Advanced search
image
Travel & living abroad

Europe

Denmark

 Flag of Denmark

Last reviewed: 27 June 2008

Country information

Map of Denmark

DENMARK TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 42,930 sq km (2,210,415 sq km including Greenland and Faroes)
Population: 5.4 million
Capital City: Copenhagen
People: Overwhelmingly Danish by origin; non-EU immigrants number about 4.5% of the population.
Languages: is spoken in the Faeroes: it is not mutually comprehensible with Danish. In Greenland, both Danish and Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect) are spoken. English is widely spoken throughout Denmark to a very high standard.
Religions: The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the state church. About 84% of Danes belong to it (and about 95% were brought up in it). There are small numbers of other Christian denominations. Muslims form about 3-4% of the population.
Currency: Danish Krone (DKr)
Political Parties Represented in Parliament: From right to left: Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti); Conservatives (Konservativ Folkeparti); Liberals (Venstre); New Alliance (Ny Alliance); Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre); Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne); Socialist People's Party (Socialistiske Folkeparti); Red/Green Alliance (Enhedslisten).
Head of State: Queen Margrethe II
Prime Minister: Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Foreign Minister: Per Stig Moeller
Membership of international groups/organisations: United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Nordic Council, World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe (CoE), Council of the Baltic Sea States, Antarctic Treaty.

DID YOU KNOW?

Denmark has the oldest monarchy in the world, starting with Gorm the Elder who was King from 900AD.

  • Denmark is made up of a peninsula (Jutland) and 406 islands, many of them linked by bridges including the 13.4 km long Great Belt Bridge.
  • The world's oldest amusement park is Bakken (The Hill) north of Copenhagen, which opened in 1583 and still operates today.
  • The highest point in Denmark called the Himmelbjerg (Sky Mountain) is only 180m above sea level.
  • Greenland is geographically part of the North American continent but it was governed by Denmark for centuries. It was granted self-government by the Danish parliament in 1978 but Denmark controls its foreign affairs.

The Faroes, 18 islands in the Atlantic, are self-governing but belong to the Kingdom of Denmark.

HEALTH

  • Infant mortality rate (2003, est.) - 4.4/1,000.
  • Life expectancy - men 72 years, women 78 years.

ECONOMY

Basic Economic Facts:

GDP: 140 billion (2005)
Annual Growth: 3.5% (2006 est), 2.0% (2007 est), 1.3% (2008 est)
Inflation: 1.8% (2007)
Unemployment: 3.3% (2007)
Government finances: The general government surplus was 4.7% of GDP in 2006, 3.9% of GDP in 2007 (est) and debt has fallen to 30% of GDP. There has been no net foreign debt since 2005, thanks to strong current account surpluses due largely to North Sea oil.
Major Industries: Agricultural products, grains, meat and dairy, fish, beer, oil and gas, home electronics, furniture and fashion.
Natural resources: North Sea - oil and gas, fish. Greenland - fish, zinc, lead, molybdenum, uranium, gold, platinum. The Faroe Islands - fish, petroleum, natural gas, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand.
Member of the EU: Yes (they joined at the same time as the UK in 1973).
euro zone participant: No.

The Danish economy, after a downturn in 2002-2003, experienced a sustained upturn and a healthy government surplus. That boom now seems to be over. The latest statistics show a significant dip in business and consumer confidence across the board, with a slowdown expected in the construction sector in particular.

HISTORY

Denmark was unified under a Christian monarch in the 10th century AD. The Viking era (840-1100) included periods of rule over England. Canute’s reign united the kingdoms of Norway and England under the Danish Crown in the 11th century. In 1380 Denmark and Norway entered a union that was to last 400 years. In 1397 Sweden joined them in the Kalmar Union but broke away in 1523. The Peace of Copenhagen in 1660 ended Danish conflict with Sweden, which had become the dominant Baltic power. In 1665 the Danish monarchy was made hereditary and autocratic. In the 18th century trade and commerce thrived in the peaceful conditions which followed Sweden’s defeat by the alliance of European powers. The latter half of the century was a period of reform and growing Danish nationalism. During the Napoleonic Wars, in which Denmark was allied with France, Britain attacked Copenhagen twice: once in 1801 over a dispute of neutral shipping and again in 1807 to prevent the sizeable Danish fleet falling into Napoleon’s hands. The Treaty of Kiel 1814 ended Denmark’s union with Norway by forced cession to Sweden.

In 1849 Denmark adopted its first liberal constitution, ending absolutism. The last in the series of territorial losses took place in 1864, when Austria and Prussia defeated Denmark, and took Schleswig-Holstein (the south of the Jutland peninsula down to Hamburg).

The modern political system began to develop in the late nineteenth century and in 1901 (the 'System Change') Denmark established its first fully representative parliamentary government. The first Social Democrat government came in 1924 was short-lived, but in 1929 the Social Democrats entered a first stable coalition with the Social Liberals and have not often been out of power since then.

During the First World War Denmark remained neutral although, under German pressure, did lay mines across the Baltic Sound. Iceland received Home Rule in 1918 and in 1920 the northern part of Schleswig was restored to Denmark following a plebiscite, giving the German/Danish border its present form.

In 1940 Germany occupied neutral Denmark. Iceland and the Faeroes were occupied by British forces. The King remained in Denmark and the Danish Government remained in being, under German authority, and this aspect of Denmark’s war record has been controversial, including within Denmark. Eventually German demands became intolerable, the government collapsed, and from 1943 the Germans ruled directly and increasingly brutally as Danish resistance developed. Denmark was occupied until almost the end of the war, being liberated by the British on 5 May 1945.

In 1945 Denmark joined the United Nations and, after its experiences under German occupation, NATO in 1949. In 1948 it granted home rule to the Faroe Islands and then to Greenland in 1979. In 1952 Denmark founded the Nordic Council with Iceland, Norway and Sweden, to which Finland acceded in 1955. In 1953 Denmark adopted its present constitution and abolished the Upper House (Landsting). In 1957 it renounced the stationing of nuclear weapons 'in present circumstances' but withheld support for a Nordic Nuclear Weapon Free Zone. In 1959 Denmark became a founder member of EFTA. But left to join the EEC (following unsuccessful applications in 1961 and 1967) in 1973. In 1985 Greenland formally withdrew from the Common Market.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Relations with Neighbours

Denmark has close relations and historical links with its Nordic neighbours. Denmark co-operates closely with its Nordic neighbours, formally in economic and social matters through the Nordic Council of Ministers and informally in political matters through direct consultation.

Denmark has also been active in international efforts to integrate the countries of Central and Eastern Europe into the West. It played a leadership role in co-ordinating Western assistance to the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and supporting their accession to the European Union.

Relations with the International Community

Danish wider foreign policy is founded upon four cornerstones: the United Nations, NATO, the EU, and Nordic co-operation. Denmark also is a member of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; the World Trade Organisation (WTO); the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); the Council of Europe; the Nordic Council; the Baltic Council; and the Barents Council. Denmark emphasises its relations with developing nations and is one of the few countries to exceed the UN goal of contributing 0.7% of GNP as official development assistance.

The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping. Danish forces were heavily engaged in the former Yugoslavia in the UN Protection Forces (SFOR and KFOR), and remain deployed in Kosovo. They are also deployed in Southern Afghanistan and (until recently) in Iraq.

Denmark has been a member of NATO since its founding in 1949, and membership in NATO remains highly popular. The Danes are assisting multi-national forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Relations with the UK

The relationship between the UK and Denmark is close (eg in NATO and the EU). 50,000 Danes live in the UK and 13,000 UK citizens live in Denmark. Queen Margrethe II is a cousin of HM Queen Elizabeth.

Cultural Relations with the UK

The British Council in Denmark encourages exchanges between Britain and Denmark in the arts, education, science and society. It focuses on events that encourage the development of networks of people and which provide participants with opportunities to share experience and expertise in key priority areas: Britain in Europe, social inclusion and diversity, and the environment, including climate change.

British Council: Denmark

Recent Visits

Inward
  • 14 May 2007: Employment Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen visited the UK.
  • 17 June 2007: Minister for Science and Innovation Helge Sander visited the UK.
  • 25-26 June 2007: Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller visited the UK.
  • 10 October 2007: Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited the UK
  • 31 January 2008: Agriculture Minister, Eva Kjær Hansen visited the UK
  • 5-7 March 2008: Danish Defence Commission visited the UK
Outward
  • 28-29 February 2008: FCO Minister for Trade, Lord Digby Jones visited Copenhagen
  • 14 February 2008: Cabinet Office Minister, Ed Miliband visited Copenhagen
  • 21 January 2008: Minister for Consumer Protection, Gareth Thomas visited Copenhagen
  • 9-10 December 2007: Bruce Crawford, Minister for Parliamentary Business, Scottish Executive, visited Copenhagen.
  • 18-19 September 2007: PM Special Representative on Climate Change, Elliott Morley, visited Copenhagen.
  • 11-12 June 2007: Minister of State for Children and Families, Rt Hon Beverly Hughes, visited Copenhagen.
  • 4-5 June 2007: Lord Mayor of City of London, Alderman John Stuttard, visited Copenhagen.
  • 7-9 May 2007: as Minister of State for Employment & Welfare, Jim Murphy visited Copenhagen.
  • 28 November 2006: the then Prime Minister Tony Blair met Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Copenhagen.

GEOGRAPHY

  • Cities: Copenhagen (population 1.08 million in Greater Copenhagen). Other cities - Aarhus (218,000), Odense (144,000), Aalborg (119,000), Esbjerg (73,000).
  • Terrain: Low and flat or slightly rolling; highest elevation is 173m (568ft).
  • Climate: Temperate, with an average of 7.7 degrees centigrade. January and February are the coldest months, average temperature 0 degrees centigrade, and August the warmest at plus 15.7 degrees centigrade.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Trade and Investment with the UK

The trading relationship between Denmark and the UK is known to be strong and friendly. The Danes have a slight trade surplus with the UK but trade in either direction is about £4 billion annually.

The Foreign Direct Investment stock Level from Denmark to the UK in 2005 was £4.9 billion, indicating an increase of almost 100% from the previous year. There are approximately 1,100 Danish companies in the UK today. UK Trade and Investment in Copenhagen is primarily targeting companies in the following sectors: renewable energy, life sciences, ICT, financial services, and food and drink.

In 2006 Denmark was the fifth largest importer of Danish goods and services for a total of £4 billion. Key imports included:

  • telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus
  • meat and meat preparations
  • dairy products and birds eggs
  • medicinal and pharmaceutical products.

UK Trade & Investment Country Profile: Denmark

POLITICS

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy: Queen Margrethe II has ruled since 1972. The 179 members of the Parliament (Folketing) are elected by proportional representation with a 2% threshold. Two are elected from the Faroe Islands and two from Greenland. The electoral system usually leads to a large number of parties being represented in Parliament, and to coalition governments.

The Social Democrats have dominated post-war politics, but the right-of-centre parties governed from 1982 until January 1993 and have been in power since 2001.

The Faroe Islands and Greenland enjoy home rule, with the Danish Government represented locally by High Commissioners. These home-rule governments are responsible for most domestic affairs, but foreign relations, monetary affairs, and defence fall to the Danish Government.

Danish Foreign Ministry website

Recent Political Developments

On 14 November 2007 Anders Fogh Rasmussen was re-elected Prime Minister for a historic third term. His minority Liberal/Conservative coalition was first elected in November 2001. It holds 63 seats out of 179, and benefits from non-Cabinet support on most issues from the Danish People’s Party.

In early 2006 Denmark became the focus of world attention when angry protests broke out in the Middle East in reaction to cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The cartoons had originally been published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005 and were subsequently republished by various European media outlets. Though most protests were peaceful, violence flared in some instances and the Embassies in Syria and Lebanon were set on fire. Danish exports to the Middle East were badly affected.
Since then, the Danish Government has devoted considerable efforts to effective engagement with the Islamic world, hosting a number of conferences and events encouraging mutual understanding. But the foiled assassination in February 2008 of the one of the original cartoonists, sparked the Danish media collectively to reprint the drawings in protest and in support of freedom of expression.  So far international reactions have been muted compared to 2006. But there have been some street protests and threats countries to boycott Danish products in Islamic countries, particularly Sudan.

European affairs

Denmark was a founder member of EFTA but, like the UK, quickly applied to join the (then) Common Market. It finally joined in 1973 but its membership has always been the subject of domestic political controversy. In June 1992 the Danes voted against the Maastricht Treaty in a referendum, but voted in favour after a second referendum in May 1993, having been given 4 important exemptions (or 'opt-outs') to common EU policies in the areas of common defence, the single currency, EU citizenship, and Justice and Home Affairs Cupertino. The Danes also voted against joining the Euro in September 2000.

Country information

Pick Another Country :

Share this with: