Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 10 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km
water: 700 sq km
note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark, but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland

Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts

Land boundaries:
total: 68 km
border countries : Germany 68 km

Coastline: 7,314 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 4 nm
continental shelf : 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic 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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Ejer Bavnehoj 173 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand

Land use:
arable land: 56%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 44% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,350 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: 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

Environment - current issues: 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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compound s, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in Copenhagen

Population:5,368,854 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years : 18.7% (male 514,589; female 488,121)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,806,722; female 1,760,149)
65 years and over: 14.9% (male 334,599; female 464,674) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.59% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 11.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over:0.72 male(s)/female
total population:0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population:76.91 years
male:74.3 years
female:79.67 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.73 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish

Ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali

Religions:Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2%

Languages:Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male : NA%
female: NA%

Country name:
conventional long form : Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark
local long form: Kongeriget Danmark
local short form: Danmark

Data code: DA

Government type: constitutional monarchy

National capital: Copenhagen

Administrative divisions:metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 kommunes*; Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note : see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing overseas administrative divisions

Independence: 10th century first organized as a unified state; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy

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

Constitution: 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government:Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001)
cabinet : Cabinet appointed by the queen
elections: none; the queen is a constitutional monarch; prime minister appointed by the queen

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections:last held 20 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party 56, Social Democrats 52, Danish People's Party 22, Conservative Party 16, Socialist People's Party 12, Social Liberal Party 9, Christian People's Party 4, Unity List 4; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the monarch for life

Political parties and leaders: Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Social Democratic Party [Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Johannes LEBECH, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership]

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300
FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : AmbassadorStuart BERNSTEIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen
mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716
telephone: [45] (31) 42 31 44
FAX : [45] (35) 43 02 23

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 thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark, in a September 2000 referendum, reconfirmed its decision not to join the 11 other EU members in the euro. Even so, the Danish currency remains pegged to the euro.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $149.8 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:1.1% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:3%
industry: 22%
services: 75% (2001 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 2.1% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 2.856 million (2000 est.)
by occupation: services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.3% (2000)

Budget:
revenues: $52.9 billion
expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2001 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 9.458 million kW 000 kW

Electricity - production: 35.792 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 33.925 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; meat, dairy products; fish

Exports:
total value: $52.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
commodities: machinery and instruments 25%, meat and meat products, fuels, dairy products, ships, fish, chemicals
partners : EU 65.9% (Germany 19.1%, Sweden 12.9%, UK 9.8%, France 5.0%, Netherlands 5.0%), US 5.9%, Norway 5.5% (2000)

Imports:
total value: $44.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum 25%, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, textiles, paper
partners :EU 69.7% (Germany 21.1%, Sweden 12.3%, UK 8.6%, Netherlands 7.5%, France 5.2%, Italy 4.4%), US 4.1% (2000)

Debt - external: $21.7 billion (2000)

Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $1.63 billion (1999)

Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.117 (January 1997), 5.799 (1996), 5.602 (1995), 6.361 (1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 4.785 million (1997)

Telephone system: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, four cellular radio communications systems
international: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; satellite earth stations - 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 (1997)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 6.02 million (1997)

Televisions: 3.121 million (1997)

Railways:
total: 2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated)
standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double-track) (1998 est.)

Highways:
total : 71,474 km
paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways)
unpaved:0 km (1999)

Waterways: 417 km

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

Ports and harbors: Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle

Merchant marine:
total:301 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,258,959 GRT/8,143,520 DWT
ships by type:bulk 8, cargo 105, chemical tanker 26, container 72, liquefied gas 20, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 25, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 16, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3
note:includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Greenland 1, Indonesia 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.)

Airports: 116 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total:28
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m : 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m:12
under 914 m: 3 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total : 88
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m:7
under 914 m:80 (2001)

Military branches: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard

Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49:1,287,168 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males : 1,099,900 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 29,212 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2.47 billion (FY99/00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:1.4% (FY99/00)

Disputes - international: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM; Faroese are considering proposals for full independence