Denmark

Denmark 

 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany

Area

Note: Includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark, but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland

Land Boundaries

Total 68 km, Germany 68 km

Coastline

3,379 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland, and the U.K. (Ireland and the U.K. have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Climate

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

Terrain

Low and flat to gently rolling plains
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Ejer Bavnehoj 173 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

4,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: Controls Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in Copenhagen

PEOPLE

Population

5,249,632 (July 1996 est.)
5,199,437 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

17% (male 469,672; female 446,907) (July 1996 est.)
17% (male 451,993, female 430,598) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

67% (male 1,789,552; female 1,738,870) (July 1996 est.)
68% (male 1,780,083, female 1,731,531) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

16% (male 330,396; female 474,235) (July 1996 est.)
15% (female 473,537; male 331,695) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.38% (1996 est.)
0.22% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

12.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.38 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

10.42 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.14 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

4.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.67 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.69 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect), German (small minority)

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1980 est.)

Labor Force

2,553,900

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

DA

Type

Constitutional monarchy

Capital

Copenhagen

Administrative Divisions

Metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 1 city* (stad); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kbenhavn, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkbing, Roskilde, Snderjylland, Staden Kbenhavn*, Storstrm, Vejle, Vestsjaelland, Viborg

Note: See separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Danish realm and self-governing administrative divisions

Independence

1849 (became a constitutional monarchy)

National Holiday

Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Constitution

5 June 1953

Legal System

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Parliament (Folketing)

Elections last held 21 September 1994 (next to be held by December 1998); results - Social Democrats 34.6%, Liberals 23.3%, Conservatives 15.0%, Social People's Party 7.3%, Progress Party 6.4%, Radical Liberals 4.6%, Unity Party 3.1%, Center Democrats 2.8%, Christian People's Party 1.8%; seats - (179 total) Social Democrats 63, Liberals 44, Conservatives 28, Social People's Party 13, Progress Party 11, Radical Liberals 8, Unity Party 6, Center Democrats 5, independent 1

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Political Parties and Leaders

ocial Democratic Party, Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN; Conservative Party, Hans ENGELL; Liberal Party, Uffe ELLEMANN-JENSEN; Socialist People's Party, Holger K. NIELSEN; Progress Party, Group Chairman Kim BEHNKE and Policy Spokesman Jan Kopke CHRISTENSEN; Center Democratic Party, Mimi Stilling JAKOBSEN; Radical Liberal Party, Marianne JELVED; Christian People's Party, Jann SJURSEN; Danish Workers' Party, Common Cause, Preben Moller HANSEN; Unity Party

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

National Anthem

Flag

Re.htmh 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

This thoroughly modern economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is self-sufficient in food production. The new center-left coalition government will concentrate on reducing the persistently high unemployment rate and the budget deficit as well as following the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a current account surplus. In the face of recent international market pressure on the Danish krone, the coalition has also vowed to maintain a stable currency. The coalition hopes to lower marginal income taxes while maintaining overall tax revenues; boost industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms and increased research and development funds; and improve welfare services for the neediest while cutting paperwork and delays. Prime Minister RASMUSSEN's reforms will focus on adapting Denmark to the criteria for European integration by 1999; Copenhagen has won from the European Union (EU) the right to opt out of the European Monetary Union (EMU) if a national referendum rejects it. Denmark is, in fact, one of the few EU countries likely to fit into the EMU on time. Denmark is weathering the current worldwide slump better than many West European countries. Although unemployment is high, it remains stable compared to most European countries.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $112.8 billion (1995 est.), $103 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

3.1% (1995 est.)
4.5% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$21,700 (1995 est.)
$19,860 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

2.4% (1995 est.)
2% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

9.5% (1995)
12.3% (1994 est.)

Budget

Exports

$39.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$34 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$40.9 billion (1994 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate -2.5% (1993 est.)

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 4% of GDP; principal products - meat, dairy, grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish

Economic Aid

Currency

1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Exchange Rates

Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 5.652 (January 1996), 5.602 (1995), 6.361 (1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396 (1991), 6.189 (1990)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

417 km

Pipelines

Crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km

Ports

Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Grenaa, Koge, Odense, Struer

Merchant Marine

Note: Denmark has created its own internal register, called the Danish International Ship register (DIS); DIS ships do not have to meet Danish manning regulations, and they amount to a flag of convenience within the Danish register (1995 est.)

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

4,005 million telephones (1985 est.); excellent telephone and telegraph services; buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay support trunk network

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 1,338,791; males fit for military service 1,150,996; males reach military age (20) annually 34,324 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $3.2 billion, 1.8% of GDP (1995), $2.7 billion, 1.9% of GDP (1994)

History
World Atlas