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This page was last updated on 17 May, 2005


Map of Denmark



Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Denmark
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
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
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: 54.02%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 45.79% (2001)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
4,760 sq km (1998 est.)
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
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5,432,335 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 524,250/female 497,683)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,811,787/female 1,780,907)
65 years and over: 15.1% (male 349,458/female 468,250) (2005 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 39.47 years
male: 38.55 years
female: 40.4 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
0.34% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
11.36 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
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:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 77.62 years
male: 75.34 years
female: 80.03 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.74 children born/woman (2005 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 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: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100%
   Government    Denmark
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
Copenhagen
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: 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:
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 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:
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: 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:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral People's Assembly or Folketing (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 19, Social Liberal Party 16, 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:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
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 [Mogens LYKKETOFT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300
FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470
consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sally M. LIGHT
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen
mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716
telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44
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
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $174.4 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.1% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $32,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 25.5%
services: 72.3% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
19.8% of GDP (2004 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
24.7 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.4% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.87 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture 4%, industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.2% (2004 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $136.1 billion
expenditures: $133.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2004 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
42.5% of GDP (2004 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
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.7% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
36.38 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
31.63 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
11.1 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
8.9 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
346,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
218,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
332,100 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
195,000 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.23 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.38 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.28 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
81.98 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$6.529 billion (2004 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$73.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 18.7%, Sweden 12.6%, UK 8.5%, US 6.2%, Norway 5.7%, France 5.1%, Netherlands 4.7% (2003)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$63.45 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 23.1%, Sweden 13%, UK 7%, Netherlands 6.9%, France 4.9%, Norway 4.5%, Italy 4.1% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$37.98 billion (2003)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$21.7 billion (2000)
Economic aid - donor:
Definition Field Listing
ODA, $1.63 billion (1999)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
Danish krone (DKK)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
DKK
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Danish kroner per US dollar - 6.0222 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Denmark
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3,610,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4,785,300 (2003)
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; 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:
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
1,219,925 (2004)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.756 million (2002)
   Transportation    Denmark
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 3,002 km
standard gauge: 3,002 km 1.435-m gauge (595 km electrified) (2003)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 71,847 km
paved: 71,847 km (including 918 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (2002)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
417 km (2001)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
condensate 12 km; gas 3,892 km; oil 455 km; oil/gas/water 2 km; unknown (oil/water) 64 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Aabenraa, Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Hirtshals, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
97 (2004 est.)
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 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 63 (2004 est.)
   Military    Denmark
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard (Hjemmevaernet)
Military manpower - military age:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,175,108 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 955,168 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 31,317 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$3,271.6 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.5% (2004)
   Transnational Issues    Denmark
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
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

This page was last updated on 17 May, 2005


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