Denmark

constitutional monarchyIndependence 1849 (became a constitutional monarchy)

Denmark as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 124 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalCopenhagen
LocationNordic State, Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea on a peninsula
1994

Every edition of Denmark

Populationas each edition published it
5.19 million July 1994 est. · 5.13m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.23% 1994 est. · 0.23% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 39.1 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 75.51 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.68 children per woman 1994 est. · 1.6 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 6 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$18,500 1993 · $18,200 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
0.5% 1993 · 1% in 1993

Geography

Nordic State, Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea on a peninsula | north of Germany

26 fields
Coastline
3,379km
Land boundaries
68km
total · Germany 68 km
Irrigated land
4,300sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Nordic State, Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea on a peninsula north of Germany

Map references

Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

43,070 sq km

land area

42,370 sq km

comparative area

slightly more than twice the size of Massachusetts

note

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

contiguous zone

4 nm

continental shelf

200-m depth or to depth of exploitation

exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

territorial sea

3 nm

International disputes

  • Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area);
  • dispute between Denmark and Norway over maritime boundary in Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Jan Mayen has been settled by the International Court of Justice

Climate

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

Terrain

low and flat to gently rolling plains

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone

arable land

61%

permanent crops

0%

meadows and pastures

6%

forest and woodland

12%

other

21%

current issues

  • air pollution;
  • nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea;
  • drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes

natural hazards

NA

international agreements

  • party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling;
  • signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Note

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

People

21 fields
Population
5,187,821
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 0.23% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
12.45Death
11.28Net migration
1.1

Religions(1988)

Evangelical Lutheran 91%other Protestant and Roman Catholic 2%other 7% (1988)
Labor force
2,553,900
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1980 est.)

Infant mortality rate

6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

75.81 years

male

72.93 years

female

78.86 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.68 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Dane(s)

adjective

Danish

Ethnic divisions

Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German

Languages

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

total population

99%

male

NA%

female

NA%

by occupation

private services 37.1%, government services 30.4%, manufacturing and mining 20%, construction 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5.6%, electricity/gas/water 0.6% (1991)

Government

Constitutional monarchy

33 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

37.4%
Social Democratic Party 37.4%Conservative Party 16.0%Liberal 15.8%Socialist People's Party 8.3%Progress Party 6.4%Center Democratic Party 5.1%Radical Liberal Party 3.5%Christian People's Party 2.3%other 5.2%

conventional long form

Kingdom of Denmark

conventional short form

Denmark

local long form

Kongeriget Danmark

local short form

Danmark

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

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

chief of state

Queen MARGRETHE II (since NA January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the Queen (born 26 May 1968)

head of government

Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since NA January 1993)

cabinet

Cabinet; appointed by the monarch

Parliament (Folketing)

  • elections last held 12 December 1990 (next to be held by December 1994);
  • results - Social Democratic Party 37.4%, Conservative Party 16.0%, Liberal 15.8%, Socialist People's Party 8.3%, Progress Party 6.4%, Center Democratic Party 5.1%, Radical Liberal Party 3.5%, Christian People's Party 2.3%, other 5.2%;
  • seats - (179 total; includes 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands) Social Democratic 69, Conservative 30, Liberal 29, Socialist People's 15, Progress Party 12, Center Democratic 9, Radical Liberal 7, Christian People's 4

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

  • Social Democratic Party, Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN;
  • Conservative Party, Torben RECHENDORFF;
  • Liberal Party, Uffe ELLEMANN-JENSEN;
  • Socialist People's Party, Holger K. NIELSEN;
  • Progress Party, Johannes SORENSEN;
  • Center Democratic Party, Mimi Stilling JAKOBSEN;
  • Radical Liberal Party, Marianne JELVED;
  • Christian People's Party, Jann SJURSEN;
  • Common Course, Preben Moller HANSEN;
  • Danish Workers' Party

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMIG, UNMOGIP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

chief of mission

Ambassador Peter Pedersen DYVIG

chancery

3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 234-4300

FAX

(202) 328-1470

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

chief of mission

Ambassador Edward E. ELSON

embassy

Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen O

mailing address

APO AE 09716

telephone

[45] (31) 42-31-44

FAX

[45] (35) 43-0223

Flag

  • 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

This 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.

25 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$18,500
(1993)
Real growth rate
0.5%
(1993)industrial production growth: growth rate -2.5% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate
11.8%
(1993 est.)

Overview

This 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's new center-left coalition government will concentrate on reducing the persistent 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; although 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. As the EU's single market (formally established on 1 January 1993) gets underway, Danish economic growth is expected to pickup to around 2% in 1994.

Danish approval of the Maastricht treaty on EU political and economic union in May 1993 has reversed the drop in investment, further boosting growth. The current account surplus remains strong as limitations on wage increases and low inflation - expected to be around 2% in 1994 - improve export competitiveness. Although unemployment is high, it remains stable compared to most European countries.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $95.6 billion (1993)

revenues

$48 billion

expenditures

$55.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)

Exports

$36.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment (shipbuilding), fish, chemicals, industrial machinery

partners

EC 54.3% (Germany 23.6%, UK 10.1%, France 5.7%), Sweden 10.5%, Norway 5.8%, US 4.9%, Japan 3.6% (1992)

Imports

$29.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)

commodities

petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, textiles, paper

partners

EC 53.4% (Germany 23.1%, UK 8.2%, France 5.6%), Sweden 10.8%, Norway 5.4%, US 5.7%, Japan 4.1% (1992)

External debt

$40 billion (1992 est.)

capacity

11,215,000 kW

production

34.17 billion kWh

consumption per capita

6,610 kWh (1992)

Industries

food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding

Agriculture

  • accounts for 4% of GDP and employs 5.6% of labor force (includes fishing and forestry);
  • farm products account for nearly 15% of export revenues;
  • principal products - meat, dairy, grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish;
  • self-sufficient in food production

donor

ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.9 billion

Currency

1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates

Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.771 (January 1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396 (1991), 6.189 (1990), 7.310 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

16 fields

Railroads

  • 2,770 km;
  • Danish State Railways (DSB) operate 2,120 km (1,999 km rail line and 121 km rail ferry services);
  • 188 km electrified, 730 km double tracked;
  • 650 km of standard-gauge lines are privately owned and operated

total

66,482 km

paved

concrete, asphalt, stone block 64,551 km

unpaved

gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 1,931 km

Pipelines

  • crude oil 110 km;
  • petroleum products 578 km;
  • natural gas 700 km

Ports

Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia; numerous secondary and minor ports

Merchant marine

347 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,974,494 GRT/6,820,067 DWT, bulk 15, cargo 110, chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 1, container 51, liquefied gas 36, livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 33, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 21, roll-on/roll-off cargo 39, short-sea passenger 12

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;
  • by the end of 1990, 308 of the Danish-flag ships belonged to the DIS

total

118

usable

109

with permanent-surface runways

28

with runways over 3,659 m

0

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

9

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

7

Telecommunications

  • excellent telephone, telegraph, and broadcast services;
  • 4,509,000 telephones;
  • buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay support trunk network;
  • broadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 50 TV;
  • 19 submarine coaxial cables;
  • 7 earth stations operating in INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, and INMARSAT

Defense Forces

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

3 fields

Branches

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

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 1,360,050;
  • fit for military service 1,168,940;
  • reach military age (20) annually 36,800 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $2.6 billion, 2% of GDP (1993)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Denmark.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/denmark/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →