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.
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) and is one of the oldest national flags in the world; traditions as to the origin of the flag design vary, but the best known is a legend that the banner fell from the sky during an early-13th century battle; caught up by the Danish king before it ever touched the earth, this heavenly talisman inspired the royal army to victory
Note: the shifted design element was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden
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
Area
Total: 43,094 sq km
Country comparison to the world: 140
Land: 42,434 sq km
Water: 660 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
Land boundaries
Total: 68 km
Border countries: Germany 68 km
Coastline
7,314 km
Climate
Temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
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: 52.59%
Permanent crops: 0.19%
Other: 47.22% (2005)
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
People
Population
5,500,510 (July 2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 111
Age structure
0-14 years: 18.1% (male 511,882/female 485,782)
15-64 years: 65.8% (male 1,817,800/female 1,798,964)
65 years and over: 16.1% (male 387,142/female 498,940) (2009 est.)
Median age
Total: 40.5 years
Male: 39.6 years
Female: 41.3 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate
0.28% (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 174
Birth rate
10.54 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 184
Death rate
10.22 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 60
Net migration rate
2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 33
Urbanization
Urban population: 87% of total population (2008)
Rate of urbanization: 0.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births
Country comparison to the world: 203
Male: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 4.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.3 years
Country comparison to the world: 46
Male: 75.96 years
Female: 80.78 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.74 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 165
Nationality
Noun: Dane(s)
Adjective: Danish
Ethnic groups
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Religions
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes 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: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
Total: 17 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 17 years (2006)
Education expenditures
8.3% of GDP (2005)
Country comparison to the world: 12
Government
Country Name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
Conventional short form: Denmark
Local long form: Kongeriget Danmark
Local short form: Danmark
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 its North Atlantic components
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
National holiday
None designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Overview
This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, an equitable distribution of income, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, a stable political system, and high dependence on foreign trade. Unemployment is low and capacity constraints limit growth potential. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments surplus. 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 16 other EU members in the euro. Nonetheless, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Denmark's fiscal position is among the strongest in the EU. Economic growth gained momentum in 2004 and the upturn continued through 2006. After a long consumption-driven upswing, Denmark's economy began slowing in early 2007 with the end of a housing boom. This cyclical slowdown has been exacerbated by the global financial crisis through increased borrowing costs and lower export demand, consumer confidence, and investment. The slowing global economy cut GDP by 0.6% in 2008. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$204.9 billion (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 52
$206.2 billion (2007)
$202.9 billion (2006)
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$369.6 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
-0.6% (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 206
1.6% (2007 est.)
3.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$37,400 (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 28
$37,700 (2007 est.)
$37,200 (2006 est.)
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector
Agriculture: 1.4%
Industry: 25.9%
Services: 72.7% (2008 est.)
Labor force
2.86 million (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 102
Labor force - by occupation
Agriculture: 2.9%
Industry: 23.8%
Services: 72.7% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate
2% (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 16
2.8% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 2%
ighest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
24 (2005)
Country comparison to the world: 133
Budget
Revenues: $192 billion
Expenditures: $177.6 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt
21.8% of GDP (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 91
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3.5% (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 46
1.7% (2007 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
0.4% (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 145
Electricity - production
36.99 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 58
Electricity - consumption
34.68 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 57
Electricity - exports
11.38 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports
10.43 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production
313,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)
ountry comparison to the world: 38
Oil - consumption
190,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 60
Oil - exports
320,000 bbl/day (2006)
ountry comparison to the world: 41
Oil - imports
164,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 53
Oil - proved reserves
1.188 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 38
Natural gas - production
9.223 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 44
Natural gas - consumption
4.555 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 59
Natural gas - exports
4.517 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 27
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 82
Natural gas - proved reserves
70.51 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 59
Current account balance
$4.333 billion (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 34
Exports
$119.5 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 35
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)
Imports
$120.7 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 32
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)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$34.32 billion (2006 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 37
Debt - external
$492.6 billion (30 June 2007)
Country comparison to the world: 17
Exchange rates
Danish kroner (DKK) per US dollar - 5.0236 (2008 est.), 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004)
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use
2.824 million (2007)
Country comparison to the world: 52
Telephones - mobile cellular
6.243 million (2007)
Country comparison to the world: 70
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
Television broadcast stations
172 (2008)
Internet country code
.dk
Internet users
3.5 million (2007)
Country comparison to the world: 52
Transportation
Airports
92 (2008)
Country comparison to the world: 65
Pipelines
Gas 2,858 km; oil 107 km (2008)
Railways
Total: 2,644 km
Country comparison to the world: 64
Standard gauge: 2,644 km 1.435-m gauge (636 km electrified) (2007)
Roadways
Total: 72,362 km
Country comparison to the world: 65
Paved: 72,362 km (includes 1,032 km of expressways) (2006)
Waterways
400 km (2008)
Country comparison to the world: 89
Ports and terminals
Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kalundborg
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
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