Once the seat of
Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark
has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is
participating in the general political and economic integration
of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in
1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of
the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation,
and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs.
Geography
Location:
Northern Europe,
bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north
of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland
and Fyn)
Geographic
coordinates:
56 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total:
43,094 sq km land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea
and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and
the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe
Islands and Greenland
Area -
comparative:
slightly less than
twice the size of Massachusetts
Land boundaries:
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km
Coastline:
7,314 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation
Climate:
temperate; humid
and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
Terrain:
low and flat to
gently rolling plains
Elevation
extremes:
lowest point:
Lammefjord -7 m highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m
flooding is a
threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland,
along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are
protected from the sea by a system of dikes
Environment -
current issues:
air pollution,
principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and
phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface
water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides
Environment -
international agreements:
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur
85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber
94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography -
note:
controls Danish
Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas;
about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen
total: 39.47
years male: 38.55 years female: 40.4 years (2005 est.)
Population
growth rate:
0.34% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
11.36 births/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
10.43 deaths/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Net migration
rate:
2.53 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality
rate:
total: 4.56
deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy
at birth:
total
population: 77.62 years male: 75.34 years female: 80.03 years (2005 est.)
Evangelical
Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2%
Languages:
Danish, Faroese,
Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Government
Country name:
conventional
long form: Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark
Government type:
constitutional
monarchy
Capital:
Copenhagen
Administrative
divisions:
metropolitan
Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner,
singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*,
Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)*,
Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland,
Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg note: since 2005 Bornholm may have become a borough; in
the future the counties may be replaced by regions; see separate
entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of
the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing overseas
administrative divisions
Independence:
first organized as
a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional
monarchy
National
holiday:
none designated;
Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the
National Day
Constitution:
5 June 1849
adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of 5 June
1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of
state
Legal system:
civil law system;
judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age;
universal
Executive
branch:
chief of state:
Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown
Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968) head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN
(since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and
approved by parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following
legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the
leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime
minister by the monarch
Legislative
branch:
unicameral People's
Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland
and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular
vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve
four-year terms) elections: last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held
February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal
Party 29%, Social Democrats 25.9%, Danish People's Party 13.2%,
Conservative Party 10.3%, Social Liberal Party 9.2%, Socialist
People's Party 6%, Unity List 3.4%; seats by party - Liberal
Party 52, Social Democrats 47, Danish People's Party 24,
Conservative Party 18, Social Liberal Party 17, Socialist
People's Party 11, Unity List 6; note - does not include the 2
seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
(judges are appointed by the monarch for life)
Political
parties and leaders:
Center Democratic
Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian Democrats (was Christian
People's Party) [Marianne KARLSMOSE]; Conservative Party
(sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN];
Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders
Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT];
Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left)
[Marianne JELVED, leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist
People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc
includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark,
Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership]
red with a white
cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part
of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design
element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted
by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and
Sweden
Economy
Economy -
overview:
This thoroughly
modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date
small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare
measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and
high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of
food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments
surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the
bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The
government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding,
the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third
phase (a common European currency) of the European Economic and
Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12
other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish krone remains
pegged to the euro. Growth in 2004 was sluggish, yet above the
scanty 0.3% of 2003. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare
benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish
people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major
long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of
workers to retirees.
GDP:
purchasing power
parity - $174.4 billion (2004 est.)
agriculture 4%,
industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.)
Unemployment
rate:
6.2% (2004 est.)
Population below
poverty line:
NA
Household income
or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)
Distribution of
family income - Gini index:
24.7 (1992)
Inflation rate
(consumer prices):
1.4% (2004 est.)
Investment
(gross fixed):
19.8% of GDP (2004
est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$136.1 billion expenditures: $133.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $500 million (2004 est.)
Public debt:
42.5% of GDP (2004
est.)
Agriculture -
products:
barley, wheat,
potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish
Industries:
iron, steel,
nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and
transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics,
construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding
and refurbishment, windmills
machinery and
instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish,
chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills
Exports -
partners:
Germany 16.9%,
Sweden 14%, UK 6.9%, US 5.4%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.1%,
Norway 4.8% (2004)
Imports:
$63.45 billion
f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports -
commodities:
machinery and
equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry,
chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports -
partners:
Germany 22.9%,
Sweden 12.4%, Netherlands 7.6%, France 5.6%, UK 5.4%, Norway 5%,
Italy 4.3% (2004)
Reserves of
foreign exchange and gold:
$37.98 billion
(2003)
Debt - external:
$21.7 billion
(2000)
Economic aid -
donor:
ODA, $1.63 billion
(1999)
Currency (code):
Danish krone (DKK)
Currency code:
DKK
Exchange rates:
Danish kroner per
US dollar - 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228
(2001), 8.0831 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Telephones -
main lines in use:
3,610,100 (2003)
Telephones -
mobile cellular:
4,785,300 (2003)
Telephone
system:
general
assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio
relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications
systems international: country code - 45; 18 submarine
fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands,
Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden,
and UK; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1
Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic
countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share
the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for
worldwide Inmarsat access (1997)
Radio broadcast
stations:
AM 2, FM 355,
shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios:
6.02 million (1997)
Television
broadcast stations:
26 (plus 51
repeaters) (1998)
Televisions:
3.121 million
(1997)
Internet country
code:
.dk
Internet hosts:
1,219,925 (2004)
Internet Service
Providers (ISPs):
13 (2000)
Internet users:
2.756 million
(2002)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 2,628
km standard gauge: 2,628 km 1.435-m gauge (595 km
electrified) (2004)
Highways:
total:
71,847 km paved: 71,847 km (including 918 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002)
Waterways:
417 km (2001)
Pipelines:
condensate 12 km;
gas 3,892 km; oil 455 km; oil/gas/water 2 km; unknown
(oil/water) 64 km (2004)
total: 287
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,952,473 GRT/9,030,444 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 67, chemical tanker 40,
container 79, liquefied gas 10, livestock carrier 2, passenger
1, passenger/cargo 42, petroleum tanker 25, refrigerated cargo
7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 23 (Bahamas 14, France 1, Greece 1,
Greenland 1, Norway 2, Sweden 2, UAE 1, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 487 (2005)
Airports:
97 (2004 est.)
Airports - with
paved runways:
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with
unpaved runways:
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 63 (2004 est.)
Military
Military
branches:
Royal Danish Army,
Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard (Hjemmevaernet)
Military
manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for
compulsory and volunteer military service; conscripts serve an
initial training period that varies from 4 to 12 months
according to specialization; reservists are assigned to
mobilization units following completion of their conscript
service (2004)
Military
manpower - availability:
males age 18-49:
1,175,108 (2005 est.)
Military
manpower - fit for military service:
males age 18-49:
955,168 (2005 est.)
Military
manpower - reaching military age annually:
males:
31,317 (2005 est.)
Military
expenditures - dollar figure:
$3,271.6 million
(2003)
Military
expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.5% (2004)
Transnational Issues
Disputes -
international:
Iceland disputes
the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and
Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands'
continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to
study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty
dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel
between Ellesmere Island and Greenland
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