Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and
Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2%
Literacy
rate: 100%
Economic summary:GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $310.7 billion; per capita $37,400.
Real growth rate: 1.7%. Inflation: 1.5%.
Unemployment: 3.5%. Arable land: 52.5%.
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: $102.1 billion
f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and instruments, meat and meat products,
dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills.
Imports: $101.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 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
(2006).
Communications: Telephones:
main lines in use: 3,098,000 (2006); mobile cellular: 5,841,000
(2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0
(1998). Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 51 repeaters)
(1998). Internet hosts: 3,114,000 (2007). Internet
users: 3.171 million (2006).
Transportation: Railways: total: 2,644 km
(2007). Highways: total: 72,257 km; paved: 72,257 km (including
1,032 km of expressways); unpaved: 0 km (2005). Waterways: 400
km (2007). Ports and harbors: Aalborg, Aarhus, Asnaesvaerkets,
Copenhagen, Elsinore, Ensted, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn,
Graasten, Kalundborg, Odense, Roenne. Airports: 91 (2007
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.
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 over 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.
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 against the Nazis. 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.
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 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 arrowly elected to a third term in early elections
in November 2007. His narrow win forced him to broaden his coalition
government to include the recently formed pro-immigration party, New
Alliance.
