Brief description of Denmark:
The smallest of the Scandinavian countries, located in northern Europe, bordering
the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The mainland Jutland (Jylland) is based on a
peninsula north of Germany, with the two major islands, Fuen (Fyn) and Sealand (Sjælland)
located to the east.
Due to this location the danes always were a nation
of
seafares. From the first settlers fishing in their hollow logs to the Vikings exploring
and trading widely and on to the modern merchant navy wich in spite of the size of the
nation is one of the worlds largest.
Denmark is the oldest unbroken monarchy worldwide with the first known king before
700 AD , yet some people will claim to know that they historical evidence can prove them
to go even further back. Maybe the rulers of that time was what we today would call
chieftains - but surely they ruled the major part of the area today known as
Denmark.
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.
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Map
Show Denmark on a larger map.
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Geography
Area:
total area: 43,070 sq km
land area: 42,370 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Massachusetts
note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of
metropolitan Denmark, but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland
Land boundaries: total 68 km, Germany 68 km
Coastline: 3,379 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 4 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
Terrain: low and flat to gently rolling plains
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas,
fish, salt, limestone
Land use:
arable land: 61%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 6%
forest and woodland: 12%
other: 21%
Irrigated land: 4,300 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: air pollution, principally from vehicle emissions; nitrogen and
phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from
animal wastes
natural hazards: 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
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification,
Law of the Sea
Note: controls Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; about
one-quarter of the population lives in Copenhagen.
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People
Population: 5,500,437 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (female 485,598; male 511,993)
15-64 years: 66% (female 1,731,531; male 1,817,083)
65 years and over: 16% (female 498,537; male 387,695) (July 2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.28% (2009 est.)
Birth rate: 10.54 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate: 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.3 years
male: 75.96 years
female: 80.78 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.74 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish
Ethnic divisions: Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German,
Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic
3%,
muslim 2% (2009)
Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect), German (small
minority)
Note: English is the predominant second language - most danes speak
english.
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and
write (2009 est.)
total population: 99%
Labor force: 2,553,900
by occupation: private services 37.1%, government services 30.4%, manufacturing and
mining 20%, construction 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5.6%,
electricity/gas/water 0.6% (1991)
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Government
Names:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark
local long form: Kongeriget Danmark
local short form: Danmark
Digraph: DA
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Copenhagen
Administrative divisions: metropolitan
Denmark - 5 regions (regioner, singular - region); Hovedstaden, Midtjylland,
Nordjylland, Sjaelland, Syddanmark
note: an extensive local government reform merged 271 municipalities into 98
and 13 counties into five regions, effective 1 January 2007
note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of
the Danish realm and self-governing administrative divisions
Independence: 1849 (became a constitutional monarchy)
National holiday: Birthday of Queen Magrethe, 16 April (1940)
Constitution: 5 June 1953
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 NA January 1972);
Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the Queen (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since NA January 1993)
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the monarch
Legislative branch: unicameral
Parliament (Folketing): unicameral People's
Assembly or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the
Faroe Islands; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional
representation to serve four-year terms unless the Folketing is dissolved
earlier)
elections: last held on 13 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 26.2%, Social
Democrats 25.5%, Danish People's Party 13.9%, Socialist People's Party
13.0%, Conservative People's Party 10.4%, Social Liberal Party 5.1%, New
Alliance 2.8%, Red-Green Unity List 2.2%, other 0.9%; seats by party -
Liberal Party 46, Social Democrats 45, Danish People's Party 25, Socialist
People's Party 23, Conservative People's Party 18, Social Liberal Party 9,
New Alliance 5, Red-Green Alliance 4; note - does not include the two seats
from Greenland and the two seats from the Faroe Islands
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democrats [Bjarne
Hartung KIRKEGAARD] (was Christian People's Party); Conservative Party [Lene
ESPERSEN] (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party); Danish People's
Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Alliance [Anders SAMUELSEN] (formerly known
as New Alliance); Liberal Party [Lars Loekke RASMUSSEN]; Red-Green Unity
List (Alliance) [collective leadership] (bloc includes Left Socialist Party,
Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party); Social Democratic
Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party [Margrethe VESTAGER];
Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL]
Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB,
Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 9, GATT, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNPROFOR, UNTSO,
UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300
FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470
consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Laurie S. Fulton
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen O
mailing address: APO AE 09716
telephone: [45] (31) 42 31 44
FAX: [45] (35) 43 02 23
Flag:
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 Norway, Sweden,
Iceland and Finland - as follows:
Denmark |
Norway |
Sweden |
Iceland |
Finland |
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Economy
Overview: This thoroughly modern economy
features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive
government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign
trade. Denmark is self-sufficient in food production. The new center-left coalition
government will concentrate on reducing the persistent high unemployment rate and the
budget deficit as well as following the previous government's policies of maintaining low
inflation and a current account surplus. In the face of recent international market
pressure on the Danish krone, the coalition has also vowed to maintain a stable currency.
The coalition hopes to lower marginal income taxes while maintaining overall tax revenues;
boost industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms and increased
research and development funds; and improve welfare services for the neediest while
cutting paperwork and delays. Prime Minister RASMUSSEN's reforms will focus on adapting
Denmark to the criteria for European integration by 1999; although Copenhagen has won from
the European Union (EU) the right to opt out of the European Monetary Union (EMU) if a
national referendum rejects it. Denmark is, in fact, one of the few EU countries likely to
fit into the EMU on time. Denmark is weathering the current worldwide slump better than
many West European countries. After posting 4.5% real GDP growth in 1994, Copenhagen is
predicting a continued strong showing in 1995, with real GDP up by 3.2%. The government
expects an upswing in business investment in 1995 to drive economic growth. Although
unemployment is high, it remains stable compared to most European countries.
National product: GDP - purchasing power
parity - $103 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.5%
(1994 est.)
National product per capita: $19,860 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 12.3% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $56.5 billion
expenditures: $64.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $42.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment
(shipbuilding), fish, chemicals, industrial machinery
partners: EC 54.3% (Germany 23.6%, UK 10.1%, France 5.7%), Sweden 10.5%, Norway
5.8%, US 4.9%, Japan 3.6% (1992)
Imports: $37.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs,
textiles, paper
partners: EC 53.4% (Germany 23.1%, UK 8.2%, France 5.6%), Sweden 10.8%, Norway
5.4%, US 5.7%, Japan 4.1% (1992)
External debt: $40.9 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -2.5%
(1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 10,030,000 kW
production: 32 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 5,835 kWh (1993)
Industries: food processing, machinery and
equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture,
and other wood products, shipbuilding
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; principal products - meat, dairy,
grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish
Economic aid:
donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.9 billion
Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere
Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.034 (January 1995), 6.361
(1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396 (1991), 6.189 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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Transportation
Railroads:
total: 2,838 km (494 km privately owned and operated)
standard gauge: 2,838 km 1.435-m gauge (440 km electrified; 760 km double track)
(1994)
Highways:
total: 71,042 km
paved: concrete, asphalt, stone block 71,042 km (696 km of expressways)
Inland waterways: 417 km
Pipelines: crude oil 110 km; petroleum
products 578 km; natural gas 700 km
Ports: Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg,
Fredericia, Grenaa, Koge, Odense, Struer
Merchant marine:
total: 345 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,005,470 GRT/6,974,750 DWT
ships by type: bulk 17, cargo 109, chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 1,
container 61, liquefied gas tanker 32, livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 32, railcar carrier
1, refrigerated cargo 18, roll-on/roll-off cargo 35, short-sea passenger 11
note: Denmark has created its own internal register, called the Danish
International Ship register (DIS); DIS ships do not have to meet Danish manning
regulations, and they amount to a flag of convenience within the Danish register
Airports:
total: 118
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 13
with paved runways under 914 m: 85
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7
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Communications
Telephone system: 4,509,000 telephones;
excellent telephone and telegraph services; buried and submarine cables and microwave
radio relay support trunk network
local: NA
intercity: microwave radio relay
international: 19 submarine coaxial cables; 7 INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, and INMARSAT
earth stations
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 50
televisions: NA
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Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish
Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49
1,347,774; males fit for military service 1,158,223; males reach military age (20)
annually 36,191 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate
conversion - $2.7 billion, 1.9% of GDP (1994)
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