Region Zealand

To strengthen cooperation between the region and its municipalities, six health councils will be established, which consist of regional council members and municipal politicians. These health councils will replace the standing committees previously part of each regional council. Responsibility for the 46 municipalities in the region will be divided between the six health councils as follows:^[12]

Hovedstaden:

• Bornholm
• Copenhagen
• Frederiksberg

Amager og Vestegnen:

• Albertslund
• Brøndby
• Dragør
• Glostrup
• Hvidovre
• Høje-Taastrup
• Ishøj
• Tårnby
• Vallensbæk

København Omegn Nord:

• Ballerup
• Egedal
• Furesø
• Gentofte
• Gladsaxe
• Herlev
• Lyngby-Taarbæk
• Rudersdal
• Rødovre

Nordsjælland:

• Allerød
• Fredensborg
• Frederikssund
• Gribskov
• Halsnæs
• Helsingør
• Hillerød
• Hørsholm

Østsjælland og Øerne:

• Faxe
• Greve
• Køge
• Lolland
• Guldborgsund
• Roskilde
• Solrød
• Stevns
• Vordingborg

Midt- og Vestsjælland:

• Holbæk
• Kalundborg
• Lejre
• Næstved
• Odsherred
• Ringsted
• Slagelse
• Sorø

Hospitals

The Region of Eastern Denmark will manage the following hospitals, which have a total of 21 branches:^[3][13]

• Amager and Hvidovre Hospital, with locations in Amager and Hvidovre
• Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, with locations in Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg
• Bornholm Hospital on the island of Bornholm
• Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, with locations in Gentofte and Herlev
• Holbæk Hospital [da], with locations in Holbæk, Kalundborg, and Nykøbing Sjælland
• Næstved, Slagelse and Ringsted Hospital, with locations in Næstved and Slagelse
• North Zealand Hospital [da], with locations in Frederikssund, Helsingør, and Hillerød
• Rigshospitalet, with locations in Blegdamsvej and Glostrup
• Zealand University Hospital [da], with locations in Køge, Nakskov, Nykøbing Falster, and Roskilde

The Region will also manage 14 psychiatric centres and departments.^[13]

Regional council

The regional council of Eastern Denmark will have 47 members. Its first regional council will be elected in November 2025. Before the new region comes into effect on 1 January 2027, the regional council of Eastern Denmark will act as a preparatory committee, while the existing Capital and Zealand regional councils will continue to handle their operational tasks through the end of 2026.^[2][14]