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Facts about Denmark

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A Few Facts about Denmark
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Population
5,511,451 (2010)
Area
43.098 square kilometers
Population density
126,4 pr. square kilometer
Geographic region
Scandinavia
Gross domestic product
DKK 1.658 billion (2009)
GDP pr. inhabitant
300.241 DKK (2009)
Capital
Copenhagen 1.167.569 (2010)
Other major cities
Arhus 237.551, Odense 158.163, Aalborg 100.873 (2010)
Form of state
Constitutional monarchy
Government
Coalition of the Liberals and the Conservatives, headed by the Liberals
Head of state
Queen Margrethe II (since 14 January 1972)
Head of government
Lars Locke Rasmussen (since 5. April 2009)
Ethnic distribution
90.9% Danes. Immigrants and their descendants constitute about 9.1 per cent of the population.(2009)
Life expectancy
Women 80,5 years, men 76,0 (2009)
Language
Danish (most Danes understand and speak English)
Religion
90% Protestant
Member of:
UN, OECD, EU, NATO, Schengen, OSCE, IMF, WTO and others
Flag
Red with a white cross
Great Danes – past
Søren Kierkegaard, Hans Christian Ørsted, Karen Blixen, Niels Bohr, August Bournonville, Hans Christian Andersen, Carl Nielsen, Georg Jensen, Jørn Utzon and Arne Jacobsen
Great Danes – present
Isabell Kristensen, Thomas Vinterberg, Lars von Trier, The Laudrup brothers, Connie Nielsen and Viggo Mortensen
Historical facts
About Copenhagen: There is evidence that Copenhagen existed as a settlement more than 6,000 years ago but the first written record did not appear until 1043. At that time Copenhagen (then simply called Havn or Harbour) was little more than a small group of wattle and daub huts, but gradually it began to grow in significance because of the rich fishing possibilities in Øresund (herring) and its en route position between the royal seat in Roskilde – west of Copenhagen – and the religious centre of the Cathedral of Lund in southern Sweden, at that time also part of Denmark. The city father is said to be Bishop Absalon (1128-1201). By the time of his death, the warrior bishop had transformed Havn into a vital military post whose stone fortress served as a base for the destruction of the Wendish pirates.
Education
The Danish educational system is made up of a primary and lower secondary comprehensive school, various upper secondary and vocational education courses and a wide range of higher educational programs, as well as adult and open education.
Education is compulsory for nine years from the age of 6 or 7 to 15 years. Most children also attend a voluntary pre-school class. Having finished their compulsory basic education, pupils may either attend the voluntary tenth form of the “Folkeskole” or continue their education at upper secondary level.
General upper secondary education comprises the three-year general upper secondary courses at the “Gymnasium” (upper secondary school), the two-year higher preparatory examination course (HF), as well as two- or three-year adult upper secondary level courses. These are all academically oriented courses qualifying students for higher education.
University Sector
Offers both undergraduate and post-graduate courses up to the highest academic level, including doctorates. All teaching at these institutions must be research-based: this is a fundamental principle for all universities in order to ensure high standards in all programs.
A university course normally consists of a three-year Bachelor’s degree course, followed by a two-year course leading to a Master’s degree (the “kandidatgrad”). The Danish Bachelor’s degree is considered to be at the same academic level as the Bachelor’s degree in most English-speaking countries. Most students are around 20 years old when they begin their higher education.
Three years of supervised postgraduate studies after the Master’s degree lead to a Ph.D. degree.
 
Industries
Food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, windmills
Internet extension
.dk
Landscape
The Danish countryside is rather flat. The highest natural surface point (Møllehøj) is 170.86 meters above sea level and granite cliffs can be found only on the island of Bornholm. The countryside is characterized by agricultural land, with numerous cultivated areas, woods, forests and streams. About 65% of the country is agricultural, 11% is woodland and the rest - 23% - are towns, roads and lakes.
Monarchy
The Danish Monarchy is Europe’s oldest. The first known members of the Danish Royal family, Gorm the Old and Tyra, are known to have lived in approximately the middle of the 10th century, and the Danish monarchy has continued in a direct line for more than 1,000 years without revolutions. Harald, also known as Harald Bluetooth, succeeded his father, Gorm, as king. The Danish monarchical line, stretching from Gorm the Old to the current reign of Queen Margrethe II, comprises 54 names.
Natural resources
Petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand.
Parliament
Denmark has a single chamber parliamentary system. Folketinget (the parliament) has 179 members, including 2 elected from the Faroe Islands and 2 from Greenland. Christiansborg Palace, in the city of Copenhagen, is the seat of the Parliament. Members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation. Direct, regular elections every fourth year (except at loss of majority).
Telephone country code:
From most countries you dial 0045 though there are some exceptions, for example. from the US you dial 011 45.
Time zone
CET (Central European Time)
Voting Age
The voting age in Denmark is 18 years, and elections are decided by proportional representation with a 2 percent minimum. With a close to 90% turn-out, Denmark can boast high participation in partilamentary elections.
For further information on Denmark and the Danes, please see these sections in TimeOut:

Last updated by CBS International Webmaster 08/06/2010