Kingdom of Denmark
General information. The Kingdom of Denmark is located in northwestern Europe on the Jutland peninsula and on 407 islands, of which 78 are inhabited. The largest of these islands are Zealand, Funen, Bornholm, Lolland and Falster. The entire territory comprises 43,000 square kilometers. The Oresund, Great and Little Belt straits have international status and are open to merchant ships, with certain restrictions applied to naval ships. The 18 km-long Great Belt Fixed Link was opened in 1998. In 2000, the combined Oresund bridge-tunnel connecting Denmark to Sweden opened for operation. The Oresund Bridge (7,845 m) is the longest road and rail bridge in the world.
The population of Denmark is over 5.5 million, of which over 90% are of Danish descent and 9.1% are immigrants. Over 15,000 Germans, the only officially recognized ethnic minority, live in southern Jutland. The majority of Denmark’s population is Lutheran, Lutheranism being the official state religion. Over 75% of the population live in urban areas. Copenhagen is the country’s capital with over 667,000 residents, 1.2 million in the greater metropolitan area. The official language is Danish, and the krone is the official currency.
Government. The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. The current Constitution was adopted on June 5, 1953. Margrethe II (of the Glücksburg dynasty) acceded to the throne on January 14, 1972 and is the reigning queen of the Kingdom of Denmark. The queen possesses broad constitutional powers, which are limited by the parliament.
Parliament. Legislative power is held jointly by the queen and the Folketing, a unicameral parliament composed of 179 deputies, including two deputies elected in the Faroe Islands and two in Greenland. Members of the parliament are elected for four years by secret ballot and under direct, universal and equal suffrage.
As a result of the elections held on November 13, 2007, eight parties are represented in the Folketing, with two independent deputies. The seats are distributed as follows: the Liberal Party (Venstre) holds 47 seats, the Social Democrats hold 45 seats, the Danish People’s Party holds 24, the Socialist People’s Party holds 23, the Conservative People’s Party holds 18, the Radical Party (Venstre) holds 9, the Red-Green Alliance holds 4, and the Liberal Alliance holds 3.
Government. Executive power is exercised nominally by the queen, but in reality by the Cabinet of Ministers (currently there are 18 ministries). The ministers are members of the Folketing.
After the November 13, 2007 elections, representatives of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Conservative People's Party formed the government. Following the election of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Venstre) as NATO Secretary General, Lars Løkke Rasmussen became the cabinet chair (Venstre, appointed April 5, 2009). On 23 February, 2010, he formed a new government.
Administrative division. Denmark is divided into 5 regions and 98 municipalities. Greenland and the Faroe Islands have the status of self-governing (autonomous) territories.
The Faroe Islands have maintained their autonomous status since 1948. They comprise 18 islands (17 of which are inhabited) with an area of 1,400 square kilometers and a population of about 49,000. Torshavn, with a population of 12,300 is the administrative centre. Issues of foreign, defence and currency policies, as well as police and judicial activities, are the responsibility of the central Danish authorities represented by the Rigsombudsman, who is appointed by the queen. The prime minister's cabinet is in charge of the Faroe Islands in Denmark. The islands are not subject to EU jurisdiction.
Greenland is a former colony that was proclaimed a “self-governing territory within the Danish state” on May 1, 1979. Its covers an area of 2.1 million square kilometers, of which only 0.4 million square kilometers are free from ice. The population is 56,500, and the administrative centre is Nuuk, with 16,400 residents. Greenland’s self-governance is similar to the autonomy of the Faroe Islands.
In 1984, Greenland withdrew from the EU and was given the status of an “associated member for overseas countries and territories.”
A new law on Greenland’s self-governance was enacted on June 21, 2009, which significantly expanded its autonomy in the management of its natural resources. Foreign policy, security, defence and supreme judicial authority remain the responsibility of Denmark.
Mass media. Denmark has about 40 daily newspapers (of which 8 are national) with a total circulation of 1.9 million copies, as well as about 30 weekly magazines with about 3 million in circulation and about 600 specialised monthly publications. The Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, with a weekday circulation of 120,000 copies and weekend circulation of 161,000 copies, Berlingske Tidende (110,000 weekday and 127,000 weekend circulation) and Politiken (108,000 and 140,000, respectively) are the largest-selling newspapers in Denmark.
Ritzaus Bureau of Denmark is a Danish news agency founded in 1866. It is incorporated as a joint-stock company with the majority stake owned by newspaper concerns. The bureau has signed agreements with major international news agencies, including ITAR-TASS.
In addition to the state-owned TV and radio broadcasting corporation Danmarks Radio (channels DR-1 and DR-2), which reaches about one-third of the TV audience, there is an independent channel, TV-2 (40% of the audience) and a satellite channel, TV-3 (10%).
Most of the Danish media are also available in electronic form online.
Economy. Denmark is a developed industrial country with intensive high-yield agriculture. In 2010, Denmark’s GDP grew by 2.1% to a total of 1.546 trillion krones, or about $275 billion.
The domestic debt doubled in 2009-2010 to 386.3 billion krones, or $65 billion. According to the IMF and OECD, it will continue to grow and will make up 43.2% of Denmark’s GDP in 2011. The budget deficit remains unchanged. The inflation rate is 2.3%.
Unemployment was up to 6% in early 2011 with almost 164,000 jobless people. The number of bankruptcies increased to about 6,500 in 2010.
Industry. The leading industries include metal-working and machine- and instrument-building. The instrumentation, navigation and medical equipment made in Denmark enjoy steady demand worldwide, as do Danish food products (e.g. beer, meat products, pastries) and tobacco. Denmark is one of the few European countries that managed to retain its vessel-building industry and production of marine diesel engines. Chemical, pulp-and-paper and printing industries are also well developed. The Danish pharmaceutical industry manufactures 1% of the global output of medications. Denmark ranks second internationally in per capita exports of medications.
2010 showed signs of recovery of the manufacturing industry that had dwindled during the crisis.
Denmark is third among the countries of Western Europe in oil and gas production. Since 1972, production has been underway in the Danish sector of the Northern Sea. In 2009, Denmark produced about 97.4 million barrels of oil, down 7% as compared with 2008, and about 8.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas, 15% less than in 2008. The discovered reserves are expected to meet the country’s energy needs until 2015. Still, Denmark will no longer be a net exporter of oil past 2018 and of gas past 2020.
Denmark does not engineer nuclear power, but instead has achieved significant progress using wind and bioenergy.
Agriculture and fishing. Danish agriculture is based mostly in cattle-breeding and is very productive. Almost two-thirds of animal products are exported. Denmark ranks first in pork exports internationally (it exported 98,400 tonnes to Russia in 2010) and sixth in pork production.
Denmark is an international leader in fishing (about 1 million tonnes), fish processing and exports. Up to 80% of Danish fish exports go to Europe.
Foreign trade accounts for much of the country’s GNP. Denmark’s main trading partners include EU members (over 75% of turnover), the United States, China, and Australia. Manufacturing products are the core export items. In 2010, the export of goods and services rose by 8.5% as compared with 2009 to 536.8 billion krones, or $181.4 billion, while imports grew by 4.4% to 460.1 billion krones, or $83.6 billion. Key Danish exports include machinery and equipment, fuel and energy, and chemical products.
The Social sphere. Denmark is a typical example of the Scandinavian “welfare state” model typified by a high level of income redistribution and a highly developed social welfare system.
Labour conditions and wages are determined by collective agreements signed by unions and entrepreneurs. Unemployment insurance is mandatory for all union members and is financed though payments by the workers, entrepreneurs and the state. The unemployment benefit system is managed by the state. Unemployment benefits are paid in the amount of 90% of the average monthly wage, but are capped at a certain amount. Benefits are limited to a term of three years.
All Danish citizens enjoy the right to social benefits. The amount is adjusted based on the minimum subsistence index.
Retirement pensions (“people’s pensions”) are paid to people who reach the retirement age of 65 regardless of their employment history. In 2007, a new law on social pension was passed that provides for a gradual increase of the retirement age to 67. Additional pensions are paid from a special retirement fund established through personal contributions from the workers (1/3) and employers (2/3); their size depends on the length of employment.
Membership in a hospital insurance plan entitles its members to free healthcare services.
Taxes. Taxpayers pay state, regional and community taxes, property and church taxes, and pension fees. There are indirect taxes on a number of consumer goods and a value-added tax on all goods and services in the amount of 25%. Direct and indirect taxes account for approximately 52% of the income of Danish families. The total amount of taxes and fees amounted to about 830 billion krones, or $150 billion, in 2010.
Education. Denmark has compulsory 9-year education beginning at age 6 (public schools). Vocational schools and gymnasiums offer continued education. High school graduates are entitled to enroll in institutions of higher education.
There are five universities in Denmark: the University of Copenhagen (1479), the University of Aarhus (1928), the University of Southern Denmark (Odense, 1931), Roskilde University (1972) and Aalborg University (1974). Other major higher education facilities include the Higher Commercial School, the Technical University of Denmark, the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, the Academy of Fine Arts, the DNS International Teacher Training College, and the Academy of Music.
Education at public schools and gymnasiums is free. Students 23 years old and younger receive a state allowance whose amount depends on household income. The students are entitled to a 20-year student loan.
Science, culture, art. The Royal Danish Theatre was founded in Copenhagen in 1748 and has ballet/opera and dramatic stages. The largest museums include the National Museum which features valuable ethnographic and archaeological collections, the Museum of National History located in the Frederiksborg Castle, Thorvaldsen’s Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Glyptotek Museum, the Danish Commercial and Maritime Museum in Helsingør, and the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense.
Denmark earned international fame through such outstanding scientists and cultural figures as astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), physicists Hans Christian Orsted (1777-1851) and Niels Bohr (1885-1962), sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1768-1844), composer Niels Wilhelm Hade (1817-1890), playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754), poet Adam Oehlenschläger (1779-1850), authors Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), Karen Blixen (1885-1962) and Martin Andersen Nexø (1869-1954), philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), and cartoonist Herluf Bidstrup (1912-1988).
