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.
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
contiguous zone
24 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
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
note: an extensive local government reform merged 271 municipalities into 98 and 13 counties into five regions, effective 1 January 2007
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 1953 constitution 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
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
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 in 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%, other 3%; 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 two seats from Greenland and the two seats from the Faroe Islands
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)
Political parties and leaders
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]; Red-Green Unity List [collective leadership] (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party); Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party [Marianne JELVED]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL]
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 - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$201.5 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$257.3 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
3.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$37,000 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
1.4%
industry
24.6%
services
74% (2006 est.)
Labor force
2.91 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
3%
industry
21%
services
76% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate
3.8% (2006 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
23.2 (2002)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1.8% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
22.2% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$147 billion
expenditures
$138.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $4.6 billion (2006 est.)
Public debt
28.1% of GDP (2006 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, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment
Industrial production growth rate
2.5% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production
43.35 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
82.7%
hydro
0.1%
nuclear
0%
other
17.3% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
36.41 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports
13.72 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports
6.77 billion kWh (2006)
Oil - production
342,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - consumption
171,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports
320,000 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - imports
164,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - proved reserves
1.3 billion bbl (2005 est.)
Natural gas - production
9.87 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
4.824 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - exports
4.964 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
99.99 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Current account balance
$4.941 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$93.93 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, pharmaceuticals, furniture, windmills
Exports - partners
Germany 17.4%, Sweden 14.2%, UK 8.9%, US 6.2%, Norway 5.4%, Netherlands 5.1%, France 4.9% (2006)
Imports
$89.32 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - partners
Germany 21.3%, Sweden 14.2%, Norway 6.5%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.6%, China 5%, France 4.4% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$30.38 billion (August 2006 est.)
Debt - external
$405 billion (30 June 2006)
Economic aid - donor
ODA, $2.13 billion (2005)
Currency (code)
Danish krone (DKK)
Currency code
DKK
Exchange rates
Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
3.35 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
5.469 million (2005)
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)
Radios
6.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998)
Televisions
3.121 million (1997)
Internet country code
.dk
Internet hosts
2.416 million (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
13 (2000)
Internet users
3.763 million (2005)
Airports
92 (2006)
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 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
64
914 to 1,523 m
3
under 914 m
61 (2006)
Pipelines
condensate 12 km; gas 3,931 km; oil 626 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2006)
Railways
total
2,673 km
standard gauge
2,673 km 1.435-m gauge (601 km electrified) (2005)
Roadways
total
72,257 km
paved
72,257 km (includes 1,032 km of expressways) (2005)
Waterways
400 km (2007)
Merchant marine
total
293 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,986,735 GRT/9,936,431 DWT
by type
bulk carrier 7, cargo 63, chemical tanker 48, container 86, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4
foreign-owned
25 (Canada 1, Germany 13, Greece 5, Greenland 1, Norway 3, Sweden 1, UK 1)
registered in other countries
409 (Antigua and Barbuda 14, Bahamas 59, Belgium 4, Cayman Islands 5, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Estonia 2, France 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Gibraltar 1, Hong Kong 6, Isle of Man 53, North Korea 1, Liberia 8, Lithuania 10, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 2, Netherlands 9, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 32, Panama 34, Portugal 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 14, Singapore 52, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 4, UK 46, US 24, Vanuatu 6, Venezuela 3, Vietnam 1) (2006)
Defense Command: Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Island Command Greenland, Tactical Air Command (2006)
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)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
1,175,108
females age 18-49
1,150,627 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
955,168
females age 18-49
935,643 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
31,317
females age 18-49
29,558 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.5% (2005 est.)
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
