How do citizens in Scandinavia stay informed about politics and society? A fresh report examines the political information landscape in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden and finds a hybrid media environment in which traditional news outlets, public service media, and social platforms all play a role – though traditional news sources remain central.
The report, Det politiske informationslandskab i Danmark, Norge og Sverige, examines how citizens navigate the “political information landscape” – the overall media environment through which citizens access information about politics and society.
Based on data from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025, the analysis draws on survey responses from around 2,000 respondents in each of the three Scandinavian countries, compared with more than 97,000 respondents globally.
One of the report’s key findings is that citizens in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden show relatively high interest in news. Only a small share report little or no interest in news: 8 per cent in Norway, 9 per cent in Sweden, and 15 per cent in Denmark.
The study also shows that social media are less dominant as a primary news source in the three countries than globally. While 27 per cent worldwide say social media are their main news source, the share is much lower in Denmark (12%), Norway (11%), and Sweden (13%). Instead, online editions of newspapers and television news remain central sources of information.
Younger audiences do use social media more frequently to access news, particularly those aged 18–24. However, the report shows that this group also regularly uses online news from traditional media outlets. This challenges the widespread assumption that young people rely exclusively on social media for political information.
The findings suggest that the political information landscape in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden is best described as hybrid. Citizens combine multiple sources, including traditional news organisations, public service media, and social media platforms. At the same time, traditional news media and public service outlets remain the most important sources for political information.
The report (in Danish) was authored by Mark Blach-Ørsten, Aske Kammer, Jesper Falkheimer, and Mads Kæmsgaard Eberholst, and published by the Center for Nyhedsforskning at Roskilde University.
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