Denmark. English. |
| The World Factbook 2002 | ||
| Denmark | 
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| Introduction | Denmark |
| 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. However, the country has opted out of European Union's Maastricht Treaty, the European monetary system (EMU), and issues concerning certain internal affairs. |
| Geography | Denmark |
| 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 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 land: 42,394 sq km |
| 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: |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| 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, stone, gravel and sand |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 55.74%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 44.07% (1998 est.) |
| 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
| Geography
- note: |
controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
| People | Denmark |
| Population: |
5,368,854 (July 2002 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 18.7%
(male 514,589; female 488,121) 15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,806,722; female 1,760,149) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 334,599; female 464,674) (2002 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.29% (2002 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
11.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
2.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
76.91 years female: 79.67 years (2002 est.) male: 74.3 years |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.73 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.17% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
4,300 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
less than 100 (1999 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: NA% female: NA% |
| Government | Denmark |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local short form: Danmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark |
| Government
type: |
constitutional monarchy |
| Capital: |
Copenhagen |
| Administrative
divisions: |
metropolitan Denmark - 14
counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular
- amtskomunes); Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, 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: |
first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
| National
holiday: |
none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day |
| Constitution: |
1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing 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 Parliament 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 20 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party 56, Social Democrats 52, Danish People's Party 22, Conservative Party 16, Socialist People's Party 12, Social Liberal Party 9, Christian People's Party 4, Unity List 4; 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) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; 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; Johannes LEBECH, 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: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Stuart BERNSTEIN 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: |
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: |
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 has 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 Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join the 12 other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish Krone remains pegged to the euro. Given the sluggish state of the world economy, growth in 2003 likely will be only moderately higher than in 2002. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $155.5 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
1.8% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 3% industry: 26% services: 71% (2002 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: |
25 (1992) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2.3% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
2.856 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
5.1% (2002) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $52.9 billion
expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.) |
| Industries: |
food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1.4% (2002 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
35.792 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 84%
hydro: 0% other: 16% (2000) nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
33.925 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
7.679 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
8.318 billion kWh (2000) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
| Exports: |
$56.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
| Exports
- partners: |
EU 64.7% (Germany 19.6%, Sweden 11.8%, UK 9.5%, France 5.1%, Netherlands 4.5%), US 6.9%, Norway 5.5% (2001) |
| Imports: |
$47.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
| Imports
- partners: |
EU 69.9% (Germany 21.9%, Sweden 12.1%, UK 7.5%, Netherlands 7.1%, France 5.7%, Italy 4.5%), US 4.2% (2001) |
| Debt
- external: |
$21.7 billion (2000) |
| Economic
aid - donor: |
ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) |
| Currency: |
Danish krone (DKK) |
| Currency
code: |
DKK |
| Exchange
rates: |
Danish kroner per US dollar - 8.418 (January 2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997); note - the Danes rejected the euro in a 28 September 2000 referendum |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Communications | Denmark |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
4.785 million (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
1,444,016 (1997) |
| 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: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; 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
Service Providers (ISPs): |
13 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
3.37 million (2002) |
| Transportation | Denmark |
| Railways: |
total: 2,859 km (508
km privately owned and operated) standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double-track) (1998 est.) |
| Highways: |
total: 71,474 km
paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
| Waterways: |
417 km |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Hirtshals, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 301 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,258,959 GRT/8,143,520 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Greenland 1, Indonesia 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 105, chemical tanker 26, container 72, liquefied gas 20, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 25, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 16, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3 |
| Airports: |
116 (2001) |
| 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 (2002) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 76 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 71 (2002) |
| Military | Denmark |
| Military
branches: |
Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49: 1,287,168 (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49: 1,099,900 (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 29,212 (2002 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$2.47 billion (FY99/00) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
1.4% (FY99/00) |
| Transnational Issues | Denmark |
| Disputes
- international: |
Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM; Faroese are considering proposals for full independence |
Source:
The World Factbook 2002
Last Updated: 19 March 2003
2000-2007
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