"text":"<p>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 EU's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union, and justice and home affairs issues.</p>"
"text":"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)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn) but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland"
"text":"with excellent access to the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, and the Baltic Sea, population centers tend to be along coastal areas, particularly in Copenhagen and the eastern side of the country's mainland"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"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"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"composed of the Jutland Peninsula and a group of more than 400 islands (Danish Archipelago); controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen"
"text":"Danish (includes Greenlandic (who are predominantly Inuit) and Faroese) 85.6%, Turkish 1.1%, other 13.3% (largest groups are Polish, Syrian, Romanian, German, and Iraqi) (2022 est.)",
"text":"<br>Verdens Faktabog, den uundværlig kilde til grundlæggende oplysninger. (Danish)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"Evangelical Lutheran (official) 74.7%, Muslim 5.5%, other/none/unspecified (denominations of less than 1% each in descending order of size include Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Serbian Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Baptist, Buddhist, Church of Jesus Christ, Pentecostal, and nondenominational Christian) 19.8% (2019 est.)"
"text":"<p>Modern immigration to Denmark began in the 1960s and 1970s, although immigration, primarily from the Nordic countries and Western Europe, has earlier roots. Dutch migrants came in the 16th century and Germans in the 18th, in both cases to work in agriculture. Between the late 19th century and World War I, Denmark absorbed unskilled Polish, German, and Swedish labor migrants in significant numbers, sometimes at the request of the Danish Government. Between the two World Wars, Denmark received many Eastern European, Jewish, and German migrants. It wasn’t until after World War II, that refugees began seeking sanctuary in Demark, including a large number of German refugees and later Hungarians, Czechs, and Polish Jews. Denmark also imported foreign labor during the 1960s, mainly from Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, and Pakistan. Although the “guest worker” program was halted in 1973, immigrants continued to arrive to be reunited with family members who were already in Denmark as refugees or as guest workers. Non-European refugees came from Chile, Uganda, and Vietnam. In the 1990s, Denmark began receiving migrants and refugees from new places, including Russia, Hungary, Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. Despite raising more restrictions on immigration, in the 2000s, Denmark continued to receive asylum seekers, particularly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia, as well as labor migrants from new EU member states.</p> <p>In more recent years, Denmark has severely limited its refugee intake, aiming to accept as few refugees outside of the UN resettlement program as possible. In the mid-2010s, Denmark passed legislation enabling it to withdraw temporary protective status as soon as conditions in the home country, as determined by Denmark, have improved. This policy has lead Denmark, to deem Damascus and other areas in Syria safe for return, making it the only country in Europe to do so. Consequently, some Syrian refugees have had their residency status revoked, and they are detained in deportation centers because Denmark does not have diplomatic relations with Syria and, therefore, cannot send them back. Copenhagen hopes its stricter policies will discourage asylum seekers, particularly those from non-Western countries.</p>"
"text":"with excellent access to the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, and the Baltic Sea, population centers tend to be along coastal areas, particularly in Copenhagen and the eastern side of the country's mainland"
"text":"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; much of country's household and industrial waste is recycled"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"Antarctic-Environmental Protection"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers"
"text":"the name derives from the words \"Dane(s)\" and \"mark\"; the latter referring to a march (borderland) or forest"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary constitutional monarchy"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Copenhagen"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"55 40 N, 12 35 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October; note - applies to continental Denmark only, not to its North Atlantic components"
"text":"Constitution Day, 5 June (1849); note - closest equivalent to a national holiday"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"several previous; latest adopted 5 June 1953"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed by the Folketing with consent of the government; passage requires approval by the next Folketing following a general election, approval by simple majority vote of at least 40% of voters in a referendum, and assent of the chief of state; changed several times, last in 2009 (Danish Act of Succession)"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"civil law; judicial review of legislative acts"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Denmark"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"7 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK (elder son of the monarch, born on 26 May 1968)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Mette FREDERIKSEN (since 27 June 2019)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of State appointed by the monarch"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch"
"text":"unicameral People's Assembly or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 each representing Greenland and the Faroe Islands; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms unless the Folketing is dissolved earlier)"
"text":"<em><br>1 November 2022:</em> percent of vote by party - SDP 27.5%, V 13.3%, M 9.3%, SF 8.3%, E 8.1%, LA 8.1%, C 5.5%, EL 5.1%, SLP 3.8%, AP 3.3%, NB 3.3%, DF 2.6%; seats by party - SDP 50, V 23, M 16, SF 15, E 14, LA 14, C 10, EL 9, SLP 7, AP 6, NB 6, DF 5; composition - men 101, women 78, percent of women 43.6%"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 18 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"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":{
"text":"Special Court of Indictment and Revision; 2 High Courts; Maritime and Commercial Court; county courts"
"text":"The Alternative or AP [Franciska ROSENKILDE]<br>Conservative People's Party or DKF or C [Soren PAPE POULSEN]<br>Danish People's Party or DF or O [Morten MESSERSCHMIDT]<br>Denmark Democrats or E [Inger STOJBERG]<br>Green Left or SF or F [Pia OLSEN DYHR] (formerly Socialist People's Party or SF or F)<br>Liberal Alliance or LA or I [Alex VANOPSLAGH]<br>Liberal Party (Venstre) or V [Jakob ELLEMANN-JENSEN]<br>Moderates or M [Lars Lokke RASMUSSEN]<br>New Right Party or NB or D [Ann Pernille VERMUND TVEDE]<br>Red-Green Alliance (Unity List) or EL [collective leadership, Mai VILLADSEN, spokesperson]<br>Social Democrats or SDP or A [Mette FREDERIKSEN]<br>Social Liberal Party or SLP or B [Martin LIDEGAARD]"
"text":"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":"<strong>note:</strong> the shifted cross design element was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as by the Faroe Islands"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Denmark has two national anthems with equal status; \"Der er et yndigt land,\" adopted 1844, is a national anthem, while \"Kong Christian,\" adopted 1780, serves as both a national and royal anthem; \"Kong Christian\" is also known as \"Kong Christian stod ved hojen mast\" (King Christian Stood by the Lofty Mast) and \"Kongesangen\" (The King's Anthem); within Denmark, the royal anthem is played only when royalty is present and is usually followed by the national anthem; when royalty is not present, only the national anthem is performed; outside Denmark, the royal anthem is played, unless the national anthem is requested"
"text":"diversified EU trade-based economy; environmental regulatory innovator; dominant services sector; increased government spending but retaining budget surpluses; currently high inflation; unique \"flexicurity\" labor market"
"text":"wind turbines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, shipbuilding and refurbishment, iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions"
"text":"Denmark has one of the highest broadband subscription rates globally, with a near universal availability of super-fast connections; extensive cable and DSL infrastructure has been supported by a progressive regulatory regime which has encouraged operator access to both copper and fiber networks; fiber networks have a fast-growing footprint, while a number of community and metropolitan schemes have supplemented their own commitments to build out fiber nationally; a number of wholesale fiber schemes have also added to the wider availability of fiber broadband; the reach of LTE infrastructure is comprehensive, while the Mobile Network Operators by mid-2021 had also provided about 90% population coverage with 5G; services based on 5G were initially launched using trial 3.5GHz licenses; the multi-spectrum auction held in April 2021 has enabled them to improve the resilience and capacity of 5G; all MNOs are engaged in closing down their 3G networks and repurposing spectrum for LTE and 5G use (2021)"
"text":"country code - 45; landing points for the NSC, COBRAcable, CANTAT-3, DANICE, Havfrue/AEC-2, TAT-14m Denmark-Norway-5 & 6, Skagenfiber West & East, GC1, GC2, GC3, GC-KPN, Kattegat 1 & 2 & 3, Energinet Lyngsa-Laeso, Energinet Laeso-Varberg, Fehmarn Balt, Baltica, German-Denmark 2 & 3, Ronne-Rodvig, Denmark-Sweden 15 & 16 & 17 & 18, IP-Only Denmark-Sweden, Scandinavian South, Scandinavian Ring North, Danica North, 34 series of fiber-optic submarine cables link Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, US, 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 (2019)"
"text":"strong public-sector TV presence with state-owned Danmarks Radio (DR) operating 6 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, 10 digital audio broadcasting stations, and 14 web-based radio stations; 140 commercial and 187 community (non-commercial) radio stations (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"Denmark operates icebreakers in the Baltic Sea and Danish Straits; currently operating three PC 5 or 6 class light icebreakers<br>note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Danish military maintains a joint service Arctic Command with the mission of protecting the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark in the Arctic Region, including the Faroe Islands and Greenland; the command also conducts maritime pollution prevention, environmental monitoring, fishery inspections, search and rescue, hydrographical surveys, and provides support to governmental science missions"
"text":"the Danish military inventory is comprised of a mix of modern European, US, and domestically produced equipment; the US has been the largest supplier of military equipment to Denmark in recent years; the Danish defense industry is active in the production of naval vessels, defense electronics, and subcomponents of larger weapons systems, such as the US F-35 fighter aircraft (2023)"
"text":"18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscripts serve an initial training period that varies from 4 to 12 months depending on specialization; former conscripts are assigned to mobilization units; women eligible to volunteer for military service; in addition to full time employment, the Danish military offers reserve contracts in all three branches (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> women have been able serve in all military occupations, including combat arms, since 1988; as of 2022, they made up about 9% of the military's full-time personnel; conscientious objectors can choose to instead serve 6 months in a non-military position, for example in Beredskabsstyrelsen (dealing with non-military disasters like fires, flood, pollution, etc.) or overseas foreign aid work<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>foreigners who have lived in Denmark for at least 1 year or in another EU country for 6 years may apply to join the armed forces, provided they are fluent in Danish<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>Denmark has had compulsory military service since 1849"
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Denmark, have sent additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe"
"text":"Denmark is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949<br><br>Denmark is a member of the EU and voted to join the EU’s Common Defense and Security Policy in a June 2022 referendum<br><br>the Danish Armed Forces cooperate closely with the militaries of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; areas of cooperation include armaments, education, human resources, training and exercises, and operations; NORDEFCO was established in 2009<br><br>in 2018, the Defense Ministers of Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the creation of a Composite Special Operations Component Command (C-SOCC); the C-SOCC was declared operational in December 2020 (2023)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T"
"text":"<p>Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; 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</p>"
