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Denmark
Kingdom of Denmark National
name: Kongeriget Danmark Sovereign: Queen Margrethe II (1972) Prime Minister: Anders Fogh Rasmussen
(2001)
Current government officials
Land area: 16,359 sq mi (42,370 sq km);
total area: 16,639 sq mi (43,094 sq km)1 Population (2008
est.): 5,484,723 (growth rate: 0.2%); birth rate: 10.7/1000;
infant mortality rate: 4.4/1000; life expectancy: 78.1; density per sq
mi: 129
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Copenhagen, 1,094,400 Other large cities: Århus,
220,700; Odense, 144,600; Ålborg, 120,600 Monetary unit: Krone
Languages:
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (Inuit dialect),
German; English is the predominant second language
Ethnicity/race:
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish,
Iranian, Somali
National Holiday:
Constitution Day, June 5
Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and
Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% Literacy
rate: 100% Economic summary:
GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $181.6 billion; per capita $33,400.
Real growth rate: 2.8%. Inflation: 1.9%.
Unemployment: 5.5%. Arable land: 54%.
Agriculture: barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy
products; fish. Labor force: 2.9 million; agriculture 3%,
industry 21%, services 76% (2004 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.
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt,
limestone, stone, gravel and sand. Exports: $84.95 billion
f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and instruments, meat and meat products,
dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills.
Imports: $74.69 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and
equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals,
grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods. Major trading partners:
Germany, Sweden, UK, U.S., Netherlands, Norway, France, Italy, China
(2004). Communications: Telephones:
main lines in use: 3,610,100 (2003); mobile cellular: 4,785,300
(2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0
(1998). Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 51 repeaters)
(1998). Internet hosts: 1,219,925 (2004). Internet
users: 2.756 million (2002). Transportation: Railways: total: 2,628 km
(2004). Highways: total: 71,847 km; paved: 71,847 km (including
918 km of expressways); unpaved: 0 km (2002). Waterways: 417 km
(2001). Ports and harbors: Aalborg, Aarhus, Asnaesvaerkets,
Copenhagen, Elsinore, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn,
Graasten, Kalundborg, Odense, Roenne. Airports: 97 (2004
est.). International disputes: Iceland
disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; 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; uncontested sovereignty dispute with
Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere
Island and Greenland. 1. Excluding
Faroe Islands and Greenland.
Major sources and definitions
Outlying Territories of Denmark
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Geography
Smallest of the Scandinavian countries (half the
size of Maine), Denmark occupies the Jutland peninsula, a lowland area.
The country also consists of several islands in the Baltic Sea; the two
largest are Sjælland, the site of Copenhagen, and Fyn.
Government
Constitutional monarchy.
History
From 10,000 to 1500 B.C., the population of present-day Denmark evolved
from a society of hunters and fishers into one of farmers. Called Jutland
by the end of the 8th century, its mariners were among the Vikings, or
Norsemen, who raided western Europe and the British Isles from the 9th to
11th century.
The country was Christianized by Saint Ansgar
and Harald Blaatand (Bluetooth)—the first Christian king—in
the 10th century. Harald's son, Sweyn, conquered England in 1013. Sweyn's
son, Canute the Great, who reigned from 1014 to 1035, united Denmark,
England, and Norway under his rule; the southern tip of Sweden was part of
Denmark until the 17th century. On Canute's death, civil war tore apart
the country until Waldemar I (1157–1182) reestablished Danish
hegemony in the north.
In 1282, the nobles won the Great
Charter, and Eric V was forced to share power with parliament and a
Council of Nobles. Waldemar IV (1340–1375) restored Danish power,
checked only by the Hanseatic League of north German cities allied with
ports from Holland to Poland. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden united under the
rule of his daughter Margrethe in 1397. But Sweden later achieved autonomy
and in 1523, under Gustavus I, independence.
Denmark supported Napoléon, for which it
was punished at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 by the loss of Norway to
Sweden. In 1864, the Prussians under Bismarck and the Austrians made war
on Denmark as an initial step in the unification of Germany. Denmark was
neutral in World War I.
Occupied Denmark Saves Its Jews
In 1940, Denmark was invaded by the Nazis. King
Christian X reluctantly cautioned his fellow Danes to accept the
occupation, but there was widespread resistance. Denmark
was the only occupied country in World War II to save all its Jews from
extermination by smuggling them out of the country.
Beginning in 1944, Denmark's relationship with
its territories changed substantially. In that year, Iceland declared its
independence from Denmark, ending a union that had existed since 1380. In
1948, the Faroe Islands, which had also belonged to Denmark since 1380,
were granted home rule, and in 1953, Greenland officially became a
territory of Denmark.
Denmark Closes Its Doors to Refugees
In 2001, the dominant Social-Democrat Party lost
to Anders Fogh Rasmussen of the center-right Liberal Party, which formed a
coalition with the Conservative Party. Prime Minister Fogh Rasmussen,
author of From Socialist to Minimalist State, is a strong proponent
of privatization, deregulation, and limited government. Immigration to
Denmark fell dramatically in 2002, after Fogh Rasmussen instituted
Europe's most restrictive laws for asylum seekers. Because of Denmark's
social welfare benefits, the country had become a much-sought-after haven
for refugees. In Feb. 2005, Fogh Rasmussen won a second term as prime
minister.
In Feb. 2006, the publication of political
cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad set off a series of
outraged demonstrations and riots in a number of Muslim countries. At
least a dozen died in the protests.
Fogh Rasmussen was narrowly elected to a third
term in early elections in Nov. 2007. Rasmussen's close win forced him to
broaden his coalition government to include the recently formed
pro-immigration party, New Alliance.
See also Danish dependencies. See
also Encyclopedia: Denmark. U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Denmark Statistics Denmark http://www.dst.dk/HomeUK.aspx .
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
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