)
, song =
( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type =
Sovereign state
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...
, subdivision_name =
Kingdom of Denmark
, established_title =
Consolidation
, established_date = 8th century
, established_title2 = Christianization
, established_date2 = 965
, established_title3 =
, established_date3 = 5 June 1849
, established_title4 = Faroese home rule
, established_date4 = 24 March 1948
, established_title5 =
EEC accession
, established_date5 = 1 January 1973
, established_title6 = Greenlandic home rule
, established_date6 = 1 May 1979
, official_languages =
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
, languages_type =
Regional language
*
A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.
Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan ...
s
, languages_sub = yes
, languages =
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
[German is recognised as a protected minority language in the South Jutland area of Denmark.]
, demonym =
, capital =
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, largest_city = capital
, coordinates =
, ethnic_groups =
, ethnic_groups_year = 2020
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, government_type =
Unitary
Unitary may refer to:
Mathematics
* Unitary divisor
* Unitary element
* Unitary group
* Unitary matrix
* Unitary morphism
* Unitary operator
* Unitary transformation
* Unitary representation
* Unitarity (physics)
* ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
, leader_title1 =
Monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...
, leader_name1 =
Margrethe II
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent fema ...
, leader_title2 =
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
, leader_name2 =
Mette Frederiksen
Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime ...
, leader_title3 =
Speaker of the Folketing
The Speaker of the Folketing ( Danish: Folketingets formand) is the presiding officer of the Danish Parliament, Folketing
The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is t ...
, leader_name3 =
Henrik Dam Kristensen
Henrik Dam Kristensen (born 31 January 1957 in Vorbasse) is a Danish politician and the current speaker of the Danish parliament. He has been a member of the Danish parliament for the Social Democrats from 1990–2004 and again from 2007, during ...
, legislature =
Folketing
The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...
, area_km2 = 42943
, area_rank = 130th
, area_sq_mi = 16580
, percent_water = 1.74
, elevation_max_m = 170.86
, elevation_max_ft =
, elevation_max_point =
Møllehøj
Møllehøj is the highest natural pointFor comparison, the tallest man-made structure in Denmark is the Tommerup Transmitter, which stands 321m or 1045ft high. in Denmark at .
Geography
Møllehøj is in the Ejerbjerge hills in Skanderborg ...
, population_estimate = 5,928,364
[The Kingdom has a total population of 5,958,380.] (
114th)
, population_estimate_year = M10 2022
, population_density_km2 = 138.05
, GDP_PPP = $411.0 billion
, GDP_PPP_year = 2022
, GDP_PPP_rank = 53nd
, GDP_PPP_per_capita = $69,273
, GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 11th
, GDP_nominal = $386.7 billion
, GDP_nominal_year = 2022
, GDP_nominal_rank = 41st
, GDP_nominal_per_capita = $65,713
, GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 10th
, Gini = 27.0
, Gini_year = 2021
, Gini_change = decrease
, Gini_ref =
, HDI = 0.948
, HDI_year = 2021
, HDI_change = increase
, HDI_ref =
, HDI_rank = 6th
, currency =
Danish krone (kr.) (
DKK)
[In the Faroe Islands the currency has a separate design and is known as the króna, but is not a separate currency.]
, timezone =
CET
CET or cet may refer to:
Places
* Cet, Albania
* Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus
* Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Comcast En ...
, utc_offset = +01:00
, timezone_DST =
CEST CEST or cest may refer to:
* Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone
* Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory
* Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
, utc_offset_DST = +02:00
, date_format = //
, electricity = 230 V–50 Hz
, drives_on = right
, calling_code =
+45
, iso_code =
DK
, cctld =
.dk
.dk is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Denmark. The supervision of the .dk top-level domain is handled exclusively by DK Hostmaster. Any new .dk domain name has to be applied for via an approved registrar. Then the domain name appl ...
[The ]top-level domain name
A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in ...
.eu
.eu is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the European Union (EU). Launched on 7 December 2005, the domain is available for any person, company or organization based in the European Union. This was extended to the European Economic Are ...
is shared with other European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
countries.
Denmark ( da, Danmark, ) is a
Nordic country
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Swed ...
in
Northern Europe. It is the most populous and politically central constituent of the
Kingdom of Denmark,
[ da, Kongeriget Danmark, ] a constitutionally
unitary state
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only ...
that includes the
autonomous territories of the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
in the North
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
.
[*
*
* ] European Denmark
is the southernmost of the
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n countries, lying southwest of
Sweden, south of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
,
[The island of Bornholm is offset to the east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea.] and north of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Spanning a total area of ,
it consists of the peninsula of
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
and an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
of
443 named islands, of which the largest are
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
,
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
and the
North Jutlandic Island
The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden''), is the northernmost part of Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts Vendsyssel, Hanh ...
. Denmark's geography is characterised by flat,
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...
, sandy coasts, low elevation, and a
temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
. As of 2022, it had a population of 5.928 million (1 October 2022), of which 800,000 live in the
capital and largest city,
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
Denmark exercises
hegemonic
Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over other city-states. ...
influence in the
Danish Realm
The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...
,
devolving powers to handle internal affairs.
Home rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
was established in the Faroe Islands in 1948 and in
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
in 1979; the latter obtained
further autonomy in 2009.
The
unified kingdom of Denmark emerged in the eighth century as a proficient maritime power amid the struggle for
control of the Baltic Sea. In 1397, it joined Norway and Sweden to form the
Kalmar Union, which persisted until
the latter's secession in 1523. The remaining Kingdom of
Denmark–Norway endured a
series of wars in the 17th century that resulted in further
territorial cessions to the
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
. Following the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, Norway was absorbed into Sweden, leaving Denmark with the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. A surge of
nationalist movements in the 19th century were defeated in the
First Schleswig War
The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...
of 1848, though the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...
of 1864 resulted in further
territorial losses to
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
. The period saw the adoption of the
Constitution of Denmark
The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...
on 5 June 1849, ending the
absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism (European history), Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute pow ...
that was established in 1660 and introducing the current parliamentary system.
An industrialised exporter of
agricultural produce in the second half of the 19th century, Denmark introduced
social and labour-market reforms in the early 20th century, which formed the basis for the present
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
and advanced
mixed economy
A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economie ...
.
Denmark remained neutral during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
but regained the northern half of Schleswig in 1920. Danish neutrality was violated in World War II following a swift
German invasion German invasion may refer to:
Pre-1900s
* German invasion of Hungary (1063)
World War I
* German invasion of Belgium (1914)
* German invasion of Luxembourg (1914)
World War II
* Invasion of Poland
* German invasion of Belgium (1940)
* G ...
in April 1940. During occupation, a
resistance movement
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...
emerged in 1943 while Iceland declared independence in 1944; Denmark was
liberated in May 1945. In 1973, Denmark, together with
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
but not the
Faroes
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betw ...
, became a member of what is now the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, but negotiated
certain opt-outs, such as retaining its own currency, the
krone.
Denmark is a
highly developed country with a high
standard of living: the country performs at or near the top in measures of
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
,
health care,
civil liberties,
democratic governance
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
and
LGBT equality
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , ...
.
Denmark is a founding member of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, the
Nordic Council, the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
,
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
, and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
; it is also part of the
Schengen Area. Denmark maintains close political, cultural, and linguistic ties with its Scandinavian neighbours, with the
Danish language
Danish (; , ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schle ...
being partially
mutually intelligible with both
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
.
Etymology
The etymology of the name "Denmark", the relationship between "Danes" and "Denmark", and the emergence of Denmark as a unified kingdom are topics of continuous scholarly debate. This is centred primarily on the prefix ''"Dan"'' and whether it refers to the
Dani or a historical person
Dan
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
and the exact meaning of the -''"mark"'' ending.
Most etymological dictionaries and handbooks derive "Dan" from a word meaning "flat land",
related to German "threshing floor", English ''den'' "cave".
[ J. de Vries, ''Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'', 1962, 73; N. Å. Nielsen, ''Dansk etymologisk ordbog'', 1989, 85–96.] The element ''mark'' is believed to mean
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
or
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
land (see
marches
In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...
), with probable references to the border forests in south
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
.
The first recorded use of the word ''Danmark'' within Denmark itself is found on the two
Jelling stones
The Jelling stones ( da, Jellingstenene) are massive carved runestones from the 10th century, found at the town of Jelling in Denmark. The older of the two Jelling stones was raised by King Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra. The large ...
, which are
runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones d ...
s believed to have been erected by
Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old ( da, Gorm den Gamle; non, Gormr gamli; la, Gormus Senex), also called Gorm the Languid ( da, Gorm Løge, Gorm den Dvaske), was ruler of Denmark, reigning from to his death or a few years later.Lund, N. (2020), p. 147 () and
Harald Bluetooth
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway.
He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. ...
(). The larger of the two stones is popularly cited as the "baptismal certificate" () of Denmark, though both use the word "Denmark", in the
accusative
The accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb.
In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘th ...
() on the large stone, and the
genitive "tanmarkar" (pronounced ) on the small stone, while the
dative form ''tąnmarku'' (pronounced ) is found on the contemporaneous Skivum stone. The inhabitants of Denmark are there called (), or "Danes", in the accusative.
History
Prehistory
![Solvognen-00100](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Solvognen-00100.jpg)
The earliest
archaeological finds in Denmark date back to the
Eem interglacial period from 130,000 to 110,000
BC. Denmark has been inhabited since around 12,500 BC and agriculture has been evident since 3900 BC.
The
Nordic Bronze Age
The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC.
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (th ...
(1800–600 BC) in Denmark was marked by
burial mounds
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
, which left an abundance of findings including
lur
A lur, also lure or lurr, is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played with a brass-type embouchure. Lurs can be straight or curved in various shapes. The purpose of the curves was to make long instruments easier to car ...
s and the
Sun Chariot.
During the
Pre-Roman Iron Age
The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain,
roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
The regio ...
(500 BC – AD 1), native groups began migrating south, and the first tribal
Danes came to the country between the Pre-Roman and the
Germanic Iron Age
The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain,
roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
The regi ...
, in the
Roman Iron Age
The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain,
roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
The regi ...
(AD 1–400).
The
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
s maintained
trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...
s and relations with native tribes in Denmark, and
Roman coins
Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denom ...
have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong
Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark and much of North-West Europe and is among other things reflected in the finding of the
Gundestrup cauldron
The Gundestrup cauldron is a richly decorated silver vessel, thought to date from between 200 BC and 300 AD,Nielsen, S; Andersen, J; Baker, J; Christensen, C; Glastrup, J; et al. (2005). "The Gundestrup cauldron: New scientific and technical ...
.
The tribal Danes came from the east
Danish islands (
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
) and
Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...
and spoke an early form of
North Germanic
The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...
. Historians believe that before their arrival, most of
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
and the nearest islands were settled by tribal
Jutes
The Jutes (), Iuti, or Iutæ ( da, Jyder, non, Jótar, ang, Ēotas) were one of the Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the departure of the Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic nation ...
. The Jutes migrated to
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
eventually, some as mercenaries of
Brythonic King
Vortigern
Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...
, and were granted the south-eastern territories of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
and other areas, where they settled. They were later absorbed or
ethnically cleansed by the invading
Angles
The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ...
and
Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
, who formed the
Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
. The remaining
Jutish population in Jutland assimilated in with the settling
Danes.
A short note about the ''Dani'' in ''
Getica
''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'', written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of the o ...
'' by the historian
Jordanes
Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') a ...
is believed to be an early mention of the Danes, one of the
ethnic groups from whom modern
Danes are descended. The
Danevirke
The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...
defence structures were built in phases from the 3rd century forward and the sheer size of the construction efforts in AD 737 are attributed to the emergence of a Danish king.
[Michaelsen (2002), pp. 122–23.] A
new runic alphabet was first used around the same time and
Ribe
Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,257 (2022). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It ...
, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about AD 700.
Viking and Middle Ages
![Ladbyskibet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Ladbyskibet.jpg)
From the 8th to the 10th century the wider
Scandinavian region was the source of
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
. They colonised, raided, and traded in all parts of Europe. The Danish Vikings were most active in the eastern and southern
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
and
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
. They settled in parts of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
(known as the
Danelaw
The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...
) under King
Sweyn Forkbeard in 1013, and in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
where Danes and Norwegians were allowed to settle in what would become
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in exchange of allegiance to
Robert I of France
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
with
Rollo
Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
as first ruler. Some
Anglo-Saxon pence of this period have been found in Denmark.
[*]
![Jellingsten stor 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Jellingsten_stor_1.jpg)
Denmark was largely consolidated by the late 8th century and its rulers are consistently referred to in
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
sources as kings (''reges''). Under the reign of
Gudfred
Gudfred was a ninth century Danish king who reigned from at least 804 to 810. Alternate spellings include ''Godfred'' (Danish), ''Göttrick'' (German), ''Gøtrik'' (Danish), ''Gudrød'' (Danish), and ''Godofredus'' (Latin). He stands at the thres ...
in 804 the Danish kingdom may have included all the
lands
Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water.
Land, lands, The Land, or the Lands may also refer to:
Entertainment and media Film
* ''Land'' (1987 film), a British television film by Barry Collins
* ''Land'' (2018 film), ...
of Jutland,
Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...
and the Danish islands, excluding Bornholm.
The extant Danish monarchy traces its roots back to
Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old ( da, Gorm den Gamle; non, Gormr gamli; la, Gormus Senex), also called Gorm the Languid ( da, Gorm Løge, Gorm den Dvaske), was ruler of Denmark, reigning from to his death or a few years later.Lund, N. (2020), p. 147 , who established his reign in the early 10th century. As attested by the
Jelling stones
The Jelling stones ( da, Jellingstenene) are massive carved runestones from the 10th century, found at the town of Jelling in Denmark. The older of the two Jelling stones was raised by King Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra. The large ...
, the Danes were
Christianised around 965 by
Harald Bluetooth
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway.
He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. ...
, the son of
Gorm. It is believed that Denmark became Christian for political reasons so as not to get invaded by the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. A rising Christian power in Europe, the Holy Roman Empire was an important trading partner for the Danes. As a deterrent against this threat, Harald built six
fortresses
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
around Denmark called
Trelleborg
Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the ...
and built a further
Danevirke
The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...
. In the early 11th century,
Canute the Great won and united Denmark, England, and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
for almost 30 years with a Scandinavian army.
Throughout the
High and
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...
, Denmark also included
Skåneland
Skåneland ( Swedish and Danish) or Skånelandene ( Danish) is a region on the southern Scandinavian peninsula. It includes the Swedish provinces of Blekinge, Halland, and Scania. The Danish island of Bornholm is traditionally also include ...
(the areas of Scania,
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...
, and
Blekinge
Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's secon ...
in present-day south Sweden) and Danish kings ruled
Danish Estonia
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
, as well as the
duchies
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between " ...
of
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
and
Holstein
Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
. Most of the latter two now form the state of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...
in northern Germany.
In 1397, Denmark entered into a
personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
with
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
and
Sweden, united under Queen
Margaret I Margaret I may refer to:
* Margaret I, Countess of Flanders (died 1194)
* Margaret I of Scotland (1283–1290), usually known as the Maid of Norway
* Margaret I, Countess of Holland (1311–1356), Countess of Hainaut and Countess of Holland
* Ma ...
. The three countries were to be treated as equals in the union. However, even from the start, Margaret may not have been so idealistic—treating Denmark as the clear "senior" partner of the union.
[Lauring, Palle (1960) ''A History of the Kingdom of Denmark'', Host & Son Co.: Copenhagen, p. 108.] Thus, much of the next 125 years of
Scandinavian history
The history of Scandinavia is the history of the geographical region of Scandinavia and its peoples. The region is located in Northern Europe, and consists of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finland and Iceland are at times, especially in English- ...
revolves around this union, with Sweden breaking off and being re-conquered repeatedly. The issue was for practical purposes resolved on 17 June 1523, as
Swedish King
This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union.
History
The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work ''Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). Howe ...
Gustav Vasa
Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...
conquered the city of
Stockholm. The
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
spread to Scandinavia in the 1530s, and following the
Count's Feud
The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of relig ...
civil war,
Denmark converted to
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
in 1536. Later that year, Denmark entered into a union with Norway.
Early modern history (1536–1849)
![Denmark-Norway in 1780](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Denmark-Norway_in_1780.svg)
After Sweden permanently History of Sweden (1523–1611), broke away from the personal union, Denmark tried on several occasions to reassert control over its neighbour. King Christian IV of Denmark, Christian IV attacked Sweden in the 1611–1613 Kalmar War but failed to accomplish his main objective of forcing it to return to the union. The war led to no territorial changes, but Sweden was forced to pay a war reparations, war indemnity of 1 million silver riksdaler to Denmark, an amount known as the ''Treaty of Stettin (1570), Älvsborg ransom''. King Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably Glückstadt (founded as a rival to Hamburg) and Oslo, Christiania. Inspired by the Dutch East India Company, he founded a similar Danish East India Company, Danish company and planned to claim Sri Lanka, Ceylon as a colony, but the company only managed to acquire Tharangambadi, Tranquebar on India's Coromandel Coast. Denmark's large colonial aspirations included a few key trading posts in Africa and India. While Denmark's trading posts in India were of little note, it played an important role in the highly lucrative Atlantic slave trade, through its trading outposts in Osu Castle, Fort Christiansborg in Osu, Accra, Osu, Ghana through which 1.5 million slaves were traded.
While the Danish colonial empire was sustained by trade with other major powers, and plantations – ultimately a lack of resources led to its stagnation.
In the Thirty Years' War, Christian tried to become the leader of the Lutheranism, Lutheran states in Germany but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lutter. The result was that the Catholic army under Albrecht von Wallenstein was able to invade, occupy, and pillage Jutland, forcing Denmark Treaty of Lübeck, to withdraw from the war. Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus' intervention in Germany was seen as a sign that the military power of Sweden was on the rise while Denmark's influence in the region was declining. Swedish armies Torstenson War, invaded Jutland in 1643 and claimed Scania in 1644. In the 1645 Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645), Treaty of Brømsebro, Denmark surrendered Halland, Gotland, the last parts of Danish Estonia, and several provinces in Norway.
![Stormen på København (F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Stormen_p%C3%A5_K%C3%B8benhavn_%28F.C._Lund%29.jpg)
Seeing an opportunity to tear up the Treaty of Brømsebro, King Frederick III of Denmark, in 1657, declared war on Sweden, the latter being deeply involved in the Second Northern War (1655–1660), and marched on Bremen-Verden. This led to a massive Danish defeat as the armies of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden conquered
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
and, following the March Across the Belts, Swedish March across the frozen Danish straits, occupied
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
and much of
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
before signing the Treaty of Roskilde, Peace of Roskilde in February 1658, which gave Sweden control of Scania,
Blekinge
Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's secon ...
, Bohuslän, Trøndelag, and the island of
Bornholm. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having ruined Denmark and in August 1658, he launched a Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660), second attack on Denmark, conquered most of the Danish islands, and began a two-year-long siege of
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. King Frederick III actively led the defence of the city, rallying its citizens to take up arms, and Assault on Copenhagen (1659), repelled the Swedish attacks. The siege ended following the death of Charles X Gustav in 1660. In the ensuing Treaty of Copenhagen (1660), peace settlement, Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm. Attaining great popularity following the war, Frederick III used this to King's Law, disband the elective monarchy in favour of
absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism (European history), Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute pow ...
, which lasted until 1848 in Denmark.
Denmark tried but failed to regain control of Scania in the Scanian War (1675–1679). After the Great Northern War (1700–21), Denmark managed to regain control of the parts of
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
and
Holstein
Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
ruled by the house of Holstein-Gottorp in the 1720 Treaty of Frederiksborg and the 1773 Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo, respectively. Denmark prospered greatly in the last decades of the 18th century due to its Country neutrality (international relations), neutral status allowing it to trade with both sides in the many contemporary wars. In the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, Denmark traded with both First French Empire, France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and joined the Second League of Armed Neutrality, League of Armed Neutrality with Russian Empire, Russia, Sweden, and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia. The British considered this a hostile act and attacked Copenhagen in Battle of Copenhagen (1801), 1801 and Battle of Copenhagen (1807), 1807, in one case carrying off the Royal Danish Navy, Danish fleet, in the other, burning large parts of the Danish capital. This led to the so-called Danish-British Gunboat War. British control of the waterways between Denmark and Norway proved disastrous to the union's economy and in 1813 Denmark–Norway went bankruptcy, bankrupt.
The union was dissolved by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814; the Danish monarchy "irrevocably and forever" renounced claims to the Kingdom of Norway in favour of the Swedish king. Denmark kept the possessions of
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
(which retained the Danish monarchy until 1944), the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
, all of which had been governed by Norway for centuries. Apart from the Nordic colonies, Denmark continued to rule over Danish India from 1620 to 1869, the Danish Gold Coast (Ghana) from 1658 to 1850, and the Danish West Indies from 1671 to 1917.
Constitutional monarchy (1849–present)
![Grundlovgivende rigsforsamling - Constantin Hansen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Grundlovgivende_rigsforsamling_-_Constantin_Hansen.jpg)
Liberal movement and cession of Schleswig and Holstein
A nascent Danish liberal and national movement gained momentum in the 1830s; after the European Revolutions of 1848, Denmark peacefully became a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
on 5 June 1849. A new constitution established a Rigsdagen, two-chamber parliament. Denmark faced war against both
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
and Austrian Empire in what became known as the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...
, lasting from February to October 1864. Denmark was defeated and obliged to cession, cede Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig and Holstein to
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
. This loss came as the latest in the long series of defeats and Danish Royal Enclaves, territorial losses that had begun in the 17th century. After these events, Denmark pursued a policy of neutrality in Europe.
Industrialization
Industrialization, Industrialisation came to Denmark in the second half of the 19th century. The History of rail transport in Denmark, nation's first railways were constructed in the 1850s, and improved communications and overseas trade allowed industry to develop in spite of Denmark's lack of natural resources. Trade unions developed, starting in the 1870s. There was a considerable migration of people from the countryside to the cities, and Danish agriculture became centred on the export of dairy and meat products.
Denmark in World War I
Denmark Denmark during World War I, maintained its neutral stance during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After the defeat of Germany, the Treaty of Versailles, Versailles powers offered to return the region of Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. Fearing German irredentism, Denmark refused to consider the return of the area without a plebiscite; the two Schleswig Plebiscites took place on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively. On 10 July 1920, Northern Schleswig was recovered by Denmark, thereby adding some 163,600 inhabitants and . The country's first social democratic government took office in 1924.
German Non-aggression pact and invasion
In 1939 Denmark signed a 10-year non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany but German invasion of Denmark (1940), Germany invaded Denmark on 9 April 1940 and the Danish government quickly surrendered. Denmark in World War II, World War II in Denmark was characterised by economic co-operation with Germany until 1943, when the Danish government refused further co-operation and Royal Danish Navy, its navy Operation Safari, scuttled most of its ships and sent many of its officers to Sweden, which was neutral. The Danish resistance movement, Danish resistance performed a Rescue of the Danish Jews, rescue operation that managed to evacuate several thousand History of the Jews in Denmark, Jews and their families to safety in Sweden before the Germans could send them to death camps. Some Danes supported Nazism by joining the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark, Danish Nazi Party or volunteering to fight with Germany as part of the Frikorps Danmark. Iceland severed ties with Denmark and Founding of the republic of Iceland, became an independent republic in 1944; Liberation of Denmark, Germany surrendered in May 1945. In 1948, the Faroe Islands gained home rule. In 1949, Denmark became a founding member of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
.
![Tratado de Lisboa 13 12 2007 (081)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Tratado_de_Lisboa_13_12_2007_%28081%29.jpg)
Denmark was a founding member of European Free Trade Association (EFTA). During the 1960s, the EFTA countries were often referred to as the Outer Seven, as opposed to the Inner Six of what was then the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1973, along with Britain and Ireland, Denmark joined the European Economic Community (now the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
) after a 1972 Danish European Communities membership referendum, public referendum. The Maastricht Treaty, which involved further European integration, 1992 Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum, was rejected by the Danish people in 1992; it was only accepted after a 1993 Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum, second referendum in 1993, which provided for Opt-outs in the European Union, four opt-outs from policies. The Danes rejected the euro as the national currency in 2000 Danish euro referendum, a referendum in 2000. Greenland gained home rule in 1979 and was awarded self-determination in 2009. Neither the Faroe Islands and the European Union, Faroe Islands nor Greenland–European Union relations#Outside the EU, Greenland are members of the European Union, the Faroese having declined membership of the EEC in 1973 and Greenland in 1986, in both cases because of fisheries policies.
Constitutional change in 1953 led to a unicameralism, single-chamber parliament elected by proportional representation, female accession to the Danish throne, and Greenland becoming an integral part of Denmark. The centre-left Social Democrats (Denmark), Social Democrats led a string of coalition governments for most of the second half of the 20th century, introducing the Nordic model, Nordic welfare model. The Venstre (Denmark), Liberal Party and the Conservative People's Party (Denmark), Conservative People's Party have also led centre-right governments.
Geography
![Satellite image of Denmark in July 2001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Satellite_image_of_Denmark_in_July_2001.jpg)
Located in
Northern Europe, Denmark), or simply "Denmark". In this article, usage of "Denmark" excludes Greenland and the Faroe Islands., name="proper", group="N" consists of the peninsula of
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
and
443 named islands (1,419 islands above in total). Of these, 74 are inhabited (January 2015), with the largest being
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
, the
North Jutlandic Island
The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden''), is the northernmost part of Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts Vendsyssel, Hanh ...
, and
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
. The island of
Bornholm is located east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; a Øresund Bridge, bridge-tunnel across the Øresund connects Zealand with Sweden; the Great Belt Fixed Link connects Funen with Zealand; and the Little Belt Bridge (1970), Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen. Ferry, Ferries or small aircraft connect to the smaller islands. The four List of cities in Denmark by population, cities with populations over 100,000 are the capital
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
on Zealand; Aarhus and Aalborg in Jutland; and Odense on Funen.
![Da-map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Da-map.png)
The country occupies a total area of .
The area of inland water is , variously stated as from 500 to 700 km
2 (193–270 sq mi). Lake Arresø northwest of Copenhagen is the largest lake. The size of the land area cannot be stated exactly since the ocean constantly erodes and adds material to the coastline, and because of human land reclamation projects (to counter erosion). Post-glacial rebound raises the land by a bit less than per year in the north and east, extending the coast. A circle enclosing the same area as Denmark would be in diameter with a circumference of (land area only: and respectively). It shares a border of with
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to the south and is otherwise surrounded by of tidal shoreline (including small bays and inlets).
No location in Denmark is farther from the coast than . On the south-west coast of Jutland, the tide is between , and the tideline moves outward and inward on a stretch. Denmark's Borders of Denmark, territorial waters total .
Denmark's northernmost point is Skagen point (the north beach of the Skaw) at 57° 45' 7" northern latitude; the southernmost is Gedser point (the southern tip of Falster) at 54° 33' 35" northern latitude; the westernmost point is Blåvandshuk at 8° 4' 22" eastern longitude; and the easternmost point is Østerskær at 15° 11' 55" eastern longitude. This is in the small Ertholmene archipelago north-east of Bornholm. The distance from east to west is , from north to south .
![Landscape seen from Ellemandsbjerg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Landscape_seen_from_Ellemandsbjerg.jpg)
The country is flat with little elevation, having an average height above mean sea level, above sea level of . The highest natural point is
Møllehøj
Møllehøj is the highest natural pointFor comparison, the tallest man-made structure in Denmark is the Tommerup Transmitter, which stands 321m or 1045ft high. in Denmark at .
Geography
Møllehøj is in the Ejerbjerge hills in Skanderborg ...
, at . Although this is by far the lowest high point in the Nordic countries and also less than half of the highest point in Götaland, Southern Sweden, Denmark's general elevation in its interior is generally at a safe level from sea level rise, rising sea levels. A sizeable portion of Denmark's terrain consists of rolling plains whilst the coastline is sandy, with large dunes in northern Jutland. Although once extensively forested, today Denmark largely consists of
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...
. It is drained by a List of rivers of Denmark, dozen or so rivers, and the most significant include the Gudenå, Odense River, Odense, Skjern River, Skjern, Suså River, Suså and Vidå—a river that flows along its southern border with Germany.
The Kingdom of Denmark includes two overseas territories, both well to the west of Denmark: Greenland, the list of islands by area, world's largest island, and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. These territories are self-governing under their own parliaments (the Løgting and Inatsisartut) and form, together with continental Denmark, part of the
Danish Realm
The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...
.
Climate
Denmark has a Temperateness, temperate climate, characterised by mild winters, with mean temperatures in January of , and cool summers, with a mean temperature in August of .
[ Figures, labelled in Danish: First plot is the whole country; Nedbør=Precipitation, Nedbørdage=Precipitation days (>1 mm), (Dag/Middel/Nat)temp.=(Daytime/Average/Nighttime) temperature, Solskinstimer=Hours of sunshine.] The most extreme temperatures recorded in Denmark, since 1874 when recordings began, was in 1975 and in 1982. Denmark has an average of 179 days per year with precipitation, on average receiving a total of per year; autumn is the wettest season and spring the driest.
The position between a continent and an ocean means that the weather is often unstable.
Because of Denmark's northern location, there are large seasonal variations in daylight. There are short days during the winter with sunrise coming around 8:45 am and sunset 3:45 pm (standard time), as well as long summer days with sunrise at 4:30 am and sunset at 10 pm (daylight saving time).
Ecology
![Grib skov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Grib_skov.jpg)
Denmark belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and can be subdivided into two ecoregions: the Atlantic mixed forests and Baltic mixed forests.
Almost all of Denmark's primeval forest, primeval temperate forests have been destroyed or fragmented, chiefly for agricultural purposes during the last millennia.
The deforestation has created large swaths of heathland and devastating Saltation (geology), sand drifts.
In spite of this, there are several larger second growth forest, second growth woodlands in the country and, in total, 12.9% of the land is now forested. Picea abies, Norway spruce is the most widespread tree (2017); an important tree in the Christmas tree production in Denmark, Christmas tree production. Denmark holds a Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 0.5/10, ranking it 171st globally out of 172 countries—behind only San Marino.
Roe deer occupy the countryside in growing numbers, and large-antlered red deer can be found in the sparse woodlands of Jutland. Denmark is also home to smaller mammals, such as European polecat, polecats, hares and hedgehogs. Approximately 400 bird species inhabit Denmark and about 160 of those breed in the country. Large marine mammals include healthy populations of Harbour porpoise, growing numbers of pinnipeds and occasional visits of large whales, including blue whales and orcas. Cod, herring and plaice are abundant Fish as food, culinary fish in Danish waters and form the basis for Fishing industry in Denmark, a large fishing industry.
Environment
![European Environment Agency, Copenhagen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/European_Environment_Agency%2C_Copenhagen.jpg)
Denmark stopped issuing new licences for oil and gas extraction in December 2020.
Land and water pollution are two of Denmark's most significant environmental issues, although much of the country's household and industrial waste is now increasingly filtered and sometimes recycled. The country has historically taken a progressive stance on environmental preservation; in 1971 Denmark established a Ministry of Environment (Denmark), Ministry of Environment and was the first country in the world to implement an environmental law in 1973. To mitigate environmental degradation and global warming the Danish Government has signed the Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol.
However, the national ecological footprint is 8.26 global hectares per person, which is very high compared to a world average of 1.7 in 2010. Contributing factors to this value are an exceptional high value for cropland but also a relatively high value for grazing land, which may be explained by the substantially high meat production in Denmark ( meat annually per capita) and the large economic role of the meat and dairy industries. In December 2014, the Climate Change Performance Index for 2015 placed Denmark at the top of the table, explaining that although emissions are still quite high, the country was able to implement effective climate protection policies. In 2020, Denmark was placed first in the index again. In 2021 Denmark, with Costa Rica, launched the "Beyond Oil and Gas alliance" for stopping use fossil fuels.
Denmark's territories, Greenland and the Whaling in the Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands, catch approximately 650 whales per year. Greenland's quotas for the catch of whales are determined according to the advice of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), having quota decision-making powers.
Government and politics
Politics in Denmark operate under a framework laid out in the
Constitution of Denmark
The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...
. First written in 1849, it establishes a sovereign state in the form of a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
, with a representative parliamentary system. The monarch officially retains Executive (government), executive power and presides over the Danish Council of State, Council of State (privy council). In practice, the duties of the monarch are strictly representative and ceremonial,
[The Constitution refers to "the King" ( da, kongen), rather than the gender-neutral term "monarch". In light of the restriction of powers of the monarchy, this is best interpreted as referring to the government Cabinet.] such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
and other Government ministers. The Monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and their legal personality, person is sacrosanct. Hereditary monarchy, Hereditary monarch Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Margrethe II has been head of state since 14 January 1972.
Government
![Denmark disposable income](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Denmark_disposable_income.webp)
The Danish parliament is unicameral and called the Folketing ( da, Folketinget). It is the legislature of the Kingdom of Denmark, passing Act of Parliament, acts that apply in Denmark and, variably, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Folketing is also responsible for adopting the government budget, state's budgets, approving the state's accounts, appointing and exercising control of the Government, and taking part in international co-operation. Bill (proposed law), Bills may be initiated by the Government or by Member of parliament, members of parliament. All bills passed must be presented before the Council of State to receive Royal Assent within thirty days in order to become law.
![Christiansborg (Matthias Schalk)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Christiansborg_%28Matthias_Schalk%29.jpg)
Denmark is a representative democracy with universal suffrage. Membership of the Folketing is based on proportional representation of political parties, with a 2% electoral threshold. Denmark elects 175 members to the Folketing, with Greenland and the Faroe Islands electing an additional two members each—179 members in total. Parliamentary elections are held at least every four years, but it is within the powers of the prime minister to ask the monarch to call for an election before the term has elapsed. On a Motion of no confidence, vote of no confidence, the Folketing may force a single minister or an entire government to resign.
The Government of Denmark operates as a Cabinet (government), cabinet government, where executive authority is exercised—formally, on behalf of the monarch—by the prime minister and other cabinet ministers, who head List of Danish government ministries, ministries. As the executive branch, the Cabinet is responsible for proposing bills and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies of Denmark. The position of prime minister belongs to the person most likely to command the confidence and supply, confidence of a majority in the Folketing; this is often the current leader of the largest political party or, more effectively, through a political alliance, coalition of parties. A single party generally does not have sufficient political power in terms of the number of seats to form a cabinet on its own; Denmark has often been ruled by coalition governments, themselves usually minority governments dependent on non-government parties.
Following a 2015 Danish general election, general election defeat, in June 2015 Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of the Social Democrats (Denmark), Social Democrats ('), resigned as prime minister. She was succeeded by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the leader of the Venstre (Denmark), Liberal Party ('). Rasmussen became the leader of Lars Løkke Rasmussen II Cabinet, a cabinet that, unusually, consisted entirely of ministers from his own party. In November 2016, Liberal Alliance (Denmark), Liberal Alliance and the The Conservative People's Party (Denmark), Conservatives joined the government. Liberal Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen held the office between 2009 and 2011, and again between 2015 and 2019, with backing from the Danish People's Party (DF). Following the 2019 Danish general election, 2019 general election the Social Democrats, led by leader
Mette Frederiksen
Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime ...
, formed a single-party government with support from the left-wing coalition. Frederiksen became prime minister on 27 June 2019.
Law and judicial system
![Supreme Court of Denmark (1697)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Supreme_Court_of_Denmark_%281697%29.jpg)
Denmark has a Civil law (legal system), civil law system with some references to Germanic law. Denmark resembles Norway and Sweden in never having developed a case-law like that of English law, England and the United States nor comprehensive Code (law), codes like those of France and Germany. Much of its law is Custom (law), customary.
The judicial system of Denmark is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal law, criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with jurisdiction over litigation between individuals and the public administration. Articles sixty-two and sixty-four of the Constitution ensure judicial independence from government and Parliament by providing that judges shall only be guided by the law, including acts, statutes and practice. The Kingdom of Denmark does not have a single unified judicial system – Denmark has one system, Greenland another, and the Faroe Islands a third. However, decisions by the highest courts in Greenland and the Faroe Islands may be appealed to the Danish High Courts. The Supreme Court of Denmark, Danish Supreme Court is the highest civil and criminal court responsible for the administration of justice in the Kingdom.
Danish Realm
![Kunoy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Kunoy.10.jpg)
The Kingdom of Denmark is a
unitary state
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only ...
that comprises, in addition to Denmark proper, two autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories
in the North Atlantic Ocean:
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
. They have been integrated parts of the Danish Realm since the 18th century; however, due to their separate historical and cultural identities, these parts of the Realm have extensive political powers and have assumed legislative and administrative responsibility in a substantial number of fields.
Home rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
was granted to the Faroe Islands in 1948 and to Greenland in 1979, each having previously had the status of counties of Denmark, counties.
[The unity of the Realm]
– Statsministeriet – stm.dk. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
Greenland and the Faroe Islands have their own home governments and parliaments and are effectively self-governing in regards to domestic affairs apart from the judicial system and monetary policy.
High Commissioners (') act as representatives of the Danish government in the Faroese Løgting and in the Parliament of Greenland, Greenlandic Parliament, but they cannot vote.
The Faroese home government is defined to be an equal partner with the Danish national government, while the Greenlandic Inuit, Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.
Administrative divisions
Denmark, with a total area of , is divided into five administrative regions ( da, regioner). The regions are further subdivided into List of municipalities of Denmark, 98 municipalities ('). The easternmost land in Denmark, the Ertholmene archipelago, with an area of 39 hectares (0.16 sq mi), is neither part of a municipality nor a region but belongs to the Ministry of Defence (Denmark), Ministry of Defence. The provinces of Denmark are statistical divisions of Denmark, positioned between the Regions of Denmark, administrative regions and municipalities of Denmark, municipalities. They are not administrative divisions, nor subject for any kind of political elections, but are mainly for statistical use.
The regions were created on 1 January 2007 to replace the 16 Counties of Denmark, former counties. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, reducing the number from 270. Most municipalities have a population of at least 20,000 to give them financial and professional sustainability, although a few exceptions were made to this rule. The administrative divisions are led by directly elected councils, elected proportionally every four years; the most recent 2021 Danish local elections, Danish local elections were held on 16 November 2021. Other regional structures use the municipal boundaries as a layout, including the Police of Denmark, police districts, the courts of Denmark, court districts and the Ward (country subdivision), electoral wards.
Regions
The governing bodies of the regions are the local government, regional councils, each with forty-one councillors elected for four-year terms. The councils are headed by regional district chairmen ('), who are elected by the council.
The areas of responsibility for the regional councils are the health care in Denmark, national health service, social services and regional development.
Unlike the counties they replaced, the regions are not allowed to levy taxes and the health service is partly financed by a national health care contribution until 2018 ('), partly by funds from both government and municipalities.
From 1 January 2019 this contribution will be abolished, as it is being replaced by higher income tax instead.
The area and populations of the regions vary widely; for example, the Capital Region of Denmark, Capital Region, which encompasses the Copenhagen metropolitan area with the exception of the subtracted province East Zealand but includes the Baltic Sea island of
Bornholm, has a population three times larger than that of North Denmark Region, which covers the more sparsely populated area of northern Jutland. Under the county system certain densely populated municipalities, such as Copenhagen Municipality and Frederiksberg Municipality, Frederiksberg, had been given a status equivalent to that of counties, making them first-level administrative divisions. These ''sui generis'' municipalities were incorporated into the new regions under the 2007 reforms.
Foreign relations
Denmark wields considerable influence in Northern Europe and is a middle power in international affairs. In recent years, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have been guaranteed a say in foreign policy issues such as fishing, whaling, and geopolitical concerns. The foreign policy of Denmark is substantially influenced by Denmark and the European Union, its membership of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(EU); Denmark including Greenland joined the European Economic Community (EEC), the EU's predecessor, in 1973.
[The Faroese declined membership in 1973; Greenland withdrawal from the European Union, chose to leave the EEC in 1985, following 1982 Greenlandic European Economic Community membership referendum, a referendum.] Denmark held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on seven occasions, most recently from January to June 2012. Following World War II, Denmark ended its two-hundred-year-long policy of Country neutrality (international relations), neutrality. It has been a founding member of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1949, and membership remains highly popular.
As a member of Development Assistance Committee (DAC), Denmark has for a long time been among the countries of the world contributing the largest percentage of gross national income to development aid. In 2015, Denmark contributed 0.85% of its gross national income (GNI) to development aid, foreign aid and was one of only six countries meeting the longstanding UN target of 0.7% of GNI.
[As measured in official development assistance (ODA). Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom
exceeded the United Nations' ODA target of 0.7% of GNI.] The country participates in both bilateral and multilateral aid, with the aid usually administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Denmark), Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The organisational name of Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is often used, in particular when operating bilateral aid.
Military
![Danish Military Police](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Danish_Military_Police.JPG)
Denmark's armed forces are known as the Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret). The Minister of Defence is commander-in-chief of the Danish Defence, and serves as chief diplomacy, diplomatic official abroad. During peacetime, the Ministry of Defence (Denmark), Ministry of Defence employs around 33,000 in total. The main military branches employ almost 27,000: 15,460 in the Royal Danish Army, 5,300 in the Royal Danish Navy and 6,050 in the Royal Danish Air Force (all including conscripts). The Danish Emergency Management Agency employs 2,000 (including conscripts), and about 4,000 are in non-branch-specific services like the Defence Command (Denmark), Danish Defence Command and the Danish Defence Intelligence Service. Furthermore, around 44,500 serve as volunteers in the Home Guard (Denmark), Danish Home Guard.
Denmark is a long-time supporter of international peacekeeping, but since the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War in Afghanistan in 2001, Denmark has also found a new role as a warring nation, participating actively in several wars and invasions. This relatively new situation has stirred some internal critique, but the Danish population has generally been very supportive, in particular of the War in Afghanistan. The Danish Defence has around 1,400 staff in international missions, not including standing contributions to Standing NRF Mine Countermeasures Group 1, NATO SNMCMG1. Danish forces were heavily engaged in the former Yugoslavia in the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR), with IFOR, and now SFOR. Between 2003 and 2007, there were approximately 450 Danish soldiers in Iraq. Denmark also strongly supported Operation Enduring Freedom, American operations in Afghanistan and has contributed both monetarily and materially to the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF. These initiatives are often described by the authorities as part of a new "active foreign policy" of Denmark.
Economy
![Lego Color Bricks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Lego_Color_Bricks.jpg)
Denmark has a developed economy, developed
mixed economy
A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economie ...
that is classed as a World Bank high-income economy, high-income economy by the World Bank. In 2017, it ranked 16th in the world in terms of List of countries by GNI (PPP) per capita, gross national income (PPP) per capita and 10th in List of countries by GNI (nominal, Atlas method) per capita, nominal GNI per capita.
Denmark's economy stands out as one of the most free in the Index of Economic Freedom and the Economic Freedom of the World.
It is the 10th most competitive economy in the world, and 6th in Europe, according to the World Economic Forum in its ''Global Competitiveness Report 2018''.
Denmark has the fourth highest ratio of tertiary education, tertiary degree holders in the world. The country ranks highest in the world for labor rights, workers' rights. GDP per hour worked was the 13th highest in 2009. The country has a market income inequality close to the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
average, but after taxes and public cash transfers the income inequality is List of countries by income equality, considerably lower. According to Eurostat, Denmark's Gini coefficient for disposable income was the 7th-lowest among EU countries in 2017.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Denmark has List of minimum wages by country, the world's highest minimum wage. As Denmark has no minimum wage legislation, the high wage floor has been attributed to the power of trade unions. For example, as the result of a collective bargaining agreement between the Fagligt Fælles Forbund, 3F trade union and the employers group :da:Horesta, Horesta, workers at McDonald's and other fast food chains make the equivalent of United States dollar, US$20 an hour, which is more than double what their counterparts earn in the United States, and have access to five weeks' paid vacation, parental leave and a pension plan. Union density in 2015 was 68%.
Once a predominantly agriculture, agricultural country on account of its arable land, arable landscape, since 1945 Denmark has greatly expanded its industrial base and service sector. By 2017 services contributed circa 75% of GDP, manufacturing about 15% and agriculture less than 2%. Major industries include wind turbines, pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, machinery and transportation equipment, food processing, and construction.
Circa 60% of the total export value is due to export of goods, and the remaining 40% is from service exports, mainly sea transport. The country's main export goods are: wind turbines, pharmaceuticals, machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, furniture and design.
Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has for a number of years had a balance of payments surplus which has transformed the country from a net debitor to a net creditor country. By 1 July 2018, the net international investment position (or net foreign assets) of Denmark was equal to 64.6% of GDP.
![Svin ved Tarm, Jylland aug 2015 (20871345365)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Svin_ved_Tarm%2C_Jylland_aug_2015_%2820871345365%29.jpg)
A liberalisation of import tariffs in 1797 marked the end of mercantilism and further liberalisation in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century established the Danish liberal tradition in international trade that was only to be broken by the 1930s. Even when other countries, such as Germany and France, raised protection for their agricultural sector because of increased American competition resulting in much lower agricultural prices after 1870, Denmark retained its free trade policies, as the country profited from the cheap imports of cereals (used as feedstuffs for their cattle and Pig, pigs) and could increase their exports of butter and meat of which the prices were more stable. Today, Denmark is part of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
's internal market, which represents more than 508 million consumers. Several domestic commercial policies are determined by agreements among European Union (EU) members and by EU legislation. Support for free trade is high among the Danish public; in a 2016 poll 57% responded saw globalisation as an opportunity whereas 18% viewed it as a threat. 70% of trade flows are inside the European Union. , Denmark's largest export partners are Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Denmark's currency, the ''
krone'' (DKK), is Fixed exchange rate, pegged at approximately 7.46 kroner per euro through the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ERM II. Although a 2000 Danish euro referendum, September 2000 referendum rejected adopting the euro,
the country follows the policies set forth in the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (EMU) and meets the economic Euro convergence criteria, convergence criteria needed to adopt the euro. The majority of the political parties in the Folketing support joining the EMU, but since 2010 opinion polls have consistently shown a clear majority against adopting the euro. In May 2018, 29% of respondents from Denmark in a Eurobarometer opinion poll stated that they were in favour of the EMU and the euro, whereas 65% were against it.
Ranked by turnover in Denmark, the largest Danish companies are: A.P. Møller-Mærsk (international shipping), Novo Nordisk (pharmaceuticals), ISS A/S (facility services), Vestas (wind turbines), Arla Foods (dairy), DSV (company), DSV (transport), Carlsberg Group (beer), Salling Group (retail), Ørsted (company), Ørsted A/S (power), Danske Bank.
Public policy
Danes enjoy a high standard of living and the Danish economy is characterised by extensive government welfare state, welfare provisions. Denmark has a corporate tax rate of 22% and a special time-limited tax regime for expatriates. The Danish taxation system is broad based, with a 25% value-added tax, in addition to excise taxes, income taxes and other fees. The overall level of taxation (sum of all taxes, as a percentage of GDP) was 46% in 2017. The tax structure of Denmark (the relative weight of different taxes) differs from the OECD average, as the Danish tax system in 2015 was characterised by substantially higher revenues from taxes on personal income and a lower proportion of revenues from taxes on corporate income and gains and property taxes than in OECD generally, whereas no revenues at all derive from social security contributions. The proportion deriving from payroll taxes, VAT, and other taxes on goods and services correspond to the OECD average
, 6% of the population was reported to live below the poverty line, when adjusted for taxes and transfers. Denmark has the 2nd lowest relative poverty rate in the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
, below the 11.3% OECD average.
The share of the population reporting that they feel that they cannot afford to buy sufficient food in Denmark is less than half of the OECD average.
Labour market
Like other Nordic countries, Denmark has adopted the Nordic Model, which combines free market capitalism with a comprehensive
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
and strong worker protection.
As a result of its acclaimed "flexicurity" model, Denmark has the freest labour economics, labour market in Europe, according to the World Bank. Employers can hire and fire whenever they want (flexibility), and between jobs, unemployment compensation is relatively high (security). According to OECD, initial as well as long-term net replacement rates for unemployed persons were 65% of previous net income in 2016, against an OECD average of 53%. Establishing a business can be done in a matter of hours and at very low costs. No restrictions apply regarding overtime work, which allows companies to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With an employment rate in 2017 of 74.2% for people aged 15–64-years, Denmark ranks 9th highest among the OECD countries, and above the OECD average of 67.8%. The unemployment rate was 5.7% in 2017, which is considered close to or below its structural level.
The level of unemployment benefits is dependent on former employment and normally on membership of an unemployment fund, which is usually closely connected to a trade union, and previous payment of contributions. Circa 65% of the financing comes from earmarked member contributions, whereas the remaining third originates from the central government and hence ultimately from general taxation.
Science and technology
![Denmark Confirms Participation in E-ELT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Denmark_Confirms_Participation_in_E-ELT.jpg)
Denmark has a long tradition of scientific and technological invention and engagement, and has been involved internationally from the very start of the scientific revolution. In current times, Denmark is participating in many high-profile international science and technology projects, including CERN, ITER, ESA, International Space Station, ISS and E-ELT. Denmark was ranked 10th in the Global Innovation Index in 2022, down from 6th in 2020 and from 7th in 2019.
In the 20th century, Danes have also been innovative in several fields of the technology sector. Danish companies have been influential in the shipping industry with the design of the largest and most energy efficient container ships in the world, the Maersk Triple E class, and Danish engineers have contributed to the design of MAN Diesel engines. In the software and electronic field, Denmark contributed to design and manufacturing of Nordic Mobile Telephones, and the now-defunct Danish company DanCall was among the first to develop GSM mobile phones.
Life science is a key sector with extensive research and development activities. Danish engineers are world-leading in providing diabetes care equipment and medication products from Novo Nordisk and, since 2000, the Danish biotech company Novozymes, the world market leader in enzymes for first generation starch-based bioethanol, has pioneered development of enzymes for converting waste to cellulosic ethanol. ''Medicon Valley'', spanning the Øresund Region between Zealand and Sweden, is one of Europe's largest life science business cluster, clusters, containing a large number of life science companies and research institutions located within a very small geographical area.
Danish-born computer scientists and software engineers have taken leading roles in some of the world's programming languages: Anders Hejlsberg (Turbo Pascal, Delphi (programming language), Delphi, C Sharp (programming language), C#); Rasmus Lerdorf (PHP); Bjarne Stroustrup (C++); David Heinemeier Hansson (Ruby on Rails); Lars Bak (computer programmer), Lars Bak, a pioneer in virtual machines (V8 (JavaScript engine), V8, Java virtual machine, Java VM, Dart (programming language), Dart). Physicist Lene Vestergaard Hau is the first person to stop light, leading to advances in quantum computing, nanoscale engineering, and linear optics.
Energy
![DanishWindTurbines](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/DanishWindTurbines.jpg)
Denmark has considerably large deposits of oil and natural gas in the North Sea and ranks as number 32 in the world among net exporters of Petroleum, crude oil and was producing 259,980 barrels of crude oil a day in 2009. Denmark is a long-time leader in wind power: In 2015 wind turbines provided 42.1% of the total electricity consumption. Denmark derived 3.1% of its gross domestic product from renewable (clean) energy technology and energy efficiency, or around €6.5 billion ($9.4 billion). Denmark is connected by electric transmission lines to other European countries.
Electricity sector in Denmark, Denmark's electricity sector has integrated energy sources such as wind power into the national grid. Denmark now aims to focus on intelligent battery systems (Vehicle-to-grid, V2G) and Electric vehicle, plug-in vehicles in the transport sector. The country is a member nation of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Denmark exported roughly 460 million Gigajoule, GJ of energy in 2018.
Transport
![Copenhagen airport from air](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Copenhagen_airport_from_air.jpg)
Significant investment has been made in building road and rail links between regions in Denmark, most notably the Great Belt Fixed Link, which connects
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
and
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
. It is now possible to drive from Frederikshavn in northern
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
to
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
on eastern Zealand without leaving the motorway. The main railway operator is DSB (railway company), DSB for passenger services and DB Cargo for freight trains. The railway tracks are maintained by Banedanmark. The North Sea and the Baltic Sea are intertwined by various, international ferry links. Construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, connecting Denmark and Germany with a second link, Started in 2021. Copenhagen has a rapid transit system, the Copenhagen Metro, and an extensive electrified suburban railway network, the S-train. In the four largest cities –
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg – light rail systems are planned to be in operation around 2020.
Cycling in Denmark is a very common form of transport, particularly for the young and for city dwellers. With a network of bicycle routes extending more than 12,000 km and an estimated 7,000 km
of Segregated cycle facilities, segregated dedicated bicycle paths and lanes, Denmark has a solid cycling infrastructure, bicycle infrastructure.
Private vehicles are increasingly used as a means of transport. Because of the car taxation, high registration tax (150%), VAT (25%), and one of the world's highest income tax rates, new cars are very expensive. The purpose of the tax is to discourage car ownership.
In 2007, an attempt was made by the government to favour environmentally friendly cars by slightly reducing taxes on high mileage vehicles. However, this has had little effect, and in 2008 Denmark experienced an increase in the import of fuel inefficient old cars, as the cost for older cars—including taxes—keeps them within the budget of many Danes.
, the average car age is 9.2 years.
With Norway and Sweden, Denmark is part of the Scandinavian Airlines flag carrier. Copenhagen Airport is Scandinavia's busiest passenger airport, handling over 25 million passengers in 2014.
Other notable airports are Billund Airport, Aalborg Airport, and Aarhus Airport.
Demographics
Population
The population of Denmark, as registered by Statistics Denmark, was 5.825 million in April 2020.
Denmark has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 41.9 years, with 0.97 males per female. Despite a low birth rate, the population is growing at an average annual rate of 0.59%
because of net immigration and increasing longevity. The World Happiness Report frequently ranks Denmark's population as the happiest in the world.
[Helliwell, John; Layard, Richard; Sachs, Jeffre]
World Happiness Report
. ''The Earth Institute'' at Columbia University, p. 8. See also
World Happiness Report 2013
, p. 23.
''Huffington Post.'' 22 October 2013.[Stokes, Buce (8 June 2011)]
The Happiest Countries in the World
. ''The Atlantic.'' Retrieved 20 September 2013 This has been attributed to the country's highly regarded education and Health care in Denmark, health care systems,
and its low level of income inequality.
Denmark is a historically Homogeneity (statistics), homogeneous nation.
However, as with its Scandinavian neighbours, Denmark has recently transformed from a nation of net migration, net emigration, up until World War II, to a nation of net immigration. Today, residence permits are issued mostly to immigrants from other EU countries (54% of all non-Scandinavian immigrants in 2017). Another 31% of residence permits were study- or work-related, 4% were issued to asylum seekers and 10% to persons who arrive as family dependants. Overall, the net migration rate in 2017 was 2.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population, somewhat lower than the United Kingdom and the other Nordic countries.
There are no official statistics on
ethnic groups, but according to 2020 figures from Statistics Denmark, 86.11% of the population in Denmark was of Danes, Danish descent (including ''Faroese Dane, Faroese'' and ''Greenlandic people in Denmark, Greenlandic''), defined as having at least one parent who was born in the Realm of Denmark, Kingdom of Denmark and holds Danish nationality law, Danish Nationality.
[This data is for Denmark wikt:proper#Adjective, proper only. For data relevant to ]Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
and the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
see their respective articles. The remaining 13.89% were of foreign background, defined as immigrants or descendants of recent immigrants. With the same definition, the most common countries of origin were Demographics of Turkey, Turkey, Poles, Poland, Syrians, Syria, Germans, Germany, Iraqis, Iraq, Romanians, Romania, Lebanon, Pakistanis, Pakistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Somalis, Somalia.
The Greenlandic Inuit, Inuit are indigenous to Greenland in the Kingdom and have traditionally inhabited Greenland and the northern parts of Canada and Alaska in the Arctic. From the 18th century up to the 1970s, the Danish government (Dano-Norwegian until 1814) have through time tried to assimilate the Greenlandic Inuit, encouraging them to adopt the majority language, culture and religion. Because of this "Danization process", several persons of Inuit ancestry now identify their mother tongue as Danish.
Languages
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
is the ''de facto'' national language of Denmark.
Faroese language, Faroese and Greenlandic language, Greenlandic are the official languages of the Faroe Islands and Greenland respectively.
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
is a recognised minority language in the area of the former South Jutland County (now part of the Region of Southern Denmark), which was part of the German Empire prior to the Treaty of Versailles.
Danish and Faroese belong to the
North Germanic
The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...
(Nordic) branch of the Indo-European languages, along with Icelandic language, Icelandic,
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
, and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
.
There is a limited degree of North Germanic languages#Mutual intelligibility, mutual intelligibility between Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. Danish is more distantly related to German, which is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language. Greenlandic or "Kalaallisut" is an Inuit languages, Inuit language, and is entirely unrelated to Danish.
A large majority (86%) of Danes speak English language, English as a second language, generally with a high level of language proficiency, proficiency. German is the second-most spoken foreign language, with 47% reporting a conversational level of proficiency.
Denmark had 25,900 first language, native speakers of German in 2007 (mostly in the South Jutland area).
Religion
Christianity in Denmark, Christianity is the dominant religion in Denmark. In January 2020, 74.3%
of the population of Denmark were members of the Church of Denmark (), the state religion, officially established church, which is Protestant in classification and Lutheran in orientation.
[The Church of Denmark is the established church (or state religion) in Denmark and Greenland; the Church of the Faroe Islands became an independent body in 2007.] The membership percentage have been in steadily decline since the 1970s, mainly as fewer newborns are being Baptism, baptised into it. Only 3% of the population regularly attend Sunday services
and only 19% of Danes consider religion to be an important part of their life.
![Roskilde Cathedral aerial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Roskilde_Cathedral_aerial.jpg)
The Constitution of Denmark, Constitution states that the sovereign must have the Lutheran faith, though the rest of the population is free to adhere to other faiths.
[Freedom of religion and religious communities in Denmark]
– The Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs – May 2006 In 1682 the state granted limited recognition to three religious groups dissenting from the Established Church: Roman Catholicism in Denmark, Roman Catholicism, Reformed Synod of Denmark, the Reformed Church and History of the Jews in Denmark, Judaism,
although conversion to these groups from the Church of Denmark remained illegal initially. Until the 1970s, the state formally recognised "religious societies" by royal decree. Today, religious groups do not need official government recognition, they can be granted the right to perform weddings and other ceremonies without this recognition.
Islam in Denmark, Denmark's Muslims make up approximately 4.4% of the population
and form the country's second largest religious community and largest minority religion.
The Danish Foreign Ministry estimates that other religious groups comprise less than 1% of the population individually and approximately 2% when taken all together.
According to a 2010 Eurobarometer Poll, 28% of Danish nationals polled responded that they "believe there is a God", 47% responded that they "believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 24% responded that they "do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force". Another poll, carried out in 2009, found that 25% of Danes believe Jesus is the son of God, and 18% believe he is the Redeemer (Christianity), saviour of the world.
Education
![Københavns universitet lektionskatalog 1537](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/K%C3%B8benhavns_universitet_lektionskatalog_1537.jpg)
All educational programmes in Denmark are regulated by the Education Minister of Denmark, Ministry of Education and administered by local municipalities. ''Danish Folkeskole Education, Folkeskole'' covers the entire period of compulsory education, encompassing primary school, primary and lower secondary school, secondary education.
Most children attend ''folkeskole'' for 10 years, from the ages of 6 to 16. There are no final examinations, but pupils can choose to sit an exam when finishing ninth grade (14–15 years old). The test is obligatory if further education is to be attended. Alternatively pupils can attend an independent school (), or a private school (), such as Christian schools or Waldorf education, Waldorf schools.
Following graduation from compulsory education, there are several continuing educational opportunities; the Gymnasium (Denmark), Gymnasium (STX) attaches importance in teaching a mix of humanities and science, Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX) focuses on scientific subjects and the Higher Commercial Examination Programme emphasises on subjects in economics. Higher Preparatory Examination (HF) is similar to ''Gymnasium (STX)'', but is one year shorter. For specific professions, there is Vocational secondary education in Denmark, vocational education, training young people for work in specific trade (occupation), trades by a combination of teaching and apprenticeship.
The government records upper secondary school completion rates of 95% and tertiary education, tertiary enrollment and completion rates of 60%. All university and college (tertiary) education in Denmark is free of charges; there are no tuition fees to enrol in courses. Students aged 18 or above may apply for state educational support grants, known as ''Student loans in Denmark, Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (SU)'', which provides fixed financial support, disbursed monthly. Danish universities offer international students a range of opportunities for obtaining an internationally recognised qualification in Denmark. Many programmes may be taught in the English language, the academic lingua franca, in bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, doctorates and student exchange programmes.
Health
![Rigshospitalet_20130427_0004F_(8739514693)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Rigshospitalet_20130427_0004F_%288739514693%29.jpg)
, Denmark has a life expectancy of 80.6 years at birth (78.6 for men, 82.5 for women), up from 76.9 years in 2000.
This List of countries by life expectancy, ranks it 27th among 193 nations, behind the other Nordic countries. The ''National Institute of Public Health'' of the University of Southern Denmark has calculated 19 major risk factors among Danes that contribute to a lowering of the life expectancy; this includes smoking, alcohol, drug abuse and Sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity.
Although the Obesity by country, obesity rate is lower than in North America and most other European countries, the large number of Danes becoming overweight is an increasing problem and results in an annual additional consumption in the health care system of Danish krone, DKK 1,625 million.
In a 2012 study, Denmark had the highest List of OECD countries by cancer rate, cancer rate of all countries listed by the World Cancer Research Fund International; researchers suggest the reasons are better reporting, but also lifestyle factors like heavy List of countries by alcohol consumption per capita, alcohol consumption, Prevalence of tobacco consumption, smoking and physical inactivity.
Denmark has a universal health care, universal health care system, characterised by being publicly financed through taxes and, for most of the services, run directly by the regional authorities. ''One'' of the sources of income is a national health care contribution (') (2007–11:8%; '12:7%; '13:6%; '14:5%; '15:4%; '16:3%; '17:2%; '18:1%; '19:0%) but it is being phased out and will be gone from January 2019, with the income taxes in the lower brackets being raised gradually each year instead.
Another source comes from the municipalities that had their income taxes raised by 3 percentage points from 1 January 2007, a contribution confiscated from the former county tax to be used from 1 January 2007 for health purposes by the municipalities instead. This means that most health care provider, health care provision is free at the point of delivery for all residents. Additionally, roughly two in five have complementary health insurance, private insurance to cover services not fully covered by the state, such as physiotherapy.
, Denmark spends 11.2% of its GDP on health care; this is up from 9.8% in 2007 (US$3,512 per capita).
This places Denmark above the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
average and above the other Nordic countries.
Ghettos
Denmark is the only country to have officially used the word 'ghetto' in the 21st century to denote certain residential areas.
From 2010 to 2021, the Danish Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing published ''ghettolisten'' (List of ghettos) which in 2018 consisted of 25 areas.
As a result, the term is widely used in the media and common parlance.
The legal designation is applied to areas based on the residents' income levels, employment status, education levels, criminal convictions and non-Western ethnic background.
In 2017, 8.7% of Denmark's population consisted of non-Western immigrants or their descendants. The population proportion of 'ghetto residents' with non-Western background was 66.5%.
In 2018, the government has proposed measures to solve the issue of Social integration, integration and to rid the country of Parallel society, parallel societies and ghettos by 2030.
The measures focus on physical redevelopment, control over who is allowed to live in these areas, crime abatement and education.
These policies have been criticised for undercutting 'equality before law' and for portraying immigrants, especially Muslim immigrants, in a bad light.
While some proposals like restricting 'ghetto children' to their homes after 8 p.m. have been rejected for being too radical, most of the 22 proposals have been agreed upon by a parliamentary majority.
In 2021, the term ghetto was dropped and replaced by parallel society and vulnerable region.
Culture
Denmark shares strong cultural and History of Scandinavia, historic ties with its
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n neighbours
Sweden and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. It has historically been one of the most socially progressive cultures in the world. In 1969, Denmark was the first country to legalise pornography, and in 2012, Denmark replaced its "Registered partnership in Denmark, registered partnership" laws, which it had been the first country to introduce in 1989, with gender-neutral marriage, and allowed same-sex marriages to be performed in the Church of Denmark. Modesty and social equality are important parts of Danish culture. In a 2016 study comparing empathy scores of 63 countries, Denmark ranked 4th world-wide having the highest empathy among surveyed European countries.
![KronborgCastleDenmarkOct152022 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/KronborgCastleDenmarkOct152022_06.jpg)
The astronomical discoveries of Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), Ludwig A. Colding's (1815–1888) neglected articulation of the principle of conservation of energy, and the contributions to atomic physics of Niels Bohr (1885–1962) indicate the range of Danish scientific achievement. The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), the philosophical essays of Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), the short stories of Karen Blixen (penname Isak Dinesen), (1885–1962), the plays of Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), and the dense, aphoristic poetry of Piet Hein (scientist), Piet Hein (1905–1996), have earned international recognition, as have the symphonies of Carl Nielsen (1865–1931). From the mid-1990s, Danish films have attracted international attention, especially those associated with Dogme 95 like those of Lars von Trier.
A major feature of Danish culture is Jul (Denmark), Jul (Danish Christmas). The holiday is celebrated throughout December, starting either at the beginning of Advent or on 1 December with a variety of traditions, culminating with the Christmas Eve meal.
There are seven heritage sites inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in Northern Europe, World Heritage list in Northern Europe: Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement, the Jelling stones, Jelling Mounds (Runic Stones and Church), Kronborg Castle, Roskilde Cathedral, and Par force hunting landscape in North Zealand, The par force hunting landscape in North Zealand and 3 in the List of World Heritage Sites in North America, World Heritage list in North America: Ilulissat Icefjord, Aasivissuit — Nipisat Island, Nipisat, Kujataa within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Human rights
Denmark has been considered a progressive country, which has adopted legislation and policies to support women's rights, minority rights, and LGBT rights in Denmark, LGBT rights. Human rights in Denmark are protected by the state's Constitution of the Realm of Denmark, Realm ''(Constitution of Denmark, Danmarks Riges Grundlov)''; applying equally in Denmark proper,
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
, and through the ratification of international human rights treaties.
Denmark has held a significant role in the adoption of both the European Convention on Human Rights and in the establishment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In 1987, the Folketing, Kingdom Parliament (''Folketinget'') established a national human rights institution, the Danish Centre of Human Rights, now the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
In 2009, a referendum on changing the Danish Act of Succession were held to grant absolute primogeniture to the Danish throne, meaning that the eldest child, regardless of gender, takes precedence in the line of succession. As it was not retroactive, the current successor to the throne is the eldest son of the King, rather than his eldest child. The Danish constitution Article 2 states that "The monarchy is inherited by men and women".
The Inuit have for decades been the subject of discrimination and abuse by the dominant colonisers from Danish colonization of the Americas, Europe, those countries claiming possession of Inuit lands. The Inuit have never been a single community in a single region of Inuit. From the 18th century up to the 1970s, the Danish government (Dano-Norwegian until 1814) have through time tried to assimilate the indigenous people of Greenland, the Greenlandic Inuit, encouraging them to adopt the majority language, culture and religion. Denmark has been greatly criticised by the Greenlandic community for the politics of ''Danization'' (50's and 60's) of and discrimination against the indigenous population of the country. Critical treatment paying non-Inuit workers higher wages than the local people, the relocation of entire families from their traditional lands into settlements, and separating children from their parents and sending them away to Denmark for schooling has been practised. Nevertheless, Denmark ratified, in 1996, to recognise the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, ILO-convention 169 on indigenous people recommended by the UN.
In regard to LGBT rights, Denmark was the first country in the world to grant legal recognition to same-sex unions in the form of civil union, registered partnerships in 1989. On 7 June 2012, the law was replaced by a new Same-sex marriage in Denmark, same-sex marriage law, which came into effect on 15 June 2012.
[The Copenhagen Post, 7 June 2012: ''Gay marriage legalised'']
Retrieved 19 September 2012 Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
and the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
legalised same-sex marriage in April 2016,
and in July 2017 respectively.
In January 2016, a resolution was implemented by the Folketing, Danish parliament which prevented transgender being classified as a Mental disorder, mental health condition.
In doing so, Denmark became the first country in Europe to go against the World Health Organization, World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, which classified transgender identity as being a mental health issue until June 2018.
Media
Danish mass media date back to the 1540s, when handwritten fly sheets reported on the news. In 1666, Anders Bording, the father of Danish journalism, began a state media, state paper. In 1834, the first liberal, factual newspaper appeared, and the 1849 Constitution established lasting freedom of the press in Denmark. Newspapers flourished in the second half of the 19th century, usually tied to one or another political party or trade union. Modernisation, bringing in new features and mechanical techniques, appeared after 1900. The total circulation was 500,000 daily in 1901, more than doubling to 1.2 million in 1925.
[Kenneth E. Olson, ''The history makers: The press of Europe from its beginnings through 1965'' (LSU Press, 1966) pp 50 – 64, 433] The German occupation of Denmark, German occupation during World War II brought informal censorship; some offending newspaper buildings were simply blown up by the Nazis. During the war, the underground produced 550 newspapers—small, surreptitiously printed sheets that encouraged sabotage and resistance.
![Lars von Trier 2014 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Lars_von_Trier_2014_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Danish cinema dates back to 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of productions due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. There have been three big internationally important waves of Danish cinema: erotic melodrama of the silent film, silent era; the increasingly explicit sex films of the 1960s and 1970s; and lastly, the Dogme 95 movement of the late 1990s, where directors often used hand-held cameras to dynamic effect in a conscious reaction against big-budget studios. Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical innovation. The Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer, Carl Th. Dreyer (1889–1968) is considered one of the greatest directors of early cinema.
Other Danish filmmakers of note include Erik Balling, the creator of the popular ''Olsen-banden'' films; Gabriel Axel, an Academy Awards, Oscar-winner for ''Babette's Feast'' in 1987; and Bille August, the Academy Awards, Oscar-, Palme d'Or- and Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe-winner for ''Pelle the Conqueror'' in 1988. In the modern era, notable filmmakers in Denmark include Lars von Trier, who co-created the Dogme movement, and multiple award-winners Susanne Bier and Nicolas Winding Refn. Mads Mikkelsen is a world-renowned Danish actor, having starred in films such as ''King Arthur (2004 film), King Arthur'', ''Casino Royale (2006 film), Casino Royale'', the Danish film ''The Hunt (2012 film), The Hunt'', and the American TV series ''Hannibal (TV series), Hannibal''. Another renowned Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is internationally known for playing the role of Jaime Lannister in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''.
Danish mass media and news programming are dominated by a few large corporations. In printed media JP/Politikens Hus and Berlingske Media, between them, control the largest newspapers ''Politiken'', ''Berlingske Tidende'' and ''Jyllands-Posten'' and major tabloids ''B.T. (tabloid), B.T.'' and ''Ekstra Bladet''. Television in Denmark, In television, publicly owned stations DR (broadcaster), DR and TV 2 (Denmark), TV 2 have large shares of the viewers. DR in particular is famous for its high quality TV-series often sold to foreign broadcasters and often with leading female characters like internationally known actresses Sidse Babett Knudsen and Sofie Gråbøl. In radio, DR has a near monopoly, currently broadcasting on all four nationally available FM broadcasting, FM channels, competing only with local stations.
Music
Denmark and its multiple outlying islands have a Danish traditional music, wide range of folk traditions. The country's most famous classical composer is Carl Nielsen (1865–1931), especially remembered for his six symphonies and his Wind Quintet (Nielsen), Wind Quintet, while the Royal Danish Ballet specialises in the work of the Danish choreographer August Bournonville. The Royal Danish Orchestra is among the world's oldest orchestras. Danes have distinguished themselves as jazz musicians, and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival has acquired international recognition.
The modern pop music, pop and rock scene has produced a few names of international fame, including Aqua (band), Aqua, Alphabeat, D-A-D, King Diamond, Kashmir (band), Kashmir, Lukas Graham, Mew (band), Mew, Michael Learns to Rock, MØ, Oh Land, The Raveonettes and Volbeat, among List of Danish bands, others. Lars Ulrich, the drummer of the band Metallica, has become the first Danish musician to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Roskilde Festival near Copenhagen is the largest music festival in Northern Europe since 1971 and Denmark has many List of festivals in Denmark, recurring music festivals of all genres throughout, including Aarhus International Jazz Festival, Skanderborg Festival, The Blue Festival in Aalborg, Esbjerg International Chamber Music Festival and Skagen Festival among many others.
Denmark has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1957 and has won the contest three times, in Eurovision Song Contest 1963, 1963, Eurovision Song Contest 2000, 2000 and Eurovision Song Contest 2013, 2013.
Architecture and design
![Pv jensen-klint 05 grundtvig memorial church 1913-1940](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Pv_jensen-klint_05_grundtvig_memorial_church_1913-1940.jpg)
Denmark's architecture became firmly established in the Middle Ages when first Romanesque style, Romanesque, then Gothic style, Gothic churches and cathedrals sprang up throughout the country. From the 16th century, Dutch and Flemish designers were brought to Denmark, initially to improve the country's fortifications, but increasingly to build magnificent royal castles and palaces in the Renaissance architecture, Renaissance style.
During the 17th century, many impressive buildings were built in the Baroque architecture, Baroque style, both in the capital and the provinces. Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassicism from France was slowly adopted by native Danish architects who increasingly participated in defining architectural style. A productive period of Historicism (art), Historicism ultimately merged into the 19th-century National Romantic style.
The 20th century brought along new architectural styles; including expressionist architecture, expressionism, best exemplified by the designs of architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, which relied heavily on Scandinavian brick Gothic traditions; and Nordic Classicism, which enjoyed brief popularity in the early decades of the century. It was in the 1960s that Danish architects such as Arne Jacobsen entered the world scene with their highly successful Danish Functionalist style, Functionalist architecture. This, in turn, has evolved into more recent world-class masterpieces including Jørn Utzon's Sydney Opera House and Johan Otto von Spreckelsen's Grande Arche de la Défense in Paris, paving the way for a number of contemporary Danish designers such as Bjarke Ingels to be rewarded for excellence both at home and abroad.
Danish design is a term often used to describe a style of Functionalism (architecture), functionalistic design and architecture that was developed in the mid-20th century, originating in Denmark. Danish design is typically applied to industrial design, furniture and household objects, which have won many international awards. The Royal Copenhagen, Royal Porcelain Factory is famous for the quality of its ceramics and export products worldwide. Danish design is also a well-known brand, often associated with world-famous, 20th-century designers and architects such as Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl, Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Poul Henningsen and Verner Panton. Other designers of note include Kristian Solmer Vedel (1923–2003) in the area of industrial design, Jens Quistgaard (1919–2008) for kitchen furniture and implements and Ole Wanscher (1903–1985) who had a classical approach to furniture design.
Literature and philosophy
![Constantin Hansen 1836 - HC Andersen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/C.A._Jensen_1836_-_HC_Andersen.jpg)
The first known Danish literature is myths and Danish folklore, folklore from the 10th and 11th century. Saxo Grammaticus, normally considered the first Danish writer, worked for bishop Absalon on a chronicle of History of Denmark, Danish history (''Gesta Danorum''). Very little is known of other Danish literature from the Middle Ages. With the Age of Enlightenment came Ludvig Holberg whose comedy plays are still being performed.
In the late 19th century, literature was seen as a way to influence society. Known as the Modern Breakthrough, this movement was championed by Georg Brandes, Henrik Pontoppidan (awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature) and Jens Peter Jacobsen, J. P. Jacobsen. Romanticism influenced the renowned writer and poet Hans Christian Andersen, known for his stories and fairy tales, e.g. ''The Ugly Duckling'', ''The Little Mermaid'' and ''The Snow Queen''. In recent history Johannes Vilhelm Jensen was also awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Karen Blixen is famous for her novels and short stories. Other Danish writers of importance are Herman Bang, Gustav Wied, William Heinesen, Martin Andersen Nexø, Piet Hein (Denmark), Piet Hein, Hans Scherfig, Klaus Rifbjerg, Dan Turèll, Tove Ditlevsen, Inger Christensen and Peter Høeg.
Danish philosophy has a long tradition as part of Western philosophy. Perhaps the most influential Danish philosopher was Søren Kierkegaard, the creator of Christian existentialism. Kierkegaard had a few Danish followers, including Harald Høffding, who later in his life moved on to join the movement of positivism. Among Kierkegaard's other followers include Jean-Paul Sartre who was impressed with Kierkegaard's views on the individual, and Rollo May, who helped create humanistic psychology. Another Danish philosopher of note is N. F. S. Grundtvig, Grundtvig, whose philosophy gave rise to a new form of non-aggressive nationalism in Denmark, and who is also influential for his theological and historical works.
Painting and photography
![C W Eckersberg 1841 - Kvinde foran et spejl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/C_W_Eckersberg_1841_-_Kvinde_foran_et_spejl.jpg)
While Danish art was influenced over the centuries by trends in Germany and the Netherlands, the 15th and 16th century church frescos in Denmark, church frescos, which can be seen in many of the country's older churches, are of particular interest as they were painted in a style typical of native Danish painters.
The Danish Golden Age, which began in the first half of the 19th century, was inspired by a new feeling of nationalism and romanticism, typified in the later previous century by History painting, history painter Nicolai Abildgaard. Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was not only a productive artist in his own right but taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where his students included notable painters such as Wilhelm Bendz, Christen Købke, Martinus Rørbye, Constantin Hansen, and Wilhelm Marstrand.
In 1871, Holger Drachmann and Karl Madsen visited Skagen in the far north of
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
where they quickly built up one of Scandinavia's most successful Skagen Painters, artists' colonies specialising in Naturalism (arts), Naturalism and Realism (arts), Realism rather than in the traditional approach favoured by the academy. Hosted by Michael Ancher, Michael and his wife Anna Ancher, Anna, they were soon joined by P.S. Krøyer, Carl Locher and Laurits Tuxen. All participated in painting the natural surroundings and local people. Similar trends developed on Funen with the ''Fynboerne'' who included Johannes Larsen, Fritz Syberg and Peter Hansen (painter), Peter Hansen,
["The Funish Art Colony"]
, ''Johannes Larsen Museet''. Retrieved 12 August 2011. and on the island of Bornholm with the Bornholm school of painters including Niels Lergaard, Kræsten Iversen and Oluf Høst.
Painting has continued to be a prominent form of artistic expression in Danish culture, inspired by and also influencing major international trends in this area. These include impressionism and the modernist styles of expressionism, abstract painting and surrealism. While international co-operation and activity has almost always been essential to the Danish artistic community, influential art collectives with a firm Danish base includes De Tretten (1909–1912), Linien (1930s and 1940s), COBRA (avant-garde movement), COBRA (1948–1951), Fluxus (1960s and 1970s), Junge Wilde, De Unge Vilde (1980s) and more recently Superflex (founded in 1993). Most Danish painters of modern times have also been very active with other forms of artistic expressions, such as sculpting, ceramics, art installations, activism, film and experimental architecture. Notable Danish painters from modern times representing various art movements include Theodor Philipsen (1840–1920, impressionism and naturalism), Anna Klindt Sørensen (1899–1985, expressionism), Franciska Clausen (1899–1986, Neue Sachlichkeit, cubism, surrealism and others), Henry Heerup (1907–1993, naivism), Robert Jacobsen (1912–1993, abstract painting), Carl Henning Pedersen (1913–2007, abstract painting), Asger Jorn (1914–1973, Situationist, abstract painting), Bjørn Wiinblad (1918–2006, art deco, orientalism), Per Kirkeby (b. 1938, neo-expressionism, abstract painting), Per Arnoldi (b. 1941, pop art), Michael Kvium (b. 1955, neo-surrealism) and Simone Aaberg Kærn (b. 1969, superrealism).
Danish photography has developed from strong participation and interest in the very beginnings of the history of photography, art of photography in 1839 to the success of a considerable number of Danes in the world of photography today. Pioneers such as Mads Alstrup and Georg Emil Hansen paved the way for a rapidly growing profession during the last half of the 19th century. Today Danish photographers such as Astrid Kruse Jensen and Jacob Aue Sobol are active both at home and abroad, participating in key exhibitions around the world.
Cuisine
![Smørrebrød-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Sm%C3%B8rrebr%C3%B8d-01.jpg)
The traditional cuisine of Denmark, like that of the other Nordic countries and of Northern Germany, consists mainly of meat, fish and potatoes. Danish dishes are highly seasonal, stemming from the country's agricultural past, its geography, and its climate of long, cold winters.
The open sandwiches on rye bread, known as ''smørrebrød'', which in their basic form are the usual fare for lunch, can be considered a national speciality when prepared and decorated with a variety of fine ingredients. Hot meals traditionally consist of ground meats, such as ''frikadeller'' (meat balls of veal and pork) and ''hakkebøf'' (minced beef patties), or of more substantial meat and fish dishes such as ''flæskesteg'' (roast pork with crackling) and ''kogt torsk'' (poached cod) with mustard sauce and trimmings. Denmark is known for its Carlsberg Group, Carlsberg and Tuborg beers and for its akvavit and bitters.
Since around 1970, chefs and restaurants across Denmark have introduced gourmet cooking, largely influenced by French cuisine. Also inspired by continental practices, Danish chefs have recently developed a new innovative cuisine and a series of gourmet dishes based on high-quality local produce known as New Danish cuisine. As a result of these developments, Denmark now has a considerable number of internationally acclaimed restaurants of which several have been awarded Michelin Guide, Michelin stars. This includes Geranium (restaurant), Geranium and Noma (restaurant), Noma in Copenhagen.
Sports
![Michael Laudrup 2016c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Michael_Laudrup_2016c.jpg)
Sports are popular in Denmark, and its citizens participate in and watch a wide variety. The national sport is association football, football, with over 320,000 players in more than 1600 football club (association football), clubs. Denmark qualified six times consecutively for the UEFA European Football Championship, European Championships between 1984 and 2004, and were crowned European champions in 1992 UEFA European Football Championship, 1992; other significant achievements include winning the Confederations Cup in 1995 and reaching the quarter-final of the 1998 World Cup. Notable Danish footballers include Allan Simonsen, named the best player in Europe in 1977, Peter Schmeichel, named the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993, and Michael Laudrup, named the best Danish player of all time by the Danish Football Union.
There is much focus on handball, too. The Denmark women's national handball team, women's national team celebrated great successes during the 1990s and has won a total of 13 medals – seven gold (in 1994, 1996 (2), 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2004), four silver (in 1962, 1993, 1998 and 2004) and two bronze (in 1995 and 2013). On the Denmark men's national handball team, men's side, Denmark has won 12 medals—four gold (in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2019), four silver (in 1967, 2011, 2013 and 2014) and four bronze (in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007)—the most that have been won by any team in European Men's Handball Championship, European Handball Championship history. In 2019, the Danish men's national handball team won their first Denmark men's national handball team#2019 World Championship, World Championship title in the tournament that was co-hosted between Germany and Denmark.
In recent years, Denmark has made a mark as a strong cycle sport, cycling nation, with Michael Rasmussen (cyclist), Michael Rasmussen reaching King of the Mountains status in the Tour de France in 2005 and 2006. Other popular sports include golf—which is mostly popular among those in the older demographic; tennis—in which Denmark is successful on a professional level; basketball—Denmark joined the international governing body FIBA in 1951; rugby—the Danish Rugby Union dates back to 1950;
[Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p66. Archived from July 2007 and Retrieved June 2012.] ice hockey— often competing in the top division in the Men's World Championships; rowing—Denmark specialise in lightweight rowing and are particularly known for their lightweight coxless four, having won six gold and two silver World Championship medals and three gold and two bronze Olympic Games, Olympic medals; and several indoor sports—especially badminton, table tennis and gymnastics, in each of which Denmark holds World Championships and Denmark at the Olympics, Olympic medals. Denmark's numerous beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and many other water-themed sports.
See also
* Index of Denmark-related articles
* Outline of Denmark
*Religion in Denmark
Explanatory notes
Citations
General and cited sources
*
* Busck, Steen and Poulsen, Henning (ed.), "Danmarks historie – i grundtræk", Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2002,
*
*
*
*
*
* Michaelsen, Karsten Kjer, "Politikens bog om Danmarks oldtid", Politikens Forlag (1. bogklubudgave), 2002,
* Nationalencyklopedin, vol. 4, Bokförlaget Bra Böcker, 2000, .
External links
Denmark.dk
Denmark ''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Denmarkentry at ''Britannica.com''.
*
*
*
*
Denmark profilefrom the BBC News.
Key Development Forecasts for Denmarkfrom International Futures.
{{Authority control
Denmark,
Barbarian kingdoms
Christian states
Countries in Europe
Danish-speaking countries and territories
Danish monarchy
Member states of NATO
Member states of the European Union
Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean
Member states of the United Nations
Members of the Nordic Council
Metropolitan or continental parts of states
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
Northwestern European countries
Scandinavian countries
Member states of the Council of Europe
States and territories established in the 8th century
OECD members