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Location: Northern Europe, bordering the
Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 10 00 E Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts Land boundaries: total: 68 km Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
Country name: Government type: constitutional monarchy National capital: Copenhagen Independence: 10th century first organized as a unified state; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940) Constitution: 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Economy - overview: This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food. The center-left coalition government will concentrate on reducing the persistently high unemployment rate and the budget deficit as well as following the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a current account surplus. The coalition also vows to maintain a stable currency. The coalition has lowered marginal income taxes while maintaining overall tax revenues; boosted industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms and increased research and development funds; and improved welfare services for the neediest while cutting paperwork and delays. Prime Minister RASMUSSEN's reforms focus on adapting Denmark to the criteria for European integration by 1999; Copenhagen has won from the European Union (EU) the right to opt out of the European Monetary Union (EMU). Denmark is, in fact, one of the few EU countries likely to fit into the EMU on time. GDP - composition by sector: Inflation rate - consumer price index: 2.1% (1996 est.) Labor force: Unemployment rate: 8.2% (November 1996) Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; meat, dairy products; fish Debt - external: $44 billion (1996 est.) Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 6.117 (January 1997), 5.799 (1996), 5.602 (1995), 6.361 (1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992) |
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Population: 5,305,048 (July 1997 est.) Population growth rate: 0.59% (1997 est.) Infant mortality rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.) Life expectancy at birth: Nationality: noun: Dane(s) adjective: Danish Ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 91%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 2%, other 7% (1988) Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect), German (small minority) Literacy: Terrain: low and flat to gently rolling plains Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand Land use: Natural hazards: 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 Environment - current issues: 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 Learn more about Denmark
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