Denmark

Internet country code

.dk

Internet hosts

3.114 million (2007)

Internet users

3.171 million (2006)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998)

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 - 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

Telephones - main lines in use

3.098 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular

5.841 million (2006)

Television broadcast stations

26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998)

Agriculture - products

barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish

Budget

revenues: $152.2 billion expenditures: $140.6 billion (2006 est.)

Currency (code)

Danish krone (DKK)

Current account balance

$6.697 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external

$405 billion (30 June 2006)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

23.2 (2002)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $2.13 billion (2005)

Economy - overview

The Danish economy has in recent years undergone strong expansion fueled primarily by private consumption growth, but also supported by exports and investments. 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. Unemployment is low and capacity constraints are limiting growth potential. 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. Nonetheless, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Economic growth gained momentum in 2004 and the upturn continued through 2006. The controversy over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad printed in a Danish newspaper in September 2005 led to boycotts of some Danish exports to the Muslim world, especially exports of dairy products, but the boycotts did not have a significant impact on the overall Danish economy. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish living standards are among the highest in the world. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.

Electricity - consumption

34.02 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports

13.72 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - imports

6.77 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - production

43.35 billion kWh (2006)

Exchange rates

Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002)

Exports

$90.9 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 8.8%, US 6.2%, Norway 5.5%, Netherlands 5.2%, France 4.9% (2006)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$258 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$202.1 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 1.6% industry: 26.1% services: 72.2% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$37,100 (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.5% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.)

Imports

$88 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 21.4%, Sweden 14.1%, Norway 6.5%, Netherlands 6.3%, UK 5.5%, China 5%, France 4.4% (2006)

Industrial production growth rate

2.5% (2006 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.9% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

22.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Labor force

2.911 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 3% industry: 21% services: 76% (2004 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$178 billion (2005)

Natural gas - consumption

4.775 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

5.35 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - production

9.87 billion cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

75.66 billion cu m (1 January 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 - production

342,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

1.32 billion bbl (1 January 2006)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Public debt

30.1% of GDP (2006 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$31.08 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$150.1 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$138.4 billion (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate

3.8% (2006 est.)

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

Climate

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

Coastline

7,314 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m

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

Geographic coordinates

56 00 N, 10 00 E

Geography - note

controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen

Irrigated land

4,490 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 68 km border countries: Germany 68 km

Land use

arable land: 52.59% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 47.22% (2005)

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)

Map references

Europe

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

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

Natural resources

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

Terrain

low and flat to gently rolling plains

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

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

Constitution

5 June 1953 constitution allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state

Country name

conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador James P. CAIN embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 33 41 71 00 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Friis Arne PETERSEN chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York

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

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

Government type

constitutional monarchy

Independence

first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy

International organization participation

AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)

Legal system

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

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 13 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 26.2%, Social Democrats 25.5%, Danish People's Party 13.9%, Socialist People's Party 13.0%, Conservative People's Party 10.4%, Social Liberal Party 5.1%, other 5.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 46, Social Democrats 45, Danish People's Party 25, Socialist People's Party 23, Conservative People's Party 18, Social Liberal Party 9, other 9; note - does not include the two seats from Greenland and the two seats from the Faroe Islands

National holiday

none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day

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]; New Alliance [Naser KHADER]; 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 [Margrethe VESTAGER]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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.

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 branches

Defense Command: Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Island Command Greenland, Tactical Air Command (2006)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.5% (2006; 1.28% 2007 est.; 1.24% 2008 projected)

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)

Age structure

0-14 years: 18.6% (male 520,669/female 494,228) 15-64 years: 66% (male 1,817,757/female 1,792,974) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 363,828/female 478,664) (2007 est.)

Birth rate

10.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate

10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups

Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 100 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

5,000 (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 4.45 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Languages

Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.96 years male: 75.65 years female: 80.41 years (2007 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 40.1 years male: 39.2 years female: 40.9 years (2007 est.)

Nationality

noun: Dane(s) adjective: Danish

Net migration rate

2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Population

5,468,120 (July 2007 est.)

Population growth rate

0.311% (2007 est.)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.053 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.977 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.74 children born/woman (2007 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

Airports

91 (2007)

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 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 60 (2007)

Merchant marine

total: 299 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,767,265 GRT/10,604,081 DWT by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 64, chemical tanker 57, container 84, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 41, petroleum tanker 22, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 25 (Canada 1, Germany 13, Greece 4, Greenland 1, Norway 1, Sweden 4, UK 1) registered in other countries: 468 (Antigua and Barbuda 15, Bahamas 66, Belgium 3, Brazil 2, Cayman Islands 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Estonia 2, France 3, Gibraltar 9, Hong Kong 12, Isle of Man 41, Italy 2, Jamaica 1, Liberia 12, Lithuania 9, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 9, Mexico 2, Netherlands 19, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 26, Panama 32, Portugal 3, Singapore 68, South Africa 1, Spain 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 16, Sweden 4, UK 61, US 29, Venezuela 3) (2007)

Pipelines

condensate 12 km; gas 3,931 km; oil 626 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2006)

Ports and terminals

Aalborg, Aarhus, Asnaesvaerkets, Copenhagen, Elsinore, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Kalundborg, Odense, Roenne

Railways

total: 2,644 km standard gauge: 2,644 km 1.435-m gauge (636 km electrified) (2007)

Roadways

total: 72,257 km paved: 72,257 km (includes 1,032 km of expressways) (2005)

Waterways

400 km (2007)