Central Denmark Region 

Denmark’s international growth region
Central Denmark Region covers the central part of Jutland from coast to coast. With approx. 1.2 million inhabitants, it is Denmark’s second-largest region after the Capital Region. The region consists of nineteen municipalities and several large cities, including Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus, with approx. 300,000 inhabitants, as well as Randers, Horsens, Silkeborg and Herning.

The Central Denmark Region landscape is very varied – from the North Sea and its dunes in the West, through beautiful lakes in the ‘lake district’, to attractive bays and idyllic inlets on the East coast.

At the same time, the region has a broad range of cultural attractions, from the internationally recognised art museum Aros in Aarhus, to a Medieval Festival and huge concerts with international acts in Horsens, living-history events at Hjerl Hede Open Air Museum, as well as 'living water' related experiences at Aqua in Silkeborg and at the Kattegat Centre in Grenaa, as well as the Randers Rainforest Tropical Zoo.

Attractive region for companies
Central Denmark Region has great growth and development potential. The region has a vibrant economic life, strong competencies in relation to knowledge environments, research and education, and rapid population growth. The region thus accounts for almost a fourth of the total Danish workforce. In the eastern part of the region, the booming Aarhus area attracts manpower and investments, partly because of the many institutions of higher education including the university, business school and engineering academy. Aarhus also has Denmark’s largest container port for overseas container transport. In the West, the growth centres around the cities of Holstebro and Herning, with food processing, wood and furniture industries, textiles and clothing, metal and production technology, are particular industrial strongholds.

Development of new regional strengths

Central Denmark Region is actively working to establish new regional strengths.

ICT constitutes a key strength which is constantly developing in the Central Denmark Region, and in particular the ICT research at the Alexandra Institute in Aarhus’s IT city has attracted many companies. Most recently, Google has opened a development department there.

Within food, the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences’ Research Centre Foulum is the centre of livestock and plant research in Denmark and collaborates closely with many companies.

Within health, an extension of Skejby University Hospital to become the largest hospital in Scandinavia with associated health technology industries will become an important driving force behind the development of the health system in the region and in Denmark as a whole. A new hospital will also be built in the western part of the region.

Within energy, Central Denmark Region enjoys a particularly strong position, hosting some of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers such as Vestas Wind Energy A/S, Siemens Wind Power A/S and Suzlon Wind Energy A/S. Since 1997, Samsø has been Denmark’s utmost example of a sustainable energy island, while the latest hydrogen technology is being developed in Herning in the western part of the region.