Queen: Margrethe II Prime Minister: Helle Thorning-Schmidt
President: Nursultan Nazarbayev
Population
5,543,453
17,522,010
Life Expectancy
78.780 years
69.630 years
Capital City
Copenhagen
Astana
Largest city
Copenhagen (population: 1,153,620)
Almaty (population: 2,000,900)
Human Development Index
0.952
0.807
GDP per capita
$37,600 US
$13,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99.5%
Corruption Perception Index
9.3
2.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
38%
12.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen ($2.1bn US)
Alijan Ibragimov ($1.2bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.000%
5.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
NA
Political System
constitutional monarchy
republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Independence date
first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy
16 December 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%
Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Languages
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language
Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Exports
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, pharmaceuticals, furniture, windmills
Danish kroner (DKK) per US dollar - 5.0236 (2008 est.), 5.4797 (2007), 5.9468 (2006), 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004)
tenge (KZT) per US dollar - 120.25 (2008 est.), 122.55 (2007), 126.09 (2006), 132.88 (2005), 136.04 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.300%
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
7
13
Location
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)
Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe
Area
43,094 km sq
2,724,900 km sq
Coastline
7,314 km
0 km
Climate
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
