Facts about Denmark
Denmark borders Sweden to the east and Germany to the south. The Øresund Bridge connects the largest Danish island, Zealand, to Sweden, while the peninsula of Jutland connects it to Germany. The third-largest island, Funen, is connected to Zealand by the Great Belt Bridge and to Jutland by the Little Belt Bridge.
Politics in Denmark
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. Queen Margrethe II has no real political power, and the parliament, Folketinget, is the nation’s supreme authority. Denmark is a member of the EU but has retained the krone as its currency. It is also a member of NATO.
- National day: 5 June (Constitution Day, 5 June 1849)
- Form of government: Constitutional monarchy
- Parliament: Folketinget (179 members)
- EU membership: Since 1 January 1973
- NATO membership: Since 4 April 1949
- Head of state: Queen Margrethe II
- Head of government (since June 2019): Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrat)
The population of Denmark
With a population of around 5.8 million, Denmark is the most densely populated country in the Region. Roughly 1.3 million people live in and around the capital city, Copenhagen.
- Population in 2020: 5,822,763
- Population of the capital in 2016: 1,295,686 (Greater Copenhagen, including suburbs) (1)
Population trend
The Danish economy
The most important sources of revenue in Denmark are oil and other forms of energy, the medical industry, agricultural produce, shipping and IT services.
- GDP per capita: €39,700 (2018).
- Currency: Danish krone (DKK)
The geography of Denmark
Denmark is the smallest of the five nations in the Nordic Region, with a total land mass approximately the same size as Finnmark County in Norway. On the other hand, Denmark has plenty of good arable land, and makes the most of this natural resource.
- Total area: 43,561 km2
- Land mass: 42,962 km2
- Arable land, market gardens and orchards: 25,329 km2
- Forests and plantations: 5,294 km2
- Lakes and rivers: 671 km2
- Largest lake: Arresø - 39.5 km km2
- Highest point: Yding Skovhøj - 172.5 m
- Coastline: 7,314 km
The climate and environment in Denmark
Denmark has a temperate climate, with frost and occasional snow in the winter. The average temperature is around 16°C in the summer and 0.5°C in the winter. Precipitation is at its highest in September, October and November and lowest in February and April.
- Average temperature Copenhagen (2018): 10.4°C (max. 33.1°C, min. -9.8°C)
- Mean precipitation (1961-1990): 712 mm
- Precipitation in Copenhagen (2006): 823 mm
Average temperature in Denmark
Degrees Celsius
Danish
The official language in Denmark is Danish, which belongs to the North Germanic language group along with Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian and Swedish. It uses the Latin alphabet with the additional letters æ, ø and å.
- Official website: www.denmark.dk
- Official language: Danish
Are you interested in moving to Denmark?
If you are interested in moving to Denmark, contact Info Norden, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ information service.
Do you want to know more about Denmark and the other Nordic countries?
The biennial report State of the Nordic Region provides a comprehensive and unique insight into the Nordic countries, drawing on statistical data on demographics, the labour market, education and the economy in the Region.
Would you like more statistics?
We have collated relevant Nordic data and statistics in the Nordic Statistics database. It covers multiple subject areas and all of the Nordic countries.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
1) Greater Copenhagen consists of the areas covered by the local councils in Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Albertslund, Brøndby, Gentofte, Gladsaxe, Glostrup, Herlev, Hvidovre, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Rødovre, Tårnby and Vallensbæk as well as the built-up parts of Ballerup, Rudersdal, Furesø, Ishøj By and Greve Strand.
