Denmark

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.

• Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland);
• also includes several major islands (Sjaelland, Fyn, and Bornholm)

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

agricultural land:

63.4%;

• arable land 58.9%;
• permanent crops 0.1%;
• permanent pasture 4.4%

forest:

12.9%

other:

23.7%

note: highest percentage of arable land for any country in the world (2011 est.)

total:

0.66 cu km/yr (58%/5%/36%)

per capita:

118.4 cu m/yr (2009)

• 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

noun:

Dane(s)

adjective:

Danish

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.81 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Denmark

conventional short form:

Denmark

local long form:

Kongeriget Danmark

local short form:

Danmark

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

note: applies to continental Denmark only, not to its North Atlantic components

• metropolitan Denmark - 5 regions (regioner, singular - region);
• Hovedstaden (Capital), Midtjylland (Central Jutland), Nordjylland (North Jutland), Sjaelland (Zealand), Syddanmark (Southern Denmark)

note: an extensive local government reform merged 271 municipalities into 98 and 13 counties into five regions, effective 1 January 2007

• previous 1665;
• latest adopted 5 June 1849;
• amended several times, last in 2009 (2009)

description:

unicameral People's Assembly or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 representing Greenland and 2 representing the Faroe Islands; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms unless the Folketing is dissolved earlier)

elections:

last held on 18 June 2015 (next to be held by June 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - SDP 26.3%, DF 21.1%, V 19.5%, EL 7.8%, LA 7.5%, AP 4.8%, SLP 4.6%, SF 4.2%, C 3.4%, other 0.9%;
• seats by party - SDP 47, DF 37, V 34, EL 14, LA 13, AP 9, SLP 8, SF 7, C 6;
• note - does not include the two seats from Greenland and the two seats from the Faroe Islands

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 18 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges appointed by the monarch upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice with the advice of the Judicial Appointments Council, a 6-member independent body of judges and lawyers;
• judges appointed for life with retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

• Special Court of Indictment and Revision;
• 2 High Courts;
• Maritime and Commercial Court;
• county courts

• Alternative Party or AP [Uffe ELBAEK]
• Conservative People's Party or C [Soren PAPE POULSEN]
• Danish People's Party or DF [Kristian THULESEN DAHL]
• Liberal Alliance or LA [Anders SAMUELSEN]
• Liberal Party or V [Lars LOKKE RAMUSSEN]
• Red-Green Alliance (Unity List) or EL [collective leadership, spokesperson Johanne SCHMIDT-NIELSEN]
• Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mette FREDERIKSEN]
• Social Liberal Party or SLP [Morten OSTERGAARD]
• Socialist People's Party or SF [Pia OLSEN DYHR]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lars Gert LOSE (since 17 September 2015)

chancery:

3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-4300

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-1470

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Rufus GIFFORD (since 13 September 2013)

embassy:

Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen 0

mailing address:

Unit 5280, DPO, AE 09716

telephone:

[45] 33 41 71 00

FAX:

[45] 35 43 02 23

• 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;
• the banner is referred to as the Dannebrog (Danish flag) and is one of the oldest national flags in the world;
• traditions as to the origin of the flag design vary, but the best known is a legend that the banner fell from the sky during an early-13th century battle;
• caught up by the Danish king before it ever touched the earth, this heavenly talisman inspired the royal army to victory;
• in actuality, the flag may derive from a crusade banner or ensign

note: the shifted cross design element was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

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

agriculture:

2.6%

industry:

20.3%

services:

77.1% (2011 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.9%

highest 10%:

28.7% (2007)

general assessment:

excellent telephone and telegraph services

domestic:

buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, multiple 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 - 18 (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 (2011)

• strong public-sector TV presence with state-owned Danmarks Radio operating 4 channels and publicly owned TV2 operating roughly a half dozen channels;
• broadcasts of privately owned stations are available via satellite and cable feed;
• DR operates 4 nationwide FM radio stations, 15 digital audio broadcasting stations, and about 15 web-based radio stations;
• approximately 250 commercial and community radio stations (2007)

total:

2,414 km

standard gauge:

2,414 km 1.435-m gauge (626 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 63

total:

73,929 km

paved:

73,929 km (includes 1,143 km of expressways) (2012)

country comparison to the world: 63

major seaport(s):

Baltic Sea - Aarhus, Copenhagen, Fredericia, Kalundborg; North Sea - Esbjerg,

river port(s):

Aalborg (Langerak)

dry bulk cargo port(s):

Ensted (coal)

cruise port(s):

Copenhagen

• 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 (2012)

males age 16-49:

1,236,337

females age 16-49:

1,224,182 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,014,560

females age 16-49:

1,003,921 (2010 est.)

male:

37,913

female:

35,865 (2010 est.)

• 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;
• Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) and Russia is collecting additional data to augment its 2001 CLCS submission

refugees (country of origin):

7,253 (Afghanistan) (2014)

stateless persons:

4,725 (2014)