Queen: Margrethe II Prime Minister: Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Population
313,847,465
5,543,453
Life Expectancy
78.490 years
78.780 years
Capital City
Washington, DC
Copenhagen
Largest city
New York City (population: 8,008,280)
Copenhagen (population: 1,153,620)
Human Development Index
0.95
0.952
GDP per capita
$49,000 US
$37,600 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
9.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.6%
38%
Wealthiest Citizens
William Gates III ($40.0bn US)
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen ($2.1bn US)
Unemployment Rate
9.000%
6.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
constitutional monarchy
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy
Religions
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.)
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Christian (includes Protestant and Roman Catholic) 3%, Muslim 2%
Languages
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
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language
machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, pharmaceuticals, furniture, windmills
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$626,900,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
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
4.060%
1.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
7
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
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
9,826,675 km sq
43,094 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
7,314 km
Climate
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
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers