{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
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.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "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)" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "56 00 N, 10 00 E" }, "Map references": { "text": "Europe" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "43,094 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "42,434 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "660 sq km" }, "note": "note: 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" }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts; about two-thirds the size of West Virginia" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "140 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Germany 140 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "7,314 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "contiguous zone": { "text": "24 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers" }, "Terrain": { "text": "low and flat to gently rolling plains" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Store Mollehoj 171 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Lammefjord -7 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "34 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "petroleum, natural gas, fish, arable land, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "63.4% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 58.9% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 4.4% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "12.9% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "23.7% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "2,360 sq km (2020)" }, "Population distribution": { "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" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "5,946,984 (2023 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Dane(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Danish" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "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.)", "note": "note: data represent population by ancestry" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority); note - English is the predominant second language" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "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.
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.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "16.24% (male 495,887/female 469,976)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "63.13% (male 1,900,182/female 1,854,222)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "20.63% (2023 est.) (male 566,363/female 660,354)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "57.3" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "25.4" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "31.9" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "3.1 (2021 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "42 years" }, "male": { "text": "40.9 years" }, "female": { "text": "43.1 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "0.44% (2023 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "11.25 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "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" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "88.5% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.54% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "1.381 million COPENHAGEN (capital) (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.07 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.06 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1.02 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.86 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "29.8 years (2020 est.)" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "3 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "3.44 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "2.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "81.87 years" }, "male": { "text": "79.95 years" }, "female": { "text": "83.91 years (2023 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.77 children born/woman (2023 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "0.86 (2023 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "NA" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "10.5% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "4.23 physicians/1,000 population (2018)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "2.6 beds/1,000 population (2019)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "19.7% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "9.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "3.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "4.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "1.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "17.5% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "17.8% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "17.1% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "NA" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "59.6% (2023 est.)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "6.4% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "total population": { "text": "NA" }, "male": { "text": "NA" }, "female": { "text": "NA" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "19 years" }, "male": { "text": "18 years" }, "female": { "text": "19 years (2020)" } }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "10.1%" }, "male": { "text": "9.7%" }, "female": { "text": "10.6% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "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" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "63.4% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 58.9% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 4.4% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "12.9% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "23.7% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "88.5% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.54% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "10.12 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "31.79 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "6.54 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "4.485 million tons (2015 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "1,223,060 tons (2015 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "27.3% (2015 est.)" } }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "400 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "530 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "6 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "Kingdom of Denmark" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Denmark" }, "local long form": { "text": "Kongeriget Danmark" }, "local short form": { "text": "Danmark" }, "etymology": { "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" }, "etymology": { "text": "name derives from the city's Danish appellation Kobenhavn, meaning \"Merchant's Harbor\"" } }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "metropolitan Denmark - 5 regions (regioner, singular - region); Hovedstaden (Capital), Midtjylland (Central Jutland), Nordjylland (North Jutland), Sjaelland (Zealand), Syddanmark (Southern Denmark)" }, "Independence": { "text": "ca. 965 (unified and Christianized under Harald I GORMSSON); 5 June 1849 (became a parliamentary constitutional monarchy)" }, "National holiday": { "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" } }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { "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)" }, "elections": { "text": "last held on 1 November 2022 (next to be held on 31 October 2026)" }, "election results": { "text": "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
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "19,424 (Syria), 5,885 (Eritrea) (mid-year 2022); 41,305 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "11,644 (2022)" } } } }