Introduction

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

Land use: arable land: 54.02%;permanent crops: 0.19%;other: 45.79% (2001)

 

Irrigated land: 4,760 sq km (1998 est.)

 

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

 

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

 

People

 

Population: 5,432,335 (July 2005 est.)

 

Age structure: 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: 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.)

 

Total fertility rate: 1.74 children born/woman (2005 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2003 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 5,000 (2003 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Dane(s);adjective: Danish

 

Ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali

 

Religions: 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)

 

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.)

 

GDP - real growth rate: 2.1% (2004 est.)

 

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $32,200 (2004 est.)

 

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2.2%;industry: 25.5%;services: 72.3% (2004 est.)

 

Labor force: 2.87 million (2004 est.)

 

Labor force - by occupation: 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

 

Industrial production growth rate: 1.7% (2004 est.)

 

Electricity - production: 36.38 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - consumption: 31.63 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - exports: 11.1 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - imports: 8.9 billion kWh (2002)

 

Oil - production: 346,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)

 

Oil - consumption: 218,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

 

Oil - exports: 332,100 bbl/day (2001)

 

Oil - imports: 195,000 bbl/day (2001)

 

Oil - proved reserves: 1.23 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

 

Natural gas - production: 8.38 billion cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - consumption: 5.28 billion cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - exports: 3.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - proved reserves: 81.98 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

 

Current account balance: $6.529 billion (2004 est.)

 

Exports: $73.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Exports - commodities: 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)

 

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)

 

Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998)

 

Internet country code: .dk

 

Internet hosts: 1,219,925 (2004)

 

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