2008 Edition

Background

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.

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

Climate

temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers

Coastline

7,314 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m

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

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 0.67 cu km/yr (32%/26%/42%) per capita: 123 cu m/yr (2002)

Geographic coordinates

56 00 N, 10 00 E

Geography - note

controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen

Irrigated land

4,490 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 68 km border countries: Germany 68 km

Land use

arable land: 52.59% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 47.22% (2005)

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)

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand

Terrain

low and flat to gently rolling plains

Total renewable water resources

6.1 cu km (2003)

Age structure

0-14 years: 18.4% (male 516,735/female 490,532) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,818,681/female 1,796,753) 65 years and over: 15.7% (male 374,388/female 487,634) (2008 est.)

Birth rate

10.71 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

10.25 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Education expenditures

8.3% of GDP (2005)

Ethnic groups

Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

fewer than 100 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

5,000 (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Languages

Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 78.13 years male: 75.8 years female: 80.59 years (2008 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 40.3 years male: 39.4 years female: 41.2 years (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Dane(s) adjective: Danish

Net migration rate

2.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Population

5,484,723 (July 2008 est.)

Population growth rate

0.295% (2008 est.)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 17 years male: 16 years female: 17 years (2006)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.74 children born/woman (2008 est.)

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

Capital

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 note: applies to continental Denmark only, not to the North Atlantic components

Constitution

5 June 1953 constitution allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state

Country name

conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark

Diplomatic representation from the US

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Friis Arne PETERSEN chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300

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: Council of State appointed by the monarch elections: 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

FAX

[1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York

[45] 35 43 02 23

Flag description

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; the banner is referred to as the Dannebrog (Danish flag) note: the shifted design element was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

Government type

constitutional monarchy

Independence

first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy

International organization participation

ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic Council, 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, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)

Legal system

civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

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 unless the Folketinget is dissolved earlier) 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

National holiday

none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day

Political parties and leaders

Christian Democrats [Bjarne Hartung KIRKEGAARD] (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

Danish Free Press Society (freedom of speech); Danish National Socialist Movement or DNSB [Jonni HANSEN] (neo-Nazi organization) other: human rights groups

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish

Budget

revenues: $170.6 billion expenditures: $156.8 billion (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

4% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

NA

Currency (code)

Danish krone (DKK)

Currency code

DKK

Current account balance

$4.279 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$492.6 billion (30 June 2007)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

24 (2005)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $2.236 billion (2006)

Economy - overview

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.

Electricity - consumption

34.68 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports

11.38 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports

10.43 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production

36.99 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 82.7% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 17.3% (2001)

Exchange rates

Danish kroner (DKK) per US dollar - 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003)

Exports

$101.2 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, pharmaceuticals, furniture, windmills

Exports - partners

Germany 17.4%, Sweden 14.5%, UK 8%, US 6.1%, Norway 5.7%, France 4.8%, Netherlands 4.8% (2007)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 1.3% industry: 25.7% services: 73% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$37,200 (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.7% (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$311.9 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$203.3 billion (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)

Imports

$102 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods

Imports - partners

Germany 21.6%, Sweden 14.4%, Netherlands 7.1%, Norway 6%, China 5.4%, UK 5.3%, Italy 4.1%, France 4% (2007)

Industrial production growth rate

0.5% (2007 est.)

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, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.7% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

22.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

2.86 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 3% industry: 21% services: 76% (2004 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$178 billion (2005)

Natural gas - consumption

4.555 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

4.517 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production

9.223 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

70.51 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Oil - consumption

190,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports

320,000 bbl/day (2006)

Oil - imports

164,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - production

313,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

1.188 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Public debt

26% of GDP (2007 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$34.32 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$166.6 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$149.7 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$684.7 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$148.7 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$81.64 billion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

2.8% (2007 est.)

Internet country code

.dk

Internet hosts

3.642 million (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

13 (2000)

Internet users

3.5 million (2007)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

6.02 million (1997)

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; 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 - 18 (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

Telephones - main lines in use

2.824 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular

6.243 million (2007)

Television broadcast stations

26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998)

Televisions

3.121 million (1997)

Airports

91 (2007)

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 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 60 (2007)

Merchant marine

total: 327 by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 63, carrier 2, chemical tanker 78, container 84, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 42, petroleum tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 26 (Canada 1, Germany 1, Germany 9, Greece 4, Iceland 2, Norway 3, Sweden 6) registered in other countries: 534 (Antigua and Barbuda 19, Bahamas 67, Belgium 4, Brazil 2, Cayman Islands 3, Cyprus 4, Egypt 1, Estonia 1, France 2, Germany 1, Gibraltar 7, Hong Kong 24, Isle of Man 29, Italy 3, Jamaica 2, Liberia 12, Lithuania 5, Luxembourg 1, Malta 30, Marshall Islands 10, Mexico 2, Netherlands 29, Netherlands Antilles 2, Norway 25, Panama 40, Portugal 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 16, Singapore 87, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Spain 1, Sweden 4, Togo 1, UAE 1, UK 62, US 31, Venezuela 1) (2008)

Pipelines

condensate 11 km; gas 4,073 km; oil 617 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2007)

Ports and terminals

Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kalundborg

Railways

total: 2,644 km standard gauge: 2,644 km 1.435-m gauge (636 km electrified) (2007)

Roadways

total: 72,362 km paved: 72,362 km (includes 1,032 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways

400 km (2007)

Defense Command

Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Island Command Greenland, Tactical Air Command, Home Guard (2008)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 1,235,067 females age 16-49: 1,215,418 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 1,012,716 females age 16-49: 996,436 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 36,561 female: 34,603 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures

1.5% of GDP (2006; 1.28% 2007 est.)

Military service age and obligation

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)

Disputes - international

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 18 December, 2008