Population: 5,418,000
Capital: Copenhagen; 1,066,000
Area: 43,098 square kilometers (16,640 square miles)
Language: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic
Literacy Percent: 100
Country Dialling Code: +45
Time Zones: GMT/UTC + 1
Religion: Evangelical Lutheran
Currency: Danish krone
Life Expectancy: 77
GDP per Capita: U.S. $28,900
Highest Peak: Yding Skovhoj (173 m)
Neighbor state: Germany
Number Of Islands: 483
Climate and Weather: Mild, windy, temperatures 0-17°C
Nicest Cities: Ebeltoft, Dragor, Nordby, Svaneke
Denmark’s northernmost point is Skagens point (the north beach of the Skaw) at 57° 45’ 7" northern latitude, the southernmost is Gedser point (the southern tip of Falster) at 54° 33’ 35" northern latitude, the westernmost point is Blåvandshuk at 8° 4’ 22" eastern longitude, and the easternmost point is Østerskær at 15° 11’ 55" eastern longitude. This is in the archipelago Ertholmene 18 kilometres northeast of Bornholm. The distance from east to west is 452 kilometres, from north to south 368 kilometres.
Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland and 443 named islands (1419 islands above 100 m² in total (2005)). Of these, 76 are inhabited, with the largest being Zealand and Funen. The island of Bornholm is located somewhat east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden, the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand, and the Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen. Ferries or small aircraft connect to the smaller islands. Main cities are the capital Copenhagen (on Zealand), Århus, Aalborg and Esbjerg (in Jutland) and Odense (on Funen).
Denmark is the smallest of the Scandinavian nations other than Iceland. Located between the North Sea on the west and the Baltic Sea on the southeast, Denmark is separated from Norway by the Skagerrak and from Sweden by the Kattegat and the Oresund. In the south, it shares a 68 km border with Germany. The Faeroe Islands and Greenland have been part of Denmark since the 14th century and are now self-governing units within the nation.
During the 9th century the name Denmark (Denmark: "border district of the Danes") was used for the first time. Subsequently, Denmark ruled over much of Scandinavia, which developed a common Nordic culture. At the same time, because of Denmark’s proximity to Germany, Denmark has also been influenced by German culture.
According to numbers from Statistics Denmark the majority (91,1%) of Denmark’s population of over 5.4 million as of January 1, 2007 is of Danish descent. Of the remaining 8.9% who are immigrants or descendent from recent immigrants in particular arriving since a law, Udlændingeloven (Alien law) was passed by parliament in 1983 and which allowed family (re)union immigration, many come from South Asia or the Middle East. There are also small groups of Inuit from Greenland and Faroese. During recent years, anti-immigration sentiment has resulted in some of the toughest immigration laws in the European Union. Nevertheless, the number of residence permits granted related to labour and to people from within the EU/EEA has increased since implementation of new immigration laws in 2001. However, the number of immigrants allowed into Denmark for family reunification decreased 70% between 2001 and 2006 to 4 198. During the same period the number of asylum permits granted has decreased by 82.5% to 1 095, reflecting a 84% decrease in asylum seekers to 1 960.
Danish is the official language and is spoken throughout the country. English and German are the most widely spoken foreign languages.
Regions and municipalities
Denmark is divided into five regions and a total of 98 municipalities. The regions were created on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform to replace the country’s traditional thirteen counties. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 to 98. The most important area of responsibility for the new regions is the national health service. Unlike the former counties, the regions are not allowed to levy taxes, and the health service is primarily financed by a national 8% tax combined with funds from both government and municipalities. Each Regional Council consists of 41 elected politicians elected as part of the 2005 Danish municipal elections.
Most of the new municipalities have a population of least 20,000 people, although a few exceptions were made to this rule.
The Ertholmene archipelago (96 inhabitants (2008)) is neither part of a municipality, nor a region but belongs to the Ministry of Defence.
Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, as members of Rigsfællesskabet but have autonomous status and are largely self-governing, and are each represented by two seats in the parliament.