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 EU’s Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union, and justice and home affairs issues.
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
border countries: Germany 140 km; Canada 1.3 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
mean elevation: 34 m
arable land: 58.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 4.4% (2018 est.)
forest: 12.9% (2018 est.)
other: 23.7% (2018 est.)
5,946,984 (2023 est.)
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish
Danish (includes Greenlandic (who are predominantly Inuit) and Faroese) 85.6%, Turkish 1.1%, other 13.3% (largest groups are Polish, Syrian, Romanian, German, and Iraqi) (2022 est.)
note: data represent population by ancestry
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority); note - English is the predominant second language
major-language sample(s):
Verdens Faktabog, den uundværlig kilde til grundlæggende oplysninger. (Danish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Evangelical Lutheran (official) 74.7%, Muslim 5.5%, other/none/unspecified (denominations of less than 1% each in descending order of size include Roman Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness, Serbian Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Baptist, Buddhist, Church of Jesus Christ, Pentecostal, and nondenominational Christian) 19.8% (2019 est.)
Modern immigration to Denmark began in the 1960s and 1970s, although immigration, primarily from the Nordic countries and Western Europe, has earlier roots. Dutch migrants came in the 16th century and Germans in the 18th, in both cases to work in agriculture. Between the late 19th century and World War I, Denmark absorbed unskilled Polish, German, and Swedish labor migrants in significant numbers, sometimes at the request of the Danish Government. Between the two World Wars, Denmark received many Eastern European, Jewish, and German migrants. It wasn’t until after World War II, that refugees began seeking sanctuary in Demark, including a large number of German refugees and later Hungarians, Czechs, and Polish Jews. Denmark also imported foreign labor during the 1960s, mainly from Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, and Pakistan. Although the “guest worker” program was halted in 1973, immigrants continued to arrive to be reunited with family members who were already in Denmark as refugees or as guest workers. Non-European refugees came from Chile, Uganda, and Vietnam. In the 1990s, Denmark began receiving migrants and refugees from new places, including Russia, Hungary, Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. Despite raising more restrictions on immigration, in the 2000s, Denmark continued to receive asylum seekers, particularly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia, as well as labor migrants from new EU member states.In more recent years, Denmark has severely limited its refugee intake, aiming to accept as few refugees outside of the UN resettlement program as possible. In the mid-2010s, Denmark passed legislation enabling it to withdraw temporary protective status as soon as conditions in the home country, as determined by Denmark, have improved. This policy has lead Denmark, to deem Damascus and other areas in Syria safe for return, making it the only country in Europe to do so. Consequently, some Syrian refugees have had their residency status revoked, and they are detained in deportation centers because Denmark does not have diplomatic relations with Syria and, therefore, cannot send them back. Copenhagen hopes its stricter policies will discourage asylum seekers, particularly those from non-Western countries.
0-14 years: 16.24% (male 495,887/female 469,976)
15-64 years: 63.13% (male 1,900,182/female 1,854,222)
65 years and over: 20.63% (2023 est.) (male 566,363/female 660,354)
total dependency ratio: 57.3
youth dependency ratio: 25.4
elderly dependency ratio: 31.9
potential support ratio: 3.1 (2021 est.)
total: 42.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 41 years
female: 43.3 years
0.44% (2023 est.)
11.3 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
2.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
with excellent access to the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, and the Baltic Sea, population centers tend to be along coastal areas, particularly in Copenhagen and the eastern side of the country’s mainland
urban population: 88.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.54% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.381 million COPENHAGEN (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
29.8 years (2020 est.)
5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 3 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 81.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 80 years
female: 83.9 years
1.77 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.86 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
10.5% of GDP (2020)
4.23 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
2.6 beds/1,000 population (2019)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
19.7% (2016)
total: 9.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 4.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 1.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 17.5% (2020 est.)
male: 17.8% (2020 est.)
female: 17.1% (2020 est.)
NA
59.6% (2023 est.)
women married by age 18: 0.7% (2021 est.)
6.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
total: 19 years
male: 18 years
female: 19 years (2020)
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; much of country’s household and industrial waste is recycled
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protection
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
agricultural land: 63.4% (2018 est.)
arable land: 58.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 4.4% (2018 est.)
forest: 12.9% (2018 est.)
other: 23.7% (2018 est.)
urban population: 88.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.54% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 9.66 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 31.79 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 6.54 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 4.485 million tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 1,223,060 tons (2015 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 27.3% (2015 est.)
municipal: 400 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 530 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
6 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
diversified EU trade-based economy; environmental regulatory innovator; dominant services sector; increased government spending but retaining budget surpluses; currently high inflation; unique “flexicurity” labor market
$352.436 billion (2022 est.)
$339.472 billion (2021 est.)
$323.751 billion (2020 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
3.8% (2022 est.)
4.86% (2021 est.)
-1.99% (2020 est.)
$59,700 (2022 est.)
$58,000 (2021 est.)
$55,500 (2020 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$350.037 billion (2019 est.)
1.85% (2021 est.)
0.42% (2020 est.)
0.76% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: AAA (2003)
Moody’s rating: Aaa (1999)
Standard & Poors rating: AAA (2001)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 1.3% (2017 est.)
industry: 22.9% (2017 est.)
services: 75.8% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 48% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 25.2% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 20% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: -0.2% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 54.5% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -47.5% (2017 est.)
milk, wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, pork, rye, rapeseed, oats, poultry
wind turbines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, shipbuilding and refurbishment, iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products
5.25% (2021 est.)
3.051 million (2021 est.)
4.8% (2021 est.)
5.64% (2020 est.)
5.02% (2019 est.)
total: 10.1% (2021 est.)
male: 9.7%
female: 10.6%
12.5% (2018 est.)
27.7 (2019 est.)
on food: 11.5% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 3.4% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 9%
highest 10%: 23.4% (2016 est.)
revenues: $185.645 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $172.408 billion (2019 est.)
1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
35.3% of GDP (2017 est.)
37.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
34.07% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
$32.465 billion (2021 est.)
$28.952 billion (2020 est.)
$30.55 billion (2019 est.)
$234.262 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$195.729 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$205.019 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 14%, United States 10%, Sweden 10%, China 6%, Norway 5% (2021)
packaged medicines, pork, refined petroleum, electric generators, cheese (2021)
$208.121 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$172.868 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$179.356 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 21%, Sweden 12%, China 9%, Netherlands 8%, Poland 4% (2021)
cars, packaged medicines, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, computers (2021)
$82.236 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$72.823 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$66.836 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$504.808 billion (2019 est.)
$517.972 billion (2018 est.)
Danish kroner (DKK) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
6.287 (2021 est.)
6.542 (2020 est.)
6.669 (2019 est.)
6.315 (2018 est.)
6.603 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 17.655 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 33.081 billion kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 12.694 billion kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 18.891 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 1.573 billion kWh (2020 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 14.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 4.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 57.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 23.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 1.249 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 194,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 1.122 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 69,000 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 165,400 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 56,700 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 95,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 441 million barrels (2021 est.)
183,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
133,700 bbl/day (2017 est.)
109,700 bbl/day (2017 est.)
production: 1.315 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 2.188 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 1.701 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
imports: 2.646 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 29.534 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
33.85 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 3.455 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 24.621 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 5.775 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
124.163 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 10 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 76
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 582,011 (2015)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: mt-km
OY
80 (2021)
28
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
52
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
1,536 km gas, 330 km oil (2015)
total: 2,682 km (2020) 876 km electrified
total: 74,558 km (2017)
paved: 74,558 km (2017) (includes 1,205 km of expressways)
400 km (2010)
total: 731 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 13, container ship 137, general cargo 70, oil tanker 118, other 393
major seaport(s): Baltic Sea - Aarhus, Copenhagen, Fredericia, Kalundborg
cruise port(s): Copenhagen
river port(s): Aalborg (Langerak)
dry bulk cargo port(s): Ensted (coal)
North Sea - Esbjerg,
Denmark operates icebreakers in the Baltic Sea and Danish Straits; currently operating three PC 5 or 6 class light icebreakers
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)
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