)
, 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 ter ...
, subdivision_name =
Kingdom of Denmark
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 ...
, 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
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...
accession
, established_date5 = 1 January 1973
, established_title6 = Greenlandic home rule
, established_date6 = 1 May 1979
, official_languages =
Danish
, 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 a ...
, 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 In mathematics, a unitary representation of a grou ...
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. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
, 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 femal ...
, 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 is ...
, 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 m ...
, 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
, utc_offset = +01:00
, timezone_DST =
CEST
, 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
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 Swe ...
in
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...
. It is the most populous and politically central constituent of the
Kingdom of Denmark
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 ...
,
[ 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 th ...
that includes the
autonomous territories
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...
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 ...
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 S ...
n countries, lying southwest of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
, south of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...
,
[The island of ]Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
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 betwee ...
.
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 Arch ...
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 o ...
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
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
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 a ...
.
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 wi ...
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 ...
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
The Kalmar Union ( Danish, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under a single monarch the three kingdo ...
, which persisted until
the latter's secession in 1523. The remaining Kingdom of
Denmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway ( Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe ...
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 Fre ...
, 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 ...
. 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. T ...
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 e ...
. 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 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 power, though a limited constituti ...
that was established in 1660 and introducing the current parliamentary system.
An industrialised exporter of
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
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 objectives ...
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 ...
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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, 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
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
: 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
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...
,
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...
,
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 gove ...
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 N ...
, the
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...
, 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 ...
,
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 harmoni ...
; it is also part of the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...
. 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 Schl ...
being partially
mutually intelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as a ...
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'Ivoir ...
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 (see ...
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 ca ...
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
runestones 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. 958 ...
(). 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 ‘ ...
() on the large stone, and the
genitive
In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can a ...
"tanmarkar" (pronounced ) on the small stone, while the
dative
In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob ...
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
A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
.
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
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
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.
Th ...
, 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
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
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 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 Skån ...
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 ...
eventually, some as mercenaries of
Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
King
Vortigern, 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 county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...
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 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-Saxons happened ...
. The remaining
Jutish population in Jutland assimilated in with the settling
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
.
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 th ...
'' 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'') an ...
is believed to be an early mention of the Danes, one of the
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
s from whom modern
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
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 se ...
. 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
Sweyn Forkbeard ( non, Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg ; da, Svend Tveskæg; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of D ...
in 1013, and in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
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
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- ...
pence
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
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 Skån ...
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
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
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. 958 ...
, 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 Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. 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 mo ...
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
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...
won and united Denmark, England, and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...
for almost 30 years with a Scandinavian army.
Throughout the
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
and
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, 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 Eur ...
, 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 included.For p ...
(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 Brömsebro ...
, 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 second ...
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 Sch ...
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 countries, 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 ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, 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 Scandinavians, its peoples. The region is located in Northern Europe, and consists of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finland and Iceland are at times, especial ...
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 ('' Riksföre ...
conquered the city of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. 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 in ...
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 Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
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
broke away
"Broke Away" is the second single from Scottish band Wet Wet Wet's third studio album, '' Holding Back the River''. It was released on 27 November 1989, entering the charts at number 39 the following Sunday. It peaked four weeks later at number ...
from the personal union, Denmark tried on several occasions to reassert control over its neighbour. King
Christian IV
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...
attacked Sweden in the 1611–1613
Kalmar War
The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark-Norway soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark-Norway successfully defended its ''dom ...
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 indemnity
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
History
Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history.
R ...
of 1 million
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
riksdaler
The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler. ...
to Denmark, an amount known as the ''
Älvsborg ransom''. King Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably
Glückstadt
Glückstadt (; da, Lykstad) is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona. Glückstadt is part of the ...
(founded as a rival to
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
) and
Christiania. Inspired by the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
, he founded a similar
Danish company and planned to claim
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
as a colony, but the company only managed to acquire
Tranquebar
Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar ( da, Trankebar, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kave ...
on India's
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...
. Denmark's large colonial aspirations included a few key
trading posts
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. While Denmark's trading posts in India were of little note, it played an important role in the highly lucrative
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
, through its trading outposts in
Fort Christiansborg
Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa.
A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownership ...
in
Osu,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
through which 1.5 million slaves were traded.
While the Danish colonial empire was sustained by trade with other major powers, and
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s – ultimately a lack of resources led to its stagnation.
In the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, Christian tried to become the leader of the
Lutheran
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 ...
states in Germany but suffered a crushing defeat at the
Battle of Lutter
The Battle of Lutter (German: ''Lutter am Barenberge'') took place on 27 August 1626 during the Thirty Years' War, south of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony. A combined Danish-German force led by Christian IV of Denmark was defeated by Johan Tzerclae ...
. The result was that the Catholic army under
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...
was able to invade, occupy, and pillage Jutland, forcing Denmark
to withdraw from the war. Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but King
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
' 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
invaded Jutland in 1643 and claimed Scania in 1644. In the 1645
Treaty of Brømsebro, Denmark surrendered Halland,
Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
, 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
Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...
, in 1657, declared war on Sweden, the latter being deeply involved in the
Second Northern War
The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...
(1655–1660), and marched on
Bremen-Verden
), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...
. This led to a massive Danish defeat as the armies of King
Charles X Gustav
Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...
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
Swedish March across the frozen
Danish straits
The Danish straits are the straits connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. Historically, the Danish straits were internal waterways of Denmark; however, following territorial losses, Øresund and Fehmarn Be ...
, 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 o ...
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
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 second ...
,
Bohuslän
Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...
,
Trøndelag
Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...
, and the island of
Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having ruined Denmark and in August 1658, he launched a
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 a ...
. King Frederick III actively led the defence of the city, rallying its citizens to take up arms, and
repelled the Swedish attacks. The siege ended following the death of Charles X Gustav in 1660. In the ensuing
peace settlement
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surren ...
, Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm. Attaining great popularity following the war, Frederick III used this to
disband the elective monarchy in favour of
absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy (or 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 power, though a limited constituti ...
, which lasted until 1848 in Denmark.
Denmark tried but failed to regain control of Scania in the
Scanian War
The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...
(1675–1679). After the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
(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
Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...
in the 1720
Treaty of Frederiksborg
The Treaty of Frederiksborg ( da, Frederiksborgfreden) was a treaty signed at Frederiksborg Castle, Zealand, on 3 July 1720Heitz (1995), p.244 (14 July 1720 according to the Gregorian calendar), ending the Great Northern War between Denmark-Norwa ...
and the 1773
Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo
The Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo was a territorial and dynastic treaty between the Russian Empire and Denmark–Norway. Signed on 1 June 1773, it transferred control of ducal Schleswig-Holstein to the Danish crown in return for Russian control of the ...
, respectively. Denmark prospered greatly in the last decades of the 18th century due to its
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 Fre ...
, Denmark traded with both
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and joined the
League of Armed Neutrality with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, Sweden, and
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 em ...
. The British considered this a hostile act and attacked Copenhagen in
1801 and
1807
Events
January–March
* January 7 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland issues an Order in Council prohibiting British ships from trading with France or its allies.
* January 20 – The Sierra Leone Company, faced with b ...
, in one case carrying off the
Danish fleet, in the other, burning large parts of the Danish capital. This led to the so-called Danish-British
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal Nav ...
. British control of the waterways between Denmark and Norway proved disastrous to the union's economy and in 1813 Denmark–Norway went
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
.
The union was dissolved by the
Treaty of Kiel
The Treaty of Kiel ( da, Kieltraktaten) or Peace of Kiel (Swedish and no, Kielfreden or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the ...
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 ...
(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 ...
, all of which had been governed by Norway for centuries. Apart from the Nordic colonies, Denmark continued to rule over
Danish India
Danish India () was the name given to the colonies of Denmark (Denmark–Norway before 1814) in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish colonial empire. Denmark–Norway held colonial possessions in India for more than 200 years, i ...
from 1620 to 1869, the
Danish Gold Coast
The Danish Gold Coast ( da, Danske Guldkyst or ''Dansk Guinea'') comprised the colonies that Denmark–Norway controlled in Africa as a part of the Gold Coast (roughly present-day southeast Ghana), which is on the Gulf of Guinea. It was coloniz ...
(Ghana) from 1658 to 1850, and the
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...
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
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
, 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
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 e ...
and
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
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. T ...
, lasting from February to October 1864. Denmark was defeated and obliged to
cede 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 e ...
. This loss came as the latest in the long series of defeats and
territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
losses that had begun in the 17th century. After these events, Denmark pursued a policy of neutrality in Europe.
Industrialization
Industrialisation
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
came to Denmark in the second half of the 19th century. The
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 union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s 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
maintained its neutral stance during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. After the defeat of Germany, the
Versailles powers offered to return the region of Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. Fearing German
irredentism
Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent sta ...
, Denmark refused to consider the return of the area without a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
; the two
Schleswig Plebiscites
The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 100 to 115 of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former Duchy of S ...
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
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
but
Germany invaded Denmark on 9 April 1940 and the Danish government quickly surrendered.
World War II in Denmark was characterised by economic co-operation with Germany until 1943, when the Danish government refused further co-operation and
its navy scuttled most of its ships and sent many of its officers to Sweden, which was neutral. The
Danish resistance
The Danish resistance movements ( da, Den danske modstandsbevægelse) were an underground insurgency to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the initially lenient arrangements, in which the Nazi occupation autho ...
performed a
rescue operation
Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation.
Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...
that managed to evacuate several thousand
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and their families to safety in Sweden before the Germans could send them to death camps. Some Danes supported
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
by joining the
Danish Nazi Party or volunteering to fight with Germany as part of the
Frikorps Danmark
Free Corps Denmark ( da, Frikorps Danmark) was a unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II consisting of collaborationist volunteers from Denmark. It was established following an initiative by the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (DNS ...
. Iceland severed ties with Denmark and
became an independent republic in 1944;
Germany surrendered in May 1945. In 1948, the Faroe Islands gained
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 ...
. 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 N ...
.
![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
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...
(EFTA). During the 1960s, the EFTA countries were often referred to as the
Outer Seven
The Inner Six, also known as the Six, the Six founders, or the founding members of the European Union, refers to Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the six founding member states of the European Communities, no ...
, as opposed to the
Inner Six
The Inner Six, also known as the Six, the Six founders, or the founding members of the European Union, refers to Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the six founding member states of the European Communities, now ...
of what was then the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
(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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
) after a
public referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
. The
Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
, which involved further European integration,
was rejected by the Danish people in 1992; it was only accepted after a
second referendum in 1993, which provided for
four opt-outs from policies. The Danes rejected the euro as the national currency in
a referendum in 2000. Greenland gained home rule in 1979 and was awarded
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
in 2009. Neither 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 ...
nor
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 is t ...
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
single-chamber parliament elected by proportional representation, female accession to the Danish throne, and Greenland becoming an integral part of Denmark. The
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
led a string of coalition governments for most of the second half of the 20th century, introducing the
Nordic welfare model
The Nordic model comprises the economic and social policies as well as typical cultural practices common to the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). This includes a comprehensive welfare state and multi-level co ...
. The
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and the
Conservative People's Party have also led
centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...
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
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...
, 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 o ...
. The island of
Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
is located east of the rest of the country, in the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; a
bridge-tunnel across the
Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...
connects Zealand with Sweden; the
Great Belt Fixed Link
The Great Belt Bridge ( da, Storebæltsbroen) or Great Belt fixed link ( da, Storebæltsforbindelsen) is a multi-element fixed link crossing the Great Belt strait between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of a road suspension ...
connects Funen with Zealand; and the
Little Belt Bridge
The Little Belt Bridge ( da, Lillebæltsbroen), also known as the Old Little Belt Bridge ( da, Den gamle Lillebæltsbro), is a truss bridge over the Little Belt strait in Denmark. It spans from Snoghøj on the Jutland side to Middelfart on Fune ...
connects Jutland with Funen.
Ferries
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
or
small aircraft
A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997.
Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...
connect to the smaller islands. The four
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 a ...
on Zealand;
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...
and
Aalborg
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
in Jutland; and
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...
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
Arresø () is the largest lake, by area, in Denmark. It covers 40,72 km² (15.39 sq mi) and is situated on the island of Zealand 43 kilometers (27 miles) northwest of Copenhagen as the crow flies.
Arresø is located in the northern parts of Z ...
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
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
projects (to counter erosion).
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...
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
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...
with a
circumference
In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to ...
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 betwee ...
to the south and is otherwise surrounded by of tidal
shoreline
A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...
(including small
bays and
inlet
An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea.
Overview
In marine geogra ...
s).
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
territorial waters
The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...
total .
Denmark's northernmost point is
Skagen
Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...
point (the north beach of the Skaw) at 57° 45' 7" northern latitude; the southernmost is
Gedser
Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Sjælland region. It is the southernmost town in Denmark, and also the southernmost point of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. The town h ...
point (the southern tip of
Falster
Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010. ) at 54° 33' 35" northern latitude; the westernmost point is
Blåvandshuk
Blåvandshuk is a headland on the North Sea coast of Jutland northwest of Esbjerg, and is the westernmost point of metropolitan Denmark. The Blåvand Lighthouse is the westernmost located building in Denmark.
Natural Environment
A significant ...
at 8° 4' 22" eastern longitude; and the easternmost point is
Østerskær
Ertholmene (formerly spelled ''Ærtholmene)'' is a small archipelago in Denmark. The largest island is Christiansø, and its name often refers to the entire archipelago. Ertholmene is situated northeast of Gudhjem, Bornholm, and contains De ...
at 15° 11' 55" eastern longitude. This is in the small
Ertholmene
Ertholmene (formerly spelled ''Ærtholmene)'' is a small archipelago in Denmark. The largest island is Christiansø, and its name often refers to the entire archipelago. Ertholmene is situated northeast of Gudhjem, Bornholm, and contains D ...
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 sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
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 m ...
, at . Although this is by far the lowest high point in the Nordic countries and also less than half of the highest point in
Southern Sweden, Denmark's general elevation in its interior is generally at a safe level from
rising sea levels
Rising may refer to:
* Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique)
*Elevation
* Short for Uprising, a rebellion
Film and TV
* "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...
. A sizeable portion of Denmark's
terrain
Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...
consists of rolling
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
s whilst the coastline is sandy, with large
dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
s 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
dozen or so rivers, and the most significant include the
Gudenå
Gudenå or Gudenåen (), is Denmark's longest river and runs through the central parts of the Jutlandic peninsula. An anglicized version of the name often seen is 'The River Guden'.
Gudenåen has its spring in Tinnet Krat, Vejle Municipality (be ...
,
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...
,
Skjern,
Suså and
Vidå
The Vidå (german: Wiedau, North Frisian ''Widuu'') is a creek in The Jutland region of, Denmark. The creek starts east of Tønder and flows to the west, ending in the North Sea. In places the Vidå marks the border between Denmark and Germany (' ...
—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
world's largest island, and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. These territories are self-governing under their own parliaments (the
Løgting
The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm.
The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''l ...
and
Inatsisartut
The Inatsisartut ( kl, Inatsisartut; '' da, Landstinget, lit=''the land's-thing'' of Greenland''), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territory*
* ...
) 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
temperate
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 t ...
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
Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time or simply daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typicall ...
).
Ecology
![Grib skov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Grib_skov.jpg)
Denmark belongs to the
Boreal Kingdom
The Boreal Kingdom or Holarctic Kingdom (Holarctis) is a floristic kingdom identified by botanist Ronald Good (and later by Armen Takhtajan), which includes the temperate to Arctic portions of North America and Eurasia. Its flora is inherited f ...
and can be subdivided into two
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s: the
Atlantic mixed forests
The Atlantic mixed forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in western Europe. It extends along the western edge of continental Europe, from southwestern France through northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, northwestern Germany, and western Denmar ...
and
Baltic mixed forests
The Baltic mixed forests is an ecoregion in Europe along the southwestern coasts of the Baltic Sea. The name was coined by the European Environment Agency and the same geographical area is designated as "Northern Europe: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, ...
.
Almost all of Denmark's
primeval temperate forests have been destroyed or fragmented, chiefly for agricultural purposes during the last millennia.
The deforestation has created large swaths of
heathland
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
and devastating
sand drifts.
In spite of this, there are several larger
second growth woodlands in the country and, in total, 12.9% of the land is now forested.
Norway spruce
''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...
is the most widespread tree (2017); an important tree in the
Christmas tree production
Christmas tree production occurs worldwide on Christmas tree farms, in artificial tree factories and from native strands of pine and fir trees. Christmas trees, pine and fir trees purposely grown for use as a Christmas tree, are grown on plantat ...
. Denmark holds a
Forest Landscape Integrity Index
The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 0.5/10, ranking it 171st globally out of 172 countries—behind only
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
.
Roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
occupy the countryside in growing numbers, and large-antlered
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
can be found in the sparse woodlands of Jutland. Denmark is also home to smaller mammals, such as
polecats
Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities t ...
,
hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
s and
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
s. Approximately 400 bird species inhabit Denmark and about 160 of those breed in the country. Large marine mammals include healthy populations of
Harbour porpoise
The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...
, growing numbers of
pinniped
Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walru ...
s and occasional visits of large whales, including
blue whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...
s and
orca
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...
s.
Cod
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
,
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
and
plaice
Plaice is a common name for a group of flatfish that comprises four species: the European, American, Alaskan and scale-eye plaice.
Commercially, the most important plaice is the European. The principal commercial flatfish in Europe, it is also ...
are abundant
culinary fish in Danish waters and form the basis for
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 issue
Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on th ...
s, 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
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health se ...
; in 1971 Denmark established a
Ministry of Environment
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
and was the first country in the world to implement an
environmental law
Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...
in 1973. To mitigate environmental degradation and
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
the Danish Government has signed the
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol.
However, the national
ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...
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
The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is a scoring system designed by the German environmental and development organisation Germanwatch e.V. to enhance transparency in international climate politics. On the basis of standardised criteria, ...
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
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 ...
, 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
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation of ...
(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
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 ...
. The monarch officially retains
executive power
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ba ...
and presides over the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
(
privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
). In practice, the duties of the monarch are strictly representative and
ceremonial
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin ''Glossary of ancient Rom ...
,
[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 is ...
and other Government ministers. The Monarch is not answerable for his or her actions, and their
person
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, ...
is
sacrosanct
Sacrosanctity was the declaration of physical inviolability of a temple, a sacred object, or a person through the ''lex sacrata'' (sacred law), which had religious connotations. Festus explained that: “Sacred laws are laws which have the sanction ...
.
Hereditary monarch Queen 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 femal ...
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
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
and called the Folketing ( da, Folketinget). It is the
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
of the Kingdom of Denmark, passing
acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
that apply in Denmark and, variably, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Folketing is also responsible for adopting the
state's budgets, approving the state's accounts, appointing and exercising control of the Government, and taking part in international co-operation.
Bills may be initiated by the Government or by
members of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
. All bills passed must be presented before the Council of State to receive
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
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
Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represen ...
with
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
. Membership of the Folketing is based on
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
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
vote of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
, the Folketing may force a single minister or an entire government to resign.
The Government of Denmark operates as a
cabinet government
A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...
, where executive authority is exercised—formally, on behalf of the monarch—by the prime minister and other
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
s, who head
ministries
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian mi ...
. 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
Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...
of a majority in the Folketing; this is often the current leader of the largest
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
or, more effectively, through a
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
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
, themselves usually
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
s dependent on non-government parties.
Following a
general election defeat, in June 2015
Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...
, leader of the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
('), resigned as prime minister. She was succeeded by
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the lead ...
, the leader of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
('). Rasmussen became the leader of
a cabinet that, unusually, consisted entirely of ministers from his own party. In November 2016,
Liberal Alliance and the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
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
The Danish People's Party ( da, Dansk Folkeparti, DPP/DF) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP).
The DPP lent its support to the Venstre– C ...
(DF). Following the
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 system with some references to
Germanic law
Germanic law is a scholarly term used to described a series of commonalities between the various law codes (the ''Leges Barbarorum'', 'laws of the barbarians', also called Leges) of the early Germanic peoples. These were compared with statements ...
. Denmark resembles Norway and Sweden in never having developed a
case-law like that 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 ...
and the United States nor comprehensive
codes
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
like those of France and Germany. Much of its law is
customary
Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to:
Traditions, laws, and religion
* Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom
* Norm (social), a r ...
.
The judicial system of Denmark is divided between courts with regular civil and
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
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 Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
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
Danish Supreme Court
The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish ...
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 th ...
that comprises, in addition to Denmark proper, two
autonomous territories 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 an ...
:
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 ...
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
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
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 wi ...
was granted to the Faroe Islands in 1948 and to Greenland in 1979, each having previously had the status of
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
.
[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
__NOTOC__
Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...
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
The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm.
The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''l ...
and in the
Greenlandic Parliament
The Inatsisartut ( kl, Inatsisartut; '' da, Landstinget, lit=''the land's- thing'' of Greenland''), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territory* ...
, but they cannot vote.
The Faroese home government is defined to be an equal partner with the Danish national government, while the
Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
.
Administrative divisions
Denmark, with a total area of , is divided into five administrative regions ( da, regioner). The regions are further subdivided into
98 municipalities ('). The easternmost land in Denmark, the
Ertholmene
Ertholmene (formerly spelled ''Ærtholmene)'' is a small archipelago in Denmark. The largest island is Christiansø, and its name often refers to the entire archipelago. Ertholmene is situated northeast of Gudhjem, Bornholm, and contains D ...
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
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
. The
provinces of Denmark The provinces of Denmark ( da, Landsdele) are statistical divisions of Denmark, positioned between the administrative regions and municipalities. They are not administrative divisions, nor subject for any kind of political elections, but are mainly ...
are statistical divisions of Denmark, positioned between the
administrative regions and
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
. 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
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
Danish local elections were held on 16 November 2021. Other regional structures use the municipal boundaries as a layout, including the
police districts, the
court districts and the
electoral wards
The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distri ...
.
Regions
The governing bodies of the regions are the
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
national health service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
,
social services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
and
regional development
Regional development is a broad term but can be seen as a general effort to reduce regional disparities by supporting (employ) economin regions. In the past, regional development policy tended to try to achieve these objectives by means developmen ...
.
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
Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape
A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...
and populations of the regions vary widely; for example, the
Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
, which encompasses the
Copenhagen metropolitan area
The Copenhagen metropolitan area or Metropolitan Copenhagen ( da, Hovedstadsområdet, , literally "The Capital Area") is a large commuter belt (the area in which it is practical to commute to work) surrounding Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. ...
with the exception of the subtracted province East Zealand but includes the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
island of
Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
, has a population three times larger than that of
North Denmark Region
The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the tra ...
, which covers the more sparsely populated area of northern Jutland. Under the county system certain densely populated municipalities, such as
Copenhagen Municipality
Copenhagen Municipality ( da, Københavns Kommune), also known in English as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute the City of Copenhagen (), the other ...
and
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
, had been given a status equivalent to that of counties, making them first-level administrative divisions. These ''
sui generis
''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique".
A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include:
* Biology, for species that do not fit in ...
'' 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 relations, a middle power is a sovereign state that is not a great power nor a superpower, but still has large or moderate influence and international recognition.
The concept of the "middle power" dates back to the origins of ...
in international affairs. In recent years, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have been guaranteed a say in foreign policy issues such as fishing,
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
, and geopolitical concerns. The foreign policy of Denmark is substantially influenced by
its membership of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
(EU); Denmark including Greenland joined the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
(EEC), the EU's predecessor, in 1973.
[The Faroese declined membership in 1973; Greenland chose to leave the EEC in 1985, following a referendum.] Denmark held the
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...
on seven occasions, most recently from January to June 2012. Following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Denmark ended its two-hundred-year-long policy of
neutrality. It has been a founding member of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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 ...
(NATO) since 1949, and membership remains highly popular.
As a member of
Development Assistance Committee
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the ...
(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
Development aid is a type of aid, foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political International development, development of developing countries. Closely-rel ...
. In 2015, Denmark contributed 0.85% of its
gross national income
The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...
(GNI) to
foreign aid
In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another.
Ai ...
and was one of only six countries meeting the longstanding UN target of 0.7% of GNI.
[As measured in ]official development assistance
Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure aid, foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in ...
(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 In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
. The organisational name of
Danish International Development Agency
Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...
(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
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
are known as the
Danish Defence
Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...
( da, Forsvaret). The Minister of Defence is
commander-in-chief of the Danish Defence, and serves as chief
diplomatic
Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...
official abroad. During peacetime, the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
employs around 33,000 in total. The main military branches employ almost 27,000: 15,460 in the
Royal Danish Army
The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...
, 5,300 in the
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Isla ...
and 6,050 in the
Royal Danish Air Force
The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...
(all including conscripts). The
Danish Emergency Management Agency
The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) ( da, Beredskabsstyrelsen) is a Danish governmental agency under the Ministry of Defence. Its principal task is to manage an operational part who work out of six Emergency Management Centres, and adm ...
employs 2,000 (including conscripts), and about 4,000 are in non-branch-specific services like the
Danish Defence Command and the
Danish Defence Intelligence Service
The Danish Defence Intelligence Service, DDIS ( da, Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste, FE), is a Danish intelligence agency, responsible for Denmark’s foreign intelligence, as well as being the Danish military intelligence service. DDIS is an a ...
. Furthermore, around 44,500 serve as volunteers in the
Danish Home Guard
The Danish Home Guard ( da, Hjemmeværnet) (HJV) is the fourth service of the Danish military. It was formerly concerned only with the defence of Danish territory, but since 2008, it has also supported the Danish military efforts in Afghanistan ...
.
Denmark is a long-time supporter of international
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United N ...
, but since the
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
in 1999 and the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
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
NATO SNMCMG1. Danish forces were heavily engaged in the former Yugoslavia in the UN Protection Force (
UNPROFOR
The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav War ...
), with
IFOR
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''.
Background
NATO ...
, and now
SFOR
The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...
. Between 2003 and 2007, there were approximately 450 Danish soldiers in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. Denmark also strongly supported
American operations in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and has contributed both monetarily and materially to the
ISAF
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, command ...
. 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 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
high-income economy
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with " First Worl ...
by the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
. In 2017, it ranked 16th in the world in terms of
gross national income (PPP) per capita and 10th in
nominal GNI per capita.
Denmark's economy stands out as one of the most free in the
Index of Economic Freedom
The ''Index of Economic Freedom'' is an annual index and ranking created in 1995 by The Heritage Foundation and ''The Wall Street Journal'' to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations. The creators of the index claim to tak ...
and the
Economic Freedom of the World
''Economic Freedom of the World'' is an annual survey published by the Canadian think tank Fraser Institute.
; ; The survey attempts to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations. It has been used in peer-reviewed studies som ...
.
It is the 10th most competitive economy in the world, and 6th in Europe, according to the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
in its ''Global Competitiveness Report 2018''.
Denmark has the fourth highest ratio of
tertiary degree holders in the world. The country ranks highest in the world for
workers' rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...
. 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 ...
average, but after taxes and public cash transfers the income inequality is
considerably lower. According to
Eurostat
Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...
, Denmark's
Gini coefficient for disposable income was the 7th-lowest among EU countries in 2017.
According to the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
, Denmark has
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 union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s. For example, as the result of a collective bargaining agreement between the
3F trade union and the employers group
Horesta, workers at
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
and other
fast food chain
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically ...
s make the equivalent of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
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
Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...
and a pension plan. Union density in 2015 was 68%.
Once a predominantly
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
country on account of its
arable landscape, since 1945 Denmark has greatly expanded its
industrial base and
service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
. By 2017 services contributed circa 75% of GDP, manufacturing about 15% and agriculture less than 2%. Major industries include
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s,
pharmaceuticals
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...
,
medical equipment
A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...
,
machinery
A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecule ...
and transportation equipment,
food processing
Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex industr ...
, and
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
.
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
In international economics, the balance of payments (also known as balance of international payments and abbreviated BOP or BoP) of a country is the difference between all money flowing into the country in a particular period of time (e.g., a ...
surplus which has transformed the country from a net debitor to a net creditor country. By 1 July 2018, the
net international investment position __FORCETOC__
The net international investment position (NIIP) is the difference in the external financial assets and liabilities of a country. External debt of a country includes government debt and private debt. External assets publicly and privat ...
(or
net foreign assets In economics, the concept of net foreign assets relates to balance of payments identity.
The net foreign asset (NFA) position of a country is the value of the assets that country owns abroad, minus the value of the domestic assets owned by foreigne ...
) 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
Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
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
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
and
pigs
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...
) and could increase their exports of
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
and meat of which the prices were more stable. Today, Denmark is part of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
'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
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
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
pegged at approximately 7.46 kroner per euro through the
ERM II. Although a
September 2000 referendum rejected adopting the
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
,
the country follows the policies set forth in the
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
The economic and monetary union (EMU) of the European Union is a group of policies aimed at converging the economies of member states of the European Union at three stages.
There are three stages of the EMU, each of which consists of progr ...
(EMU) and meets the economic
convergence criteria
The euro convergence criteria (also known as the Maastricht criteria) are the criteria which European Union member states are required to meet to enter the third stage of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, Economic and Monet ...
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
Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU Institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout i ...
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
Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries, and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder ...
(pharmaceuticals),
ISS A/S
ISS A/S (International Service System) is a facility management services company founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1901. ISS's core services include: security, cleaning, technical, food and workplace. The ISS Group’s revenue amounted to DKK 69.8 ...
(facility services),
Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines that was founded in 1945. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Romania, the Uni ...
(
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s),
Arla Foods
, industry = Dairy
, predecessor = ArlaMD Foods
, founded =
, founder =
, location_city = Viby
, location_country = Denmark
, area_served = Worldwide
, key_people = Peder Tub ...
(dairy),
DSV (transport),
Carlsberg Group
Carlsberg A/S (; ) is a Danish multinational brewer. Founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the company's headquarters is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. T ...
(beer),
Salling Group
Salling Group A/S (until 1 June 2018 Dansk Supermarked A/S) is Denmark's largest retailer, with a market share of 34.9%. It owns several chains of stores - Netto, Føtex, Bilka and Salling. All of these chains operate exclusively in Denmark exce ...
(retail),
Ørsted A/S (power),
Danske Bank
Danske Bank A/S is a Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation. Headquartered in Copenhagen, it is the largest bank in Denmark and a major retail bank in the northern European region with over 5 million retail customers. ...
.
Public policy
Danes enjoy a high standard of living and the Danish economy is characterised by extensive government
welfare provisions. Denmark has a
corporate tax
A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed at ...
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
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...
, 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
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, 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 ...
, 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
The Nordic model comprises the economic and social policies as well as typical cultural practices common to the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). This includes a comprehensive welfare state and multi-level coll ...
, which combines
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
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
Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...
.
As a result of its acclaimed "flexicurity" model, Denmark has the freest
labour market in Europe, according to the World Bank. Employers can hire and fire whenever they want (flexibility), and between jobs,
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...
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
Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployment, unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are fun ...
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
The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transfo ...
. In current times, Denmark is participating in many high-profile international science and technology projects, including
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
,
ITER
ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy by replicating, on Earth ...
,
ESA
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
,
ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
and
E-ELT
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory currently under construction. When completed, it is planned to be the world's largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observatory ...
. Denmark was ranked 10th in the
Global Innovation Index
The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a British maga ...
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
The Triple E class is a family of very large container ships with a capacity of more than 18,000 TEUs, which are owned and operated by Maersk Line.
With a length of , when they were built they were the largest container ships in the world, but ...
, and Danish engineers have contributed to the design of
MAN Diesel
MAN Diesel SE was a German manufacturer of large-bore diesel engines for marine propulsion systems and power plant applications. In 2010 it was merged with MAN Turbo to form MAN Diesel & Turbo.
History
* In 1980, MAN acquired the Burmeister & Wa ...
engines. In the software and electronic field, Denmark contributed to design and manufacturing of
Nordic Mobile Telephone
NMT (''Nordic Mobile Telephony'') is an automatic cellular phone system specified by Nordic telecommunications administrations ( PTTs) and opened for service on 1 October 1981. NMT is based on analogue technology (first generation or 1G) and ...
s, and the now-defunct Danish company
DanCall was among the first to develop
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
mobile phones.
Life science
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy t ...
is a key sector with extensive research and development activities. Danish engineers are world-leading in providing
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
care equipment and medication products from Novo Nordisk and, since 2000, the Danish
biotech
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
company
Novozymes
Novozymes A/S is a global biotechnology company headquartered in Bagsværd outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. The company's focus is the research, development and production of industrial enzymes, microorganisms, and biopharmaceutical ingredients.
...
, the world market leader in enzymes for first generation starch-based
bioethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
, has pioneered development of enzymes for converting waste to
cellulosic ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a ...
. ''
Medicon Valley
Medicon Valley is a leading international life-sciences cluster in Europe, spanning the Greater Copenhagen region of eastern Denmark and southern Sweden. It is one of Europe's strongest life science clusters, with many life science companies and ...
'', spanning the
Øresund Region
The Øresund Region ( da, Øresundsregionen ; sv, Öresundsregionen ), also known as Greater Copenhagen for marketing purposes, is a metropolitan region that comprises eastern Denmark and Skåne in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresund ...
between Zealand and Sweden, is one of Europe's largest life science
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
Anders Hejlsberg (, born 2 December 1960) is a Danish software engineer who co-designed several programming languages and development tools. He was the original author of Turbo Pascal and the chief architect of Delphi. He currently works for Mic ...
(
Turbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal is a software development system that includes a compiler and an integrated development environment (IDE) for the Pascal (programming language), Pascal programming language running on CP/M, CP/M-86, and DOS. It was originally develo ...
,
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
,
C#);
Rasmus Lerdorf
Rasmus Lerdorf (born 22 November 1968) is a Danish-Canadian programmer. He co-authored and inspired the PHP scripting language, authoring the first two versions of the language and participating in the development of later versions led by a grou ...
(
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group ...
);
Bjarne Stroustrup
Bjarne Stroustrup (; ; born 30 December 1950) is a Danish computer scientist, most notable for the invention and development of the C++ programming language. As of July 2022, Stroustrup is a professor of Computer Science at Columbia University. ...
(
C++
C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...
);
David Heinemeier Hansson
David Heinemeier Hansson is a Denmark, Danish programmer, and the creator of the popular Ruby on Rails web development Software framework, framework and the Instiki, Instiki wiki. He is also a partner at the web-based software development firm B ...
(
Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails (simplified as Rails) is a server-side web application framework written in Ruby under the MIT License. Rails is a model–view–controller (MVC) framework, providing default structures for a database, a web service, and web p ...
);
Lars Bak
Lars Ytting Bak (born 16 January 1980) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the Fakta, , , , and squads. From 2022, Bak will act as team manager for UCI Women's WorldTeam .
Ba ...
, a pioneer in virtual machines (
V8,
Java VM
A Java virtual machine (JVM) is a virtual machine that enables a computer to run Java programs as well as programs written in other languages that are also compiled to Java bytecode. The JVM is detailed by a specification that formally describe ...
,
Dart
Dart or DART may refer to:
* Dart, the equipment in the game of darts
Arts, entertainment and media
* Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero
* Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe''
* Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character
* Dar ...
). Physicist
Lene Vestergaard Hau
Lene Vestergaard Hau (; born November 13, 1959) is a Danish physicist and educator. She is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics at Harvard University.
In 1999, she led a Harvard University team who, by use of a Bose–E ...
is the first person to stop light, leading to advances in
quantum computing
Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...
,
nanoscale engineering, and
linear optics
Linear optics is a sub-field of optics, consisting of linear systems, and is the opposite of nonlinear optics. Linear optics includes most applications of lenses, mirrors, waveplates, diffraction gratings, and many other common optical components a ...
.
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
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and ranks as number 32 in the world among net exporters of
crude oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
and was producing 259,980 barrels of crude oil a day in 2009. Denmark is a long-time leader in
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
: In 2015
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s 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
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
to other European countries.
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 (
V2G
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G), also known as Vehicle-to-home (V2H) or Vehicle-to-load (V2L) describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) sell demand response services to the grid. Demand services are either delivering electricity or by red ...
) and
plug-in vehicles in the transport sector. The country is a member nation of the
International Renewable Energy Agency
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organis ...
(IRENA).
Denmark exported roughly 460 million
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
The Great Belt Bridge ( da, Storebæltsbroen) or Great Belt fixed link ( da, Storebæltsforbindelsen) is a multi-element fixed link crossing the Great Belt strait between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It consists of a road suspension ...
, 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 o ...
. It is now possible to drive from
Frederikshavn
Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand.
The town h ...
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 a ...
on eastern Zealand without leaving the motorway. The main railway operator is
DSB DSB may refer to:
Science, technology and devices
* DsbA, a bacterial member of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes
* Double strand break, a break in both DNA strands, part of DNA repair
* in telecommunications, double-sideband transmission ...
for passenger services and
DB Cargo
DB Cargo (previously known as Railion and DB Schenker Rail) is an international transport and logistics company. It is responsible for all of the rail freight transport activities of the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (the DB Group) both ...
for freight trains. The railway tracks are maintained by
Banedanmark
Banedanmark (; previously Banestyrelsen) is a Denmark, Danish company that is responsible for the maintenance and traffic control on all of the state owned Rail transport in Denmark, Danish railway network.
History
In 1997, Banedanmark came into ...
. The North Sea and the Baltic Sea are intertwined by various, international ferry links. Construction of the
Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link
The Fehmarn Belt fixed link ( da, Femern Bælt-forbindelsen, german: Fehmarnbelt-Querung) or Fehmarn Belt tunnel is an under-construction immersed tunnel, which will connect the Danish island of Lolland with the German island of Fehmarn, cros ...
, connecting Denmark and Germany with a second link, Started in 2021. Copenhagen has a
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
system, the
Copenhagen Metro
The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...
, and an extensive electrified suburban railway network, the
S-train
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
. 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 a ...
,
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...
,
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...
,
Aalborg
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
–
light rail systems are planned to be in operation around 2020.
Cycling in Denmark
Cycling in Denmark is both a common and popular recreational and utilitarian activity. Bicycling infrastructure is a dominant feature of both city and countryside infrastructure with segregated dedicated bicycle paths and lanes in many places and ...
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 dedicated bicycle paths and lanes, Denmark has a solid
bicycle infrastructure
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...
.
Private vehicles are increasingly used as a means of transport. Because of the
high registration tax (150%),
VAT
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
(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 group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
s, 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 ...
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 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
Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU Institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout i ...
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 ...
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 S ...
n neighbours
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...
. 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 ...
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 ...
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
Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...
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
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* Busck, Steen and Poulsen, Henning (ed.), "Danmarks historie – i grundtræk", Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2002,
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* 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''.
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Denmark profilefrom the BBC News.
Key Development Forecasts for Denmarkfrom International Futures.
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