Denmark is a country in Northern Europe. The country has 5.8 million inhabitants and the capital is København (Copenhagen). The country is about 15% larger than the Netherlands. Denmark is often considered part of Scandinavia.

Geography

The Great Belt Bridge (E20) between Sjælland and Fyn.

According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER, Denmark consists of the large peninsula of Jylland (Jutland), and the larger islands of Sjælland (Zeeland), Fyn (Funen), and Vendsyssel. Smaller islands are Lolland, Falster, Langeland and Bornholm, the latter is located 150 kilometers east of the rest of Denmark in the Baltic Sea. The country is characterized by a long coastline, it only has a land border with Germany, although the distance to Sweden is no more than a few kilometers across the Øresund. To the west of Denmark is the North Sea, to the north is the Skagerrak and to the east is the Kattegat. The Skagerrak separates Denmark from Norway, the distance between the two countries is at least 115 kilometers. The northernmost Wadden Islands are also located along the southwest coast of Jutland. The Storebælt (Great Belt) separates Sjælland from Fyn and the Lillebælt (Small Belt) separates Fyn from Jylland. The Femern Bælt (Fehmarnbelt) separates Denmark from the German island of Fehmarn.

Denmark is mainly gently sloping without major differences in height. The highest point is the 171 meter high Møllehøj, the 147 meter high Himmelbjerg is more famous. The landscape of Denmark is relatively varied due to the slopes. The landscape also consists mainly of meadows, with scattered small forest areas. Larger areas of forest are mainly found in the middle of Jylland (Jutland) and the northeast of Sjælland (Zeeland). Denmark has no significant rivers. Coves are sometimes called fjords, but they do not have the character of the fjords in Norway. The Limfjord separates Jylland (Jutland) with Vendsyssel. The strait is so narrow that Vendsyssel is often simply seen as part of Jylland. Waters also referred to as fjord are Horsensfjord, Vejlefjord, Ringkøbingsfjord, Koldingfjord, Flensborgfjord, Isefjord and Roskildefjord. The coast of Denmark consists partly of sandy beaches, especially along the west coast north of Esbjerg and the coast south of København (Copenhagen).

The Kingdom of Denmark also includes the much larger Greenland, which makes up 98 percent of the kingdom’s land area, and the Faroe Islands, an archipelago north of Scotland and west of Norway. Greenland and the Faroe Islands have a great deal of autonomy within the kingdom and are also not part of the European Union.

Economy

Denmark is one of the most highly developed countries in the world, with a high income and low income disparities. The economy mainly consists of the service sector. Agriculture is prominent in the Danish landscape, but accounts for only a marginal share of the Danish economy. Industry is still a relatively important pillar, especially shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals and the construction sector. Well-known Danish brands and companies include transport companies Møller-Mærsk and DSV, facilities company ISS, agricultural producer Arla Foods, brewery Carlsberg, energy company DONG Energy, wind turbine manufacturer Vestas and toy manufacturer Lego.

Demographics

Denmark is relatively densely populated, especially eastern Sjælland, the Hovedstaden (capital) region around København (Copenhagen). See Denmark population density. In addition, Denmark has only a few cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, such as Aarhus, Odense and Aalborg. Of regional importance are Kolding, Roskilde, Randers, Esbjerg and Silkeborg. There are 9 cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

About twelve percent of the inhabitants are immigrants or descendants, 88 percent are ethnic Danish. The national language is Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese are also spoken in the respective areas. German is a minority language in southern Jylland (Jutland). Danish is very similar in written language to Norwegian (bokmål) but differs more in pronunciation, it is often stated that Danes understand Norwegian and Swedish better than Norwegians and Swedes understand Danish. English is widely spoken as a second language, about half of Danes also speak German.

History

A Danish union emerged as a kingdom in the 8th century, and Danish monarchs ruled the Kalmar union from 1397, which included Sweden and Norway. Sweden seceded in 1523, after which Denmark and Norway formed a union for centuries until 1814. From this union, Denmark inherited Greenland and the Faroe Islands. After the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 at the end of the First World War, Denmark received the northern part of Schleswig, which became Jylland (Jutland). Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945, the occupation of Denmark is said to be one of the most peaceful during World War II, with an invasion that met little resistance and limited resistance during the occupation. Denmark was not liberated by the Allies through a military campaign, the war ended in Denmark through the German capitulation. In 1945-1946, the island of Bornholm was occupied by the Soviet Union for about a year. In 1948, the Faroe Islands gained self-government, followed by Greenland in 1979. In 1949, Denmark was a founding member of NATO and in 1973 it became a member of the predecessor of the European Union.