Queen: Margrethe II Prime Minister: Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Population
199,321,413
5,543,453
Life Expectancy
72.790 years
78.780 years
Capital City
Brasilia
Copenhagen
Largest city
Sao Paulo (population: 10,021,300)
Copenhagen (population: 1,153,620)
Human Development Index
0.807
0.952
GDP per capita
$11,900 US
$37,600 US
Literacy Rate
88.6%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
3.5
9.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
9.4%
38%
Wealthiest Citizens
Eike Batista ($7.5bn US)
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen ($2.1bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.000%
6.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished except for special circumstances
Abolished
Political System
federal republic
constitutional monarchy
Independence date
7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy
Religions
Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%
Languages
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note - less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language
Exports
transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, pharmaceuticals, furniture, windmills
External Debt
$397,500,000,000 $
$626,900,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
reals (BRL) per US dollar - 1.8644 (2008 est.), 1.85 (2007 est.), 2.1761 (2006), 2.4344 (2005), 2.9251 (2004)
Danish kroner (DKK) per US dollar - 5.0236 (2008 est.), 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.700%
1.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
15
7
Location
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn)
Area
8,514,877 km sq
43,094 km sq
Coastline
7,491 km
7,314 km
Climate
mostly tropical, but temperate in south
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
