electionstracker

Denmark 1979 general election

What was the result of the 1979 general election in Denmark?

Social Democrats won 68 of 179 seats with 38.3% of the vote. 85.6% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Denmark
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Social Democrats won 68 of 179 seats with 38.3% of the vote; 85.6% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 2.3 points on 1977.

  • Social Democrats 68 +3 seats 38.3% +1.3 points
  • Venstre 22 +1 seat 12.5% +0.5 points
  • Conservative People's Party 22 +7 seats 12.5% +4.0 points
  • Progress Party 20 −6 seats 11.0% −3.6 points
  • Socialist Peoples Party 11 +4 seats 5.9% +2.0 points
  • Danish Social Liberal Party 10 +4 seats 5.4% +1.8 points
  • Left Socialists 6 +1 seat 3.7% +1.0 points
  • Centre Democrats 6 −4 seats 3.2% −3.2 points
  • Justice Party of Denmark 5 −1 seat 2.6% −0.7 points
  • Christian Democrats 5 −1 seat 2.6% −0.8 points
  • Greenland and Faroe Islands 4 0 seats
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the Denmark 1977 general election, party by party.

90 of 179 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 38.3%

    Share of the vote won by Social Democrats

    Social Democrats won 68 of 179 seats. A majority needs 90.

  2. +7 seats

    Seats gained by Conservative People's Party

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1977. Communist Party of Denmark lost 7 seats.

  3. 85.6%

    Voter turnout

    Down 2.3 points on 1977.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Social Democrats68+338.3+1.31,213,456
Venstre22+112.5+0.5396,484
Conservative People's Party22+712.5+4.0395,653
Progress Party20−611.0−3.6349,243
Socialist Peoples Party11+45.9+2.0187,284
Danish Social Liberal Party10+45.4+1.8172,365
Left Socialists6+13.7+1.0116,047
Centre Democrats6−43.2−3.2102,132
Justice Party of Denmark5−12.6−0.783,238
Christian Democrats5−12.6−0.882,133
Communist Party of Denmark0−71.9−1.858,901
Greenland and Faroe Islands40

± is the change against the Denmark 1977 general election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Social Democrats 1,213,456
  • Venstre 396,484
  • Conservative People's Party 395,653
  • Progress Party 349,243
  • Socialist Peoples Party 187,284
  • Danish Social Liberal Party 172,365
  • Left Socialists 116,047
  • Centre Democrats 102,132
  • Justice Party of Denmark 83,238
  • Christian Democrats 82,133
  • Communist Party of Denmark 58,901
  • Greenland and Faroe Islands

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

How many people voted?

85.6% of the 3,730,650 registered voters cast a ballot (3,194,345 ballots), down 2.3 points on 1977. 3,171,002 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout since 1964 in our data.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Social Democrats38.3% of votes38.0% of seats
  • Conservative People's Party12.5% of votes12.3% of seats
  • Venstre12.5% of votes12.3% of seats
  • Progress Party11.0% of votes11.2% of seats
  • Socialist Peoples Party5.9% of votes6.1% of seats
  • Danish Social Liberal Party5.4% of votes5.6% of seats
  • Left Socialists3.7% of votes3.4% of seats
  • Centre Democrats3.2% of votes3.4% of seats
  • Christian Democrats2.6% of votes2.8% of seats
  • Justice Party of Denmark2.6% of votes2.8% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 2.1 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 5.0 by votes and 5.0 by seats; Social Democrats led Conservative People's Party by 25.8 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of