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This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


Map of Denmark
Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Denmark Top of Page
Background:
Definition Field Listing
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    Denmark Top of Page
Location:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
56 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Europe
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
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:
Definition Field Listing
slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
7,314 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
low and flat to gently rolling plains
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 52.59%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 47.22% (2005)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
4,490 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
Definition Field Listing
6.1 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Definition Field Listing
Total: 0.67 cu km/yr (32%/26%/42%)
Per capita: 123 cu m/yr (2002)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen
   People    Denmark Top of Page
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5,468,120 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 18.6% (male 520,669/female 494,228)
15-64 years: 66% (male 1,817,757/female 1,792,974)
65 years and over: 15.4% (male 363,828/female 478,664) (2007 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 40.1 years
male: 39.2 years
female: 40.9 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
0.311% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.053 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.977 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 4.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.49 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 77.96 years
male: 75.65 years
female: 80.41 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.74 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
less than 100 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
   Government    Denmark Top of Page
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark
local long form: Kongeriget Danmark
local short form: Danmark
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
name: Copenhagen
geographic coordinates: 55 40 N, 12 35 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
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
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
5 June 1953 constitution allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
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: Council of State appointed by the monarch
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:
Definition Field Listing
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 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 Alliance 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:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Christian Democrats [Bodil KORNBEK] (was Christian People's Party); Conservative Party [Bendt BENDTSEN] (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party); Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; New Alliance [Naser KHADER]; 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]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
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
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador James P. CAIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen
mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716
telephone: [45] 33 41 71 00
FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
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    Denmark Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
The Danish economy has in recent years undergone strong expansion fueled primarily by private consumption growth, but also supported by exports and investments. 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. Unemployment is low and capacity constraints are limiting growth potential. 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 so far Denmark has decided not to join 15 other EU members in the euro. Nonetheless, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Economic growth gained momentum in 2004 and the upturn continued through 2007. The controversy over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad printed in a Danish newspaper in September 2005 led to boycotts of some Danish exports to the Muslim world, especially exports of dairy products, but the boycotts did not have a significant impact on the overall Danish economy. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish living standards are among the highest in the world. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$204.6 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
Definition Field Listing
$268.8 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.7% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$37,400 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 26.3%
services: 72.1% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.9 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 3%
industry: 21%
services: 76% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.5% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
24 (2005)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.5% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
23.2% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $167.9 billion
expenditures: $156.1 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
26.1% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
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, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.5% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
43.35 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
34.02 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
13.72 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
6.77 billion kWh (2006)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
342,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
171,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
320,000 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
164,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.328 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
9.87 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.775 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.35 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
75.66 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$4.699 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$102.1 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, pharmaceuticals, furniture, windmills
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 17.4%, Sweden 14.2%, UK 8.8%, US 6.2%, Norway 5.5%, Netherlands 5.2%, France 4.9% (2006)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$101.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 21.4%, Sweden 14.1%, Norway 6.5%, Netherlands 6.3%, UK 5.5%, China 5%, France 4.4% (2006)
Economic aid - donor:
Definition Field Listing
ODA, $2.13 billion (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$31.08 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$492.6 billion (30 June 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$138.4 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$150.1 billion (2006 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$178 billion (2005)
Currency (code):
Definition Field Listing
Danish krone (DKK)
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Denmark Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.098 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.841 million (2006)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
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; a series of fiber-optic submarine cables link 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
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.dk
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.114 million (2007)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.171 million (2006)
   Transportation    Denmark Top of Page
Airports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
91 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
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 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 63
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 60 (2007)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
condensate 12 km; gas 3,931 km; oil 626 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2006)
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 2,644 km
standard gauge: 2,644 km 1.435-m gauge (636 km electrified) (2007)
Roadways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 72,257 km
paved: 72,257 km (includes 1,032 km of expressways) (2005)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
400 km (2007)
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 299 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,767,265 GRT/10,604,081 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 64, chemical tanker 57, container 84, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 41, petroleum tanker 22, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4
foreign-owned: 25 (Canada 1, Germany 13, Greece 4, Greenland 1, Norway 1, Sweden 4, UK 1)
registered in other countries: 468 (Antigua and Barbuda 15, Bahamas 66, Belgium 3, Brazil 2, Cayman Islands 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Estonia 2, France 3, Gibraltar 9, Hong Kong 12, Isle of Man 41, Italy 2, Jamaica 1, Liberia 12, Lithuania 9, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 9, Mexico 2, Netherlands 19, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 26, Panama 32, Portugal 3, Singapore 68, South Africa 1, Spain 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 16, Sweden 4, UK 61, US 29, Venezuela 3) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Definition Field Listing
Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kalundborg
   Military    Denmark Top of Page
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Defense Command: Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Island Command Greenland, Tactical Air Command (2006)
Military service age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary 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; women eligible to volunteer for military service (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,175,108
females age 18-49: 1,150,627 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 955,168
females age 18-49: 935,643 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 31,317
females age 18-49: 29,558 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.5% (2006; 1.28% 2007 est.; 1.24% 2008 projected)
   Transnational Issues    Denmark Top of Page
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
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; sovereignty dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland

This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


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