Denmark · Human rights and democracy
Danish Refugee Council
Private Danish humanitarian organisation
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 1956 that works in more than 30 countries throughout the world. DRC fulfils its mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations – refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities in the conflict areas of the world; and by advocating on behalf of conflict-affected populations internationally, and in Denmark, on the basis of humanitarian principles and the Human Rights Declaration. We understand "durable solutions" as any means by which the situation of refugees can be permanently and satisfactorily resolved, enabling them to live normal lives. Durable solutions can be voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement. In Denmark, DRC assists refugees in all aspects of integration as well as asylum procedures. Internationally, DRC actively participates in supporting the protection of refugees, and promoting durable solutions for conflict-affected populations. The DRC’s supreme authority is the Council, which consists of up to three representatives of each member organisation, six representatives of the voluntary groups and refugee counselling organisations cooperating with the Danish Refugee Council, and of the Executive Committee. DRC is an umbrella organisation and is currently consisting of 30 organisation members and voluntary groups, committed to the refugee cause. Membership of the DRC is open to non-party-political, voluntary, nationwide humanitarian and international organisations that work on a democratic basis, and whose aims conform to those of the DRC. Providing refugees, internally displaced persons and other affected groups in situations of war and conflict with assistance according to their rights. This assistance can consist of relief and other humanitarian aid, rehabilitation and support to return home, as well as contributions to the promotion of durable solutions Contributing to capacity building and co-operation between local and national authorities, as well as other relevant organisations. This work aims at strengthening advocacy and promoting solutions to problems related to situations of conflict, particularly with a view to improving the protection and reintegration of refugees and internally displaced persons Under its mandate, DRC International focuses on protection, relief, rehabilitation, post-conflict recovery, capacity-building, humanitarian mine-action, and advocacy. Over the years, DRC has developed particular expertise in relation to the following core sectors: Housing and Small-Scale Infrastructure Production and Income Generation Food security & Agricultural rehabilitation and Development Non-food items; Displacement-related Law and Information Social Rehabilitation Capacity Development of Duty-Bearers and NGOs (including networking) Humanitarian Mine Action (DDG – Danish De-mining Group) Most of DRC International’s activities are implemented by DRC programme structures set up locally for the purpose to work with beneficiaries, local authorities and other stakeholders. However, DRC also implements through local partners when this is the best way to meet DRC’s mandate and values. In such cases, DRC is committed to assist the implementing partner strengthen its accountability and capacity. DRC International’s activities are funded by money raised from the Danish public and by project grants from the Danish government and other bilateral governmental donors, the European Union, and the United Nations. DRC are also funded by selling advisory and consultancy services related to the humanitarian aid sector.
- Founded
- 1956
- Family
- Danish Refugee Council (headquarters)
- Income 2025
- DKK3.5B
Accounts
Source: Annual report — self-reported
Data table
| Year | Income | Expenditure | Public funds | Staff | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | DKK3.5B | – | – | – | Annual report |
European Union funding
Data table
| Year | Humanitarian aid (ECHO) | Development cooperation (INTPA) | Neighbourhood and enlargement (NEAR) | Foreign policy (FPI) | Other EU programmes | Total committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | €88.1M | €13.9M | – | – | – | €102M |
| 2023 | €100.2M | €25.1M | €5.3M | – | €49,397 | €130.6M |
| 2022 | €89.5M | €21.5M | €5.1M | – | €837,923 | €117M |
| 2021 | €71.5M | – | – | €4.6M | – | €76.1M |
| 2020 | €57.2M | €150,000 | – | – | – | €57.4M |
| 2019 | €49.3M | – | €4.5M | €5.3M | €188,274 | €59.3M |
| 2018 | €56.9M | – | €2.4M | €3.9M | €1.6M | €64.9M |
| 2017 | €84.3M | €21.8M | – | – | €211,541 | €106.3M |
Amounts committed each year by the European Commission to the organisation (contracts and grants), from the EU Financial Transparency System. A commitment often covers several project years and, in consortia, may include shares of other partners. They are not income for the year and should not be compared directly with the accounts.
Public funds from donor governments
Payments by donor in the last 5 years
| Donor | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danida (Denmark) | €46.4M | €43M | €57.5M | €54.9M | €40.6M |
| FCDO (United Kingdom) | €8.1M | €21.8M | €29.2M | €65M | €36.6M |
| Sida (Sweden) | €15.3M | €18.6M | €18.3M | €21.6M | €7.2M |
| USAID (United States) | €15.6M | €16M | €22.5M | €13.6M | €9.3M |
| State Department (United States) | €17.8M | €16.7M | €17.7M | €6.9M | €8.7M |
| BZ (Netherlands) | €7.7M | €5.6M | €6.6M | €8.1M | €9.3M |
| BMZ (Germany) | €3M | €6M | €4.8M | €11M | €3.2M |
| Global Affairs Canada (Canada) | €3.1M | €508,097 | €846,693 | €112,522 | – |
| Auswärtiges Amt (Germany) | €1M | – | – | – | – |
Payments to the organisation reported by the aid agencies of 17 countries (USAID, FCDO, BMZ, Sida and others) in their own IATI data, converted to euros at the year's average rate. They include funds passed on to local partners. Not all donors name the recipient of their payments, so figures may be incomplete; EU funds are in their own section.
Humanitarian funding received
Main donors in the last 5 years
| Donor | USD | % |
|---|---|---|
| European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department | $548.7M | 39% |
| United States of America, Government of | $170.4M | 12% |
| Denmark, Government of | $143.4M | 10% |
| United Kingdom, Government of | $120.1M | 8% |
| Ukraine Humanitarian Fund | $69.9M | 5% |
| Sweden, Government of | $50.2M | 4% |
| Germany, Government of | $45.1M | 3% |
| European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships (formerly EuropeAid DEVCO) | $25.1M | 2% |
| Switzerland, Government of | $24M | 2% |
| Netherlands, Government of | $23.2M | 2% |
Humanitarian funds (paid or committed) recorded by OCHA in the Financial Tracking Service, by year, with the donor that provided them: governments, UN agencies, pooled funds, foundations and other NGOs. They cover humanitarian aid only, not all of the organisation's work, and depend on what donors and organisations report to OCHA.
Spending on declared projects (IATI)
Only the projects the organisation publishes on IATI: usually a fraction of its total spending (median 14% in our checks).
Data to be checked. Some figures on this page show inconsistencies, almost always due to filing or transcription errors in the source:
- 2016, 2018, 2019, 2025: source data found to be wrong on checking; not shown.
Countries with projects published on IATI
Denmark ↗ 49 · Kenya ↗ 40 · Jordan ↗ 27 · Afghanistan ↗ 21 · Ethiopia ↗ 20 · Myanmar (Burma) ↗ 20 · Senegal ↗ 20 · Somalia ↗ 20 · South Sudan ↗ 19 · Uganda ↗ 18 · Mali ↗ 16 · Bangladesh ↗ 15 · Burkina Faso ↗ 14 · Niger ↗ 14 · Lebanon ↗ 13 · Tunisia ↗ 13 · Ukraine ↗ 13 · Yemen ↗ 13 · Sudan ↗ 12 · Burundi ↗ 11 · Iraq ↗ 11 · Syria ↗ 11 · Libya ↗ 9 · Congo - Kinshasa ↗ 8 · Cameroon ↗ 8 · Türkiye ↗ 8 · Colombia ↗ 7 · Tanzania ↗ 7 · Central African Republic ↗ 6 · Chad ↗ 6 · Thailand ↗ 6 · Djibouti ↗ 5 · Palestinian Territories ↗ 5 · Nigeria ↗ 2 · Venezuela ↗ 2 · Congo - Brazzaville ↗ 1 · Germany ↗ 1 · Algeria ↗ 1 · Georgia ↗ 1 · Italy ↗ 1
Number of activities published on IATI that mention the country, added up over all years. Platforms that raise funds for other organisations publish every small project as a separate activity. Each country opens on d-portal the list of this organisation’s projects in that country.
Projects published on IATI (most recent and largest)
Titles are shown as published by the organisation, in their original language. Spending = disbursements and expenditure reported on IATI, in US$.
Official checks
- Public register
- CVR (Denmark) 20699310 — number declared on IATI; that register is not one of our sources of accounts
- Quality labels and codes of conduct
- Core Humanitarian Standard (certification or independent verification)
Facts from public registers and certification bodies, not a judgement on the organisation; the absence of a label is not a negative sign. Methodology
Timeline
- Founded
- First publication on IATI
Identifiers
DK-CVR 20699310 · EU-TR 138599722179-35 · EU-TR 394469847966-60 · IATI (d-portal) · Wikidata