Background: Once the seat of rapacious Viking raiders and later a major power in northwestern Europe, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far, however, they have opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty.

Map reference: Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 43,070 km²
Land: 42,370 km²

Land boundaries: total 68 km, Germany 68 km

Coastline: 3,379 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 4 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers

Terrain: low and flat to gently rolling plains

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone

Land use
Arable land: 61%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 6%
Forest and woodland: 12%
Other: 21%

Irrigated land: 4,300 km² (1989 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: controls Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in Copenhagen

Population: 5,187,821 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 0.23% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Dane(s)

Ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German

Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect), German (small minority)

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 91%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 2%, other 7% (1988)

Population growth rate: 0.23% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 12.45 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 11.28 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.1 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes

Infant mortality rate: 6.9 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.81 years
Male: 72.93 years
Female: 78.86 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
Total population: 99%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
Conventional short form:

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Copenhagen

Administrative divisions: metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 1 city* (stad); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kbenhavn, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkbing, Roskilde, Snderjylland, Staden Kbenhavn*, Storstrm, Vejle, Vestsjaelland, Viborg
Note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Danish realm and self-governing administrative divisions

Independence: 1849 (became a constitutional monarchy)

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Constitution: 5 June 1953

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since NA January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the Queen (born 26 May 1968)
Head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since NA January 1993)

Legislative branch: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard
Parliament Folketing: elections last held 12 December 1990 (next to be held by December 1994); results - Social Democratic Party 37.4%, Conservative Party 16.0%, Liberal 15.8%, Socialist People's Party 8.3%, Progress Party 6.4%, Center Democratic Party 5.1%, Radical Liberal Party 3.5%, Christian People's Party 2.3%, other 5.2%; seats - (179 total; includes 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands) Social Democratic 69, Conservative 30, Liberal 29, Socialist People's 15, Progress Party 12, Center Democratic 9, Radical Liberal 7, Christian People's 4

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMIG, UNMOGIP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Edward E. ELSON
From the us chancery: 3,200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us telephone: [45] (31) 42-31-44
From the us fax: (202) 328-1470
From the us consulates general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
From the us embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2,100 Copenhagen O
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,716
From the us FAX: [45] (35) 43-0223

Flag description: 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, and that design element of the DANNEBROG (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

Economy overview: This modern economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark's new center-left coalition government will concentrate on reducing the persistent high unemployment rate and the budget deficit as well as following the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a current account surplus. In the face of recent international market pressure on the Danish krone, the coalition has also vowed to maintain a stable currency. The coalition hopes to lower marginal income taxes while maintaining overall tax revenues; boost industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms and increased research and development funds; and improve welfare services for the neediest while cutting paperwork and delays. Prime Minister RASMUSSEN's reforms will focus on adapting Denmark to the criteria for European integration by 1999; although Copenhagen has won from the European Union (EU) the right to opt out of the European Monetary Union (EMU) if a national referendum rejects it. Denmark is, in fact, one of the few EU countries likely to fit into the EMU on time. Denmark is weathering the current worldwide slump better than many West European countries. As the EU's single market (formally established on 1 January 1993) gets underway, Danish economic growth is expected to pickup to around 2% in 1994. Danish approval of the Maastricht treaty on EU political and economic union in May 1993 has reversed the drop in investment, further boosting growth. The current account surplus remains strong as limitations on wage increases and low inflation - expected to be around 2% in 1994 - improve export competitiveness. Although unemployment is high, it remains stable compared to most European countries.

Real gdp growth rate: 0.5% (1993)

Real gdp per capita: $18,500 (1993)

Agriculture products: accounts for 4% of GDP and employs 5.6% of labor force (includes fishing and forestry; farm products account for nearly 15% of export revenues; principal products - meat, dairy, grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish; self-sufficient in food production

Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding

Industrial production growth rate: -2.5% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 2,553,900
By occupation private services: 37.1%
By occupation government services: 30.4%
By occupation manufacturing and mining: 20%
By occupation construction: 6.3%
By occupation agriculture forestry and fishing: 5.6%
By occupation electricity-gas-water: 0.6% (1991)

Unemployment rate: 11.8% (1993 est.)

Budget: revenues:$48 billion

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $36.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
Commodities: meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment (shipbuilding), fish, chemicals, industrial machinery
Partners: EC 54.3% (Germany 23.6%, UK 10.1%, France 5.7%), Sweden 10.5%, Norway 5.8%, US 4.9%, Japan 3.6% (1992)

Imports: $29.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
Commodities: petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, textiles, paper
Partners: EC 53.4% (Germany 23.1%, UK 8.2%, France 5.6%), Sweden 10.8%, Norway 5.4%, US 5.7%, Japan 4.1% (1992)

Debt external: $40 billion (1992 est.)

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.771 (January 1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396 (1991), 6.189 (1990), 7.310 (1989)

Electricity
Capacity: 11,215,000 kW
Production: 34.17 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 6,610 kWh (1992)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: exchange rate conversion - $2.6 billion, 2% of GDP (1993)

Airports: 118
Usable: 109
With permanentsurface runways: 28
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 9
With runways 1220-2439 m: 7

Pipelines: crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km

Waterways: 417 km

Merchant marine: 347 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,974,494 GRT/6,820,067 DWT, bulk 15, cargo 110, chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 1, container 51, liquefied gas 36, livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 33, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 21, roll-on/roll-off cargo 39, short-sea passenger 12
Note: Denmark has created its own internal register, called the Danish International Ship register (DIS); DIS ships do not have to meet Danish manning regulations, and they amount to a flag of convenience within the Danish register; by the end of 1990, 308 of the Danish-flag ships belonged to the DIS

Disputes international: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area; dispute between Denmark and Norway over maritime boundary in Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Jan Mayen has been settled by the International Court of Justice