Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Independence date
first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
Religions
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Languages
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
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)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.300%
4.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
7
110
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)
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Area
43,094 km sq
9,826,675 km sq
Coastline
7,314 km
19,924 km
Climate
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
