Denmark

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $3.2 billion, 1.8% of GDP (1995)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49: 1,338,791 males fit for military service: 1,150,996 males reach military age (20) annually: 34,324 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios

NA

Telephone system

excellent telephone and telegraph services domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network international: 19 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 7 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions); note - Denmark shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)

Telephones

4.005 million (1985 est.)

Television broadcast stations

2

Televisions

2.04 million (1992 est.) Defense

Agriculture

grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; meat, dairy products; fish

Budget

revenues: $56.5 billion expenditures: $64.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)

Currency

1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Economic aid

donor: ODA, $1.34 billion (1993)

Economic overview

This thoroughly 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 is self-sufficient in food production. The new center-left coalition government will concentrate on reducing the persistently 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; 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. Although unemployment is high, it remains stable compared to most European countries.

Electricity

capacity: 10,030,000 kW production: 32 billion kWh consumption per capita: 5,835 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 5.652 (January 1996), 5.602 (1995), 6.361 (1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396 (1991)

Exports

$39.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment (shipbuilding), fish, chemicals, industrial machinery partners: EU 49.4% (Germany 22.4%, UK 8.2%), Sweden 10.4%, Norway 6.5%, US 5.5%, Japan 4.1%, FSU 1.7% (1994)

External debt

$40.9 billion (1994 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $112.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture: 3% industry: 23.5% services: 73.5% (1994)

GDP per capita

$21,700 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

3.1% (1995 est.)

Imports

$34 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, textiles, paper partners: EU 51% (Germany 22%, UK 6.5%), Sweden 11.6%, Norway 5.1%, US 5.2%, Japan 3.5%, FSU 1.7% (1994)

Industrial production growth rate

-2.5% (1993 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.4% (1995 est.)

Labor force

2,553,900 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)

Unemployment rate

9.5% (1995)

Area

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

Climate

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

Coastline

3,379 km

Environment

current issues: air pollution, principally from vehicle emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes 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 international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, 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 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic coordinates

56 00 N, 10 00 E

Geographic note

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

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)

Irrigated land

4,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 68 km border country: Germany 68 km

Land use

arable land: 61% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 12% other: 21%

Location

Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 4 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 3 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone

Terrain

low and flat to gently rolling plains lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m highest point: Ejer Bavnehoj 173 m

Administrative divisions

metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 1 city* (stad); Arhus, Bornholms, Frederiksborg, Fyns, Kobenhavns, Nordjyllands, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjyllands, Staden Kobenhavn*, Storstroms, Vejle, Vestsjaellands, Viborg note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Danish realm and self-governing administrative divisions

Capital

Copenhagen

Constitution

1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state

Data code

DA

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Knud-Erik TYGESEN chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since NA January 1972) is a constitutional monarch; 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) was appointed by the queen cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the queen

FAX

[1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

FAX

[45] (35) 43 02 23

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

Independence

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

International organization participation

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, 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

Name of country

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

National holiday

Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Parliament (Folketing)

elections last held 21 September 1994 (next to be held by December 1998); results - Social Democrats 34.6%, Liberals 23.3%, Conservatives 15.0%, Social People's Party 7.3%, Progress Party 6.4%, Radical Liberals 4.6%, Unity Party 3.1%, Center Democrats 2.8%, Christian People's Party 1.8%; seats - (179 total) Social Democrats 63, Liberals 44, Conservatives 28, Social People's Party 13, Progress Party 11, Radical Liberals 8, Unity Party 6, Center Democrats 5, independent 1

Political parties and leaders

Social Democratic Party, Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN; Conservative Party, Hans ENGELL; Liberal Party, Uffe ELLEMANN-JENSEN; Socialist People's Party, Holger K. NIELSEN; Progress Party, Group Chairman Kim BEHNKE and Policy Spokesman Jan Kopke CHRISTENSEN; Center Democratic Party, Mimi Stilling JAKOBSEN; Radical Liberal Party, Marianne JELVED; Christian People's Party, Jann SJURSEN; Danish Workers' Party, Common Cause, Preben Moller HANSEN; Unity Party

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type of government

constitutional monarchy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Edward E. ELSON embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: APO AE 09716, PSC 73 telephone: [45] (31) 42 31 44

Age structure

0-14 years: 17% (male 469,672; female 446,907) 15-64 years: 67% (male 1,789,552; female 1,738,870) 65 years and over: 16% (male 330,396; female 474,235) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

12.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

10.42 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German

Infant mortality rate

4.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.3 years male: 73.78 years female: 81.01 years (1996 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

noun: Dane(s) adjective: Danish

Net migration rate

2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

5,249,632 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

0.38% (1996 est.)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran 91%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 2%, other 7% (1988)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.67 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Airports

total: 109 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13 with paved runways under 914 m: 77 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)

Highways

total: 71,042 km paved: 71,042 km (including 696 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1992 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 334 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,013,054 GRT/7,171,871 DWT ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 114, chemical tanker 25, container 65, liquefied gas tanker 27, livestock carrier 5, oil tanker 31, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 17, roll-on/roll-off cargo 26, short-sea passenger 9, specialized tanker 1 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 (1995 est.)

Pipelines

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

Ports

Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Grenaa, Koge, Odense, Struer

Railways

total: 2,848 km (499 km privately owned and operated) standard gauge: 2,848 km 1.435-m gauge (326 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1995)

Waterways

417 km