Background:
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| Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs. |
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Location:
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| Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn)
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Geographic coordinates:
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56 00 N, 10 00 E
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 43,094 sq km
country comparison to the world: 140
land:
42,434 sq km
water:
660 sq km
note:
includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts
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Land boundaries:
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total: 68 km
border countries:
Germany 68 km
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Coastline:
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7,314 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone:
24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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Climate:
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temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
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Terrain:
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low and flat to gently rolling plains
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point:
Yding Skovhoej 173 m
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Natural resources:
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petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand
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Land use:
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arable land: 52.59%
permanent crops:
0.19%
other:
47.22% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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4,490 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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6.1 cu km (2003)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 0.67 cu km/yr (32%/26%/42%)
per capita:
123 cu m/yr (2002)
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Natural hazards:
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flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes
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Environment - current issues:
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air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
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Population:
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| 5,500,510 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 18.1% (male 511,882/female 485,782)
15-64 years:
65.8% (male 1,817,800/female 1,798,964)
65 years and over:
16.1% (male 387,142/female 498,940) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 40.5 years
male:
39.6 years
female:
41.3 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.28% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 174
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Birth rate:
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10.54 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184
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Death rate:
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10.22 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 60
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Net migration rate:
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2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 33
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 87% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
0.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.78 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 203
male:
4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
4.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 78.3 years
country comparison to the world: 46
male:
75.96 years
female:
80.78 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.74 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 165
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.2% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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4,800 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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fewer than 100 (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129
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Nationality:
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noun: Dane(s)
adjective:
Danish
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Ethnic groups:
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Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
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Religions:
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Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%
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Languages:
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Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note:
English is the predominant second language
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
99%
male:
99%
female:
99% (2003 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 17 years
male:
16 years
female:
17 years (2006)
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Education expenditures:
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8.3% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 12
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