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| Mar 31 2007, 4:57 AM EDT (current) | wahaby300 | 5995 words added, 24 photos added |
| Mar 31 2007, 4:56 AM EDT | wahaby300 |
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| Motto: none (Royal motto: Guds hjælp, Folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke "The Help of God, the Love of the People, the Strength of Denmark") | ||||
| Anthem: Der er et yndigt land(national) Kong Christian(royal and national) | ||||
 Location of Denmark(orange) –on the European continent(camel &white) –in the European Union(camel) — [Legend] | ||||
| Capital (and largest city) |  Copenhagen55°43′N 12°34′E | |||
| Danish1 | ||||
| Constitutional monarchy | ||||
| - | Monarch | Margrethe II | ||
| - | Prime Minister | Anders Fogh Rasmussen | ||
| (prehistoric) | ||||
| 1 January 1973 | ||||
| - | Total | 43,094 km²(134th2) 16,6392sqmi | ||
| - | Water(%) | 1.62 | ||
| - | 2007estimate | 5,447,084(111th) | ||
| - | Density | 128.48/km²(78th2) 332.78/sqmi | ||
| GDP(PPP) | 2005estimate | |||
| - | Total | $187.9 billion2(45th) | ||
| - | Per capita | $34,7402(6th) | ||
| GDP (nominal) | 2005estimate | |||
| - | Total | $259.7 billion(27th) | ||
| - | Per capita | $47,984(6th) | ||
| Gini?(1997) | 24.7(low)(2nd) | |||
| HDI(2004) |  0.943(high)(15th) | |||
| Danish krone (DKK) | ||||
| CET2(UTC+1) | ||||
| - | Summer(DST) | CEST2(UTC+2) | ||
| .dk2 | ||||
| +453 | ||||
| 1 Co-official with Greenlandic in Greenland, and Faroese in the Faroe Islands. German is recognised as a protected minority language in the South Jutland area of Denmark. Danish is recognised as a protected minority language in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany. 2 For Denmark excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The TLD .eu is shared with other European Union countries. 3 The Faroe Islands use +298 and Greenland uses +299. |
Contents[hide]
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[edit] History
[edit] Prehistoric Denmark
The earliest Danish archaeological findings date back to 130,000–110,000 BC in the Eem interglacial period.[2] People have inhabited Denmark since about 12,500 BC, and agriculture has been in evidence since around 3,900 BC.[3] The Nordic Bronze Age (1,800–600 BC) in Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of findings, including lurs and the Sun Chariot. During the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BC – AD 1), native groups began migrating south. The Roman provinces maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark, and Roman coins have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark and much of northwest Europe, and is among other things reflected in the finding of the Gundestrup cauldron.[3] The first Danish people came to Denmark between the Pre-Roman and Germanic Iron Age,[4] in the Roman Iron Age (AD 1–400). Before the arrival of precursors to the Danes, who came from Scandinavia and spoke an early form of north Germanic, most of Jutland and part of the islands had been vacated or partly vacated by the earlier Jutes, who settled in Britain together with the Angles and the Saxons to form the Anglo-Saxons. The exact origin of Denmark has been lost in history, but a short note[5] about the Dani in "The Origin and Deeds of the Goths" from 551 AD by historian Jordanes is believed by some to be an early mention of the Daner,[6] one of the ethnos from which are descended the modern Danish people. The Danevirke defence structures were built in several phases from the 3rd century forth,[7] and the sheer size of the construction efforts in 737 are attributed to the emergence of a Danish king.[7] The new runic alphabet was first used at the same time, and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about 700.[edit] Viking age
[edit] Medieval Denmark
Throughout the High and Late Middle Ages, Denmark also included Skåneland (Skåne, Halland and Blekinge) and Danish kings ruled Danish Estonia, as well as the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Most of the latter two now form part of northern Germany. In 1397, Denmark entered the Kalmar Union with Norway and Sweden. The union was a personal union with the individual states maintaining their nominal independence. Scandinavia remained unified under this arrangement until Sweden broke away in 1523. The Protestant Reformation came to Scandinavia in the 1530s, and following the Count's Feud civil war, Denmark converted to Lutheranism in 1536. Later that year, Denmark entered into a union with Norway.[edit] Recent history
Two and a half centuries of wars with Sweden followed. King Christian IV attacked Sweden in the 1611-13 Kalmar War but failed to accomplish his main objective of forcing Sweden to return to the union with Denmark. The war led to no territorial changes, but Sweden was forced to pay a war indemnity of 1 million silver riksdaler to Denmark, an amount known as the Älvsborg ransom.[9] Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably Glückstadt (founded as a rival to Hamburg), Christiania (following a fire destroying the original city), Christianshavn, Christianstad, and Christiansand. Christian also constructed a number of buildings, most notably Børsen, Rundetårn, Nyboder, Rosenborg, a silver mine and a copper mill. Inspired by the Dutch East India Company, he founded a similar Danish company. Christian had planned to claim Sri Lanka as a colony but the company only managed to acquire Tranquebar on India's Coromandel Coast. In the Thirty Year's War, Christian tried to become the leader of the Lutheran states in Germany, but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lutter resulting in a Catholic army under Albrecht von Wallenstein occupying and pillaging Jutland. Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but Gustavus Adolphus' intervention in Germany was seen as a sign that the military power of Sweden was rising and the power of Denmark falling. In 1643, Swedish armies invaded Jutland and in 1644 Skåne. In the 1645 Treaty of Brømsebro, Denmark surrendered Halland, Gotland, the last parts of Danish Estonia, and several provinces in Norway. In 1657, king Frederick III declared war on Sweden and marched on Bremen-Verden. This led to a massive Danish defeat and the armies of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden conquered both Jutland, Funen and much of Zealand before signing the Peace of Roskilde in February 1658 which gave Sweden control of Skåne, Blekinge, Trøndelag and the island of Bornholm. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having destroyed Denmark completely and in August 1658 he began a two-year long siege of Copenhagen but failed to take the capital. In the following peace settlement, Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm. Denmark tried to regain control of Skåne in the Scanian War (1675-79) but this attempt was a failure. Following the Great Northern War (1700-21), Denmark managed to restore control of the parts of Schleswig and Holstein ruled by the house of Holstein-Gottorp in 1721 and 1773, respectively. In the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark originally tried to persue a policy of neutrality and trade with both France and the United Kingdom and joined the League of Armed Neutrality with Russia, Sweden and Prussia. The British considered this a hostile act and attacked Copenhagen in both 1801 and 1807, in one case carrying off the Danish fleet, in the other, burning large parts of the Danish capital. This led to the so-called Danish-British Gunboat War, but the British control of the waterways between Denmark and Norway proved disasterous to the union's economy and in 1813, Denmark-Norway went bankrupt. The Danish-Norwegian union was dissolved by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. Norway entered a new union with Sweden which lasted until 1905. Denmark kept the colonies of Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland. Apart from the Nordic colonies, Denmark ruled over Danish India (Tranquebar in India) from 1620 to 1869, the Danish Gold Coast (Ghana) from 1658 to 1850, and the Danish West Indies (the U.S. Virgin Islands) from 1671 to 1917.
[edit] Politics
[edit] Geography
[edit] Administrative divisions
For the administrative divisions used until 2006, see Counties of Denmark.
[edit] Economy
This thoroughly modern services 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 and zero net foreign debt. Also of importance is the sea territory of more than 105,000km² (40,000+ sq mi). The Danish economy is highly unionised; 75% of its labour force are members of a trade union.[20] Most trade unions take part in the organised umbrella system of trade unions, the biggest umbrella organisation being the so-called LO, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions. However, an increasingly larger part of the labour force choose not to become members of a trade union or to become members of one of the trade unions outside the organised system (often referred to as the yellow, in Danish gule, trade unions). Relationships between unions and employers are cooperative: unions have a day-to-day role in managing the workplace, and their representatives sit on most companies' board of directors. Rules on work schedules and pay are negotiated between unions and employers, with minimal government involvement. The unemployment rate February 2007 was 3.9%, for a total of 106,900 persons. The number of unemployed is forecast at 65,000 in 2015. The number of people in the working age group, less disability pensioners etc., will grow by 10,000 to 2,860,000, and jobs by 70,000 to 2,790,000.[21] Parttime jobs included.[22] Because of the present high demand for but lacking supply of skilled labour, especially regarding factory, transport, building and construction jobs, in addition to hospital nurses and physicians, the annual average working hours have risen, especially compared with the economic downturn 1987 – 1993.[23]
[edit] Transport
Enormous investment has been made in recent decades in building road and rail links between Copenhagen and Malmö, Sweden (the Øresund Bridge), and between Zealand and Funen (the Great Belt Fixed Link). The main railway operator is Danske Statsbaner (Danish State Railways) for passenger services and Railion for freight trains. The railway tracks are maintained by Banedanmark. Copenhagen has a small Metro system and an extensive S-tog electrified suburban railway network. Denmark's national airline (together with Norway and Sweden) is Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and Copenhagen Airport is the country's largest airport, and also the biggest hub in Scandinavia. A ferry link to the Faroe Islands is maintained by Smyril Line. Other international ferry services are mainly operated by DFDS (to Norway and the UK) and Scandlines (to Germany and Sweden). Danes without a car usually ride their bicycles or a bus to school and work.
[edit] Demographics
The majority of the population is of Scandinavian descent, with small groups of Inuit from Greenland, Faroese, and immigrants. According to official statistics in 2005, immigrants and their descendants made up 461,614 people, or 8.5% of the total population. A large number of these immigrants come from South Asia, and The Middle East.[25] During recent years, anti-immigrant sentiment has surfaced in Denmark as is the case also in many other parts of Europe.[26] Danish is spoken throughout the country, although a small group near the German border also speak German. Many Danes are fluent in English as well, particularly those in larger cities and youths, who are taught two or more foreign languages in school. Regarding religions in Denmark, according to official statistics from January 2006, 83.0% of Danes are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish People's Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. The rest are primarily of other Christian denominations, and about 4% are Muslims, due to immigration of Muslim population to the country. Denmark has freedom of religion, and there are numerous small religious societies and communities in addition to the official church. As in most countries, the population is not distributed evenly. Although the land area east of the Great Belt only makes up 9,622km² (3,715sq mi), 22.7% of Denmark's land area, it has 45% (2,445,168) of the population. The average population density of this area is 254 inhabitants per km² (658 per sq mi). The average density in the west of the country (32,772km²/12,653sq mi) is 91/km² (236 per sq mi) (2006). The median age is 39.8 years with 0.98 males per female. 98.2% of the population is literate (age 15 and up). 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.), which reflects a coming drop in worker to retiree ratio. The annual average population growth is 0.33%.[27] Population 1 January 2007 was 5,447,084, which equals 128.48 inh./km² land area or 332.78 inh./sq mi. land area (16,368 sq mi) Censuses merely for population numbers are not conducted; they are based on the computerised, day-to-day updated Central Office of Civil Registration.[edit] Education
The Danish education system is sophisticated and offers free access to public school, high school and most kinds of higher education (universities etc.). About 99% of the general population attend elementary school (lasting 9 to 10 years); 86% attend secondary school and 41% pursue further education. Primary school in Denmark is "den Danske Folkeskole" (translated: "the Danish Public School"). It goes from 0-10th grade (10th grade is optional). In Denmark one can also go to "Friskole"/"Privatskole" or "free school"/private school: schools that are not under the municipalities. An example is "Rudolf Steiner Skolerne" or "Waldorf Schools". The most special kind of school in Denmark is "Efterskole". If translated directly from Danish it becomes "afterschool". The "afterschool" is an optional school that goes from an 8-10th grade, and it's like a boarding school, but pupils mostly attend afterschools for one year only, although some schools allow for the pupils to stay there for two years. Most pupils attend the school in 10th grade, but many do it in 9th grade instead. On many of these schools there is emphasis on a particular subject, for example sports or languages. One of the big differences between a boarding school and an "afterschool" is the freedom; the pupils have more freedom at an afterschool. Perhaps the most important Danish contribution to education is the "folkehøjskole", introduced by N.F.S. Grundtvig in the 1800s. Literally translated as "people's high school", the folkehøjskole is a social education structure without tests or grades, putting its emphasis not on demonstrable achievement but rather on communal learning, self-discovery, and learning how to think.[28] Many young Danes attend a folkehøjskole for a few months or a year after they graduate from the Gymnasium, which is a school comparable to High School and the first year of College in the US, before going on to university. However, the folkehøjskoles, as "schools for the people", are also resources for lifelong learning. Some folkehøjskoles have particular focus areas, such as sports, music, or environmental protection. Most, however, offer a broad liberal arts education. However, following graduation from "Folkeskolen", there are several other opportunities including the before mentionen "Gymnasium" (comparable to High School), but also HF (similiar to Gymnasium, but one year shorter), HTX (with focus on Mathematics and engineering), HHX (with focus on trading and business) and so on.[edit] Culture
