Factsheet Denmark

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Maps of the world can be drawn in severalways. Generally, area measurement is usedand, represented in this way, the king-dom of Denmark - excluding the FaroeIslands and Greenland - with its 43,098square kilometres is smaller than many ofthe individual states of the United States.

However, if measured by the share ofthe annual product spent on developmentassistance, Denmark is placed very highinternationally. The same applies if theyardstick is the number of Danish policeand military forces sent out on peacemak-ing and peacekeeping missions or the re-sults in a sport such as men’s and women’shandball. Considered from these – albeitunusual – angles, the miniature statemomentarily assumes superpower status.

The Danish modelDenmark is often called the Welfare StateDenmark. Another expression often used isthe Danish Model. What do they mean?

In a way, it all started in the world ofpoetry. The clergyman, author and politi-cian N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783-1872) wrotein a song about Denmark that a countryhas progressed far when ”few have toomuch and fewer too little”. This is precise-ly the formula for the Danish welfarestate. With the taxes as a tool, an equalisa-tion of income is achieved so that every-one has the necessary material frameworkfor living a reasonable life.

As a result, Denmark has less economicinequality than any other OECD country.Moreover, there is a fair amount to share,

for Denmark has found a fine balancebetween, on the one hand, private capital-ism, which allows people with ideas andambition to flourish freely and, on theother, a social safety net, which catchesthose who cannot keep up in the race offree enterprise.

The model means that a third of thetaxes is paid back to the citizens as trans-fer income and that the public sector is so large that it accounts for 32.4% (2008)of all employees, 69.2% of whom are wo-men. Nonetheless, there is no spirit ofrevolt against the tax burden in Denmark,although it was 48.6% in 2008 and thusone of the highest in the world.

The people notice that they are gettingsomething for their money – in addition

MAY 2010

DENMARK - AN OVERVIEW

The Viking Age depicted on a tapestry by theartist Bjørn Nørgaard. Today, a millennium later,the Danes still retain their Viking spirit. Theyhave conquered many of the world’s export mar-kets and their country has become one of theten richest in the world.

to the transfer income, also virtually freeeducation and free medical and hospitalservices. Moreover, the ideological debateabout whether the public sector shouldbecome smaller or larger in relation to theprivate sector has almost disappeared.

Nonetheless, the political parties fearthat the tax burden may tempt the bestpeople to seek jobs abroad. A lower taxpressure is also expected to produce morelabour at a time with shortage of man-power. As a result, a comprehensive taxreform was initiated in 2009.

Flexicurity – a magic formulaWhen foreigners speak about the DanishModel, they are often thinking mainly ofthe Danish labour market, which manysee as having a magic formula. In itself,the situation is indeed curious. Workersand other employees in Denmark enjoygood wages and social benefits. Nonethe-less, Danish companies in many industriesare among the most competitive on theworld market. How is that possible?

The answer contains several elements:● Danish workers are among the most

highly organised in the world – 68%belong to a union. As the employers areequally highly organised, the labour mar-ket enters into agreements without stateinvolvement. It also disciplines itselfthrough a specially developed labour lawsystem. This ensures robust agreements,which moreover cover several years, andfew working days are lost due to conflicts.● A unique and crucial point is thatDanish employers can dismiss employeesat very short notice. This allows the com-panies to adjust to changing market trendswithout suffering losses. Moreover, entre-preneurs are encouraged to try their luck,as they can easily get rid of employees ifthe project fails. If an idea is to be tested,Denmark is therefore the ideal place to doso, as the population also has purchasingpower. The great mobility of labour is alsodemonstrated by the average length ofservice in a job in Denmark, which is just4.8 years – the lowest in OECD. Thoselosing their jobs do not suffer either, as thestate suddenly appear – now with unem-ployment benefit, which is not as much aswages, but enough to live on.● Moreover, the unemployed have a goodchance of finding another job quickly, asDenmark invests heavily in further educa-tion and retraining. The good retrainingopportunities – probably the best in the

world – also mean that industries whichare short of labour or new industries donot have to wait a long time for the neces-sary workers.● The unions are aware of Denmark’sposition as an export nation. Their wagedemands on behalf of the members are rea-sonable, so as not to jeopardise the excep-tional competitiveness of Danish goods.● The employment rate for women isexceptionally high, perhaps the highest inthe world: 74.5% in 2008 as against80.2% for men. In other words, as a ruleboth husband and wife have full-time jobsin Denmark. This enriches the labourmarket with a lot of talent and initiative,which would otherwise have remained inthe kitchen and nursery. Women consti-tute 47.1% of the total workforce. Themassive female employment has becomepossible through the equality of the sexesand the public childcare system whichallows both parents to work a full workingweek of 37 hours without worrying aboutwho will look after their children.● Foreigners who find work in Denmarksay that with this system it is possible to“be a complete person” and “make one’sfamily life cohere”. Denmark is regardedas a good employer. Concepts such asflextime are common. The great adapt-ability of the companies, without affect-ing the employees’ social security, hasbeen nicknamed flexicurity. Foreign dele-gations often visit the country to studythe model.

Denmark’s geographyDenmark is located in Northern Europebetween the North Sea and the Baltic.Denmark also includes the Faroe Islandsand Greenland in the North Atlantic.

The bulk of Denmark is the peninsulaJutland, which juts up from the Europeancontinent and has a border with Germanyof just under 68 km. The rest of the coun-try consists of 406 islands, 78 of which arehabited. This gives Denmark a total coastline of 7,314 km, corresponding to a sixthof the globe’s circumference.

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Kongeriget Danmark - The Kingdom of Denmark

Form of government: Constitutional monarchy

Area: 43,098 sq. km

Population: 5.5m inhabitants

Population density: Approx. 129 inhabitants per sq. km

Average life expectancy: Men 76.3 years, women 80.7 years

Capital: København (Copenhagen), 1,175,411 inhabitants

in the metropolitan area

Major cities: Århus (306,650), Odense (188,777), Aalborg

(199,426)

Language: Danish

Religion: 82.1% belong to the National Lutheran Church

GDP per capita: $62,313 (2008)

Currency: Danish krone (DKK)

The Queen The Royal couple Prince Henrik The Queen private

The borders on pages 2-19 show the Royalmonograms, four Ministry logos and the coats-of-arms of Denmark’s 98 municipalities.

The highest point is 170.68 m abovesea level. No one in Denmark is morethan 50 km from the sea. The climate istemperate coastal climate, January andFebruary are the coldest months with anaverage temperature of 0.0°C and Augustthe warmest with an average temperatureof 15.7°C.

The average wind force across the yearis 7.6 m per second, which helps explainwhy Denmark is the world’s largest ex-porter of wind turbines. 62% of the totalarea is cultivated, the highest percentagein Europe. 55% of the land is used forgrowing corn, 29% for grass, 6% for rootsand 7% for seed.

From superpower to miniature stateThe country has probably been periodi-

cally inhabited for more than 120,000years. The first certain proofs of humanhabitation date from around 12,500 BC.The Stone Age people among other thingslived on oysters and the shells are stillfound in the so-called “køkkenmøddinger”(kitchen middens) – a Danish expressionwhich has passed into other languages.

The Danes attracted international at-tention in the Viking Age from the late8th to the mid 11th century, but not onlypositively. They were skilful shipwrightswith a love of adventure. They travelledfar, for instance to the Mediterranean.The Vikings acted as merchants, but equal-ly often as marauders and invaders. For ashort time in the 11th century, Denmarksubjugated England.

From the 14th century, Denmark also

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Denmark’s monarchy is one of the oldest in theworld – dating back to before the year 1000 –and at the same time has a secure future. How?That is demonstrated by the photo, which showsCrown Prince Frederik, b.1968, Crown PrincessMary, b.1972, and their children, Prince Christian,b.2005, and Princess Isabella, b. 2007. In otherwords, two generations of rulers are ready totake over. The monarchy is popular in Denmark.The reigning Queen, Margrethe II, b.1940, haswon the hearts of the population with her artis-tic skills and open, yet dignified style. The CrownPrince, with an impressive academic and militarybackground, is equally popular. During a fourmonth sledge expedition round the north ofGreenland, he achieved feats which few can emu-late. Photo: Scanpix/Keld Navntoft.

The Crown Prince The Crown Prince couple The Crown Princess Prince Christian

ruled over Norway and parts of Sweden.At that time, Denmark stretched fromNordkapp to the Elbe. As a result of ill for-tunes of war, arrogance and poor choice ofallies, Denmark’s territory and populationwere heavily reduced over the period until1658.

Many wars have been fought with Swe-den in particular, but in the 19th century,it was the relationship with the southernneighbour Germany that led to wars.

After the last major war, the SecondSchleswig War in 1864, the Danish terri-tory was reduced by a third when Schles-wig and Holstein were ceded to Germany.This led to a movement in Denmark withthe motto “What is lost externally shall beregained internally”, which resulted in thecultivation of moorlands and the drainingof bays and inlets for farming purposes.North-Schleswig returned to Denmarkfollowing a plebiscite in 1920.

The Occupation 1940-1945During the Second World War, Denmarkwas occupied by Germany in 1940-1945.Forced by circumstances during the Ger-man “peaceful occupation”, King Chri-stian X and the Danish government led bythe Social Democrat Thorvald Stauningchose to collaborate with the occupyingpower. In this way, they hoped to createthe easiest conditions for the population.

In 1943, Germany intensified its de-mands on the collaboration. This formallycollapsed, but in connivance with the po-liticians, Danish civil servants continuedthe collaboration during the Heads ofDepartments Government.

From 1943, the increasing popular re-sistance to the Germans created the basisfor an underground movement. Denmarkwas the German-occupied country wherethe smallest number of Jews died: helpedby, among others, the resistance movement,most of Denmark’s Jewish populationmanaged to escape to the neutral Sweden.

The Danish ConstitutionOriginating in the chieftain rule of the

Viking Age, the Danish Constitution wasAbsolute Monarchy, followed by Enlight-ened Absolutism 1660-1848. In 1848, thenew King Frederik VII abolished Absolu-tism and the following year a free Consti-tution was codified.

However, democracy did not fully un-fold until 1901, when the provision that agovernment must not have a majority inparliament against it was introduced.

The Royal HouseSince then, the Royal family has, withgreat loyalty and subtlety, fulfilled the roleof neutral mediating link between chang-ing governments and as a dignified andpopular, but entirely apolitical, uppermostsuperstructure on the Danish machineryof power.

The current monarch, Queen Margre-the II, b.1940, is the daughter of KingFrederik IX (1899-1972) and QueenIngrid (1910-2000). She is married to theFrench count Henri de Laborde de Mon-pezat, now Prince Henrik, b.1934. Theyhave the sons Frederik, b.1968, who is theCrown Prince, and Joachim, b.1969.

In 2004, Crown Prince Frederik mar-ried Australian-born Mary Elizabeth Do-naldson, b.1972. In 2005, they had a son,Prince Christian, who in accordance withthe Constitution will succeed his fatheron the throne. In 2007, the couple had adaughter, Princess Isabella.

In 1995, Prince Joachim married Alex-andra Manley, born in Hong Kong in1964. They have the sons Prince Nikolai,b.1999, and Prince Felix, b.2002. Thecouple divorced in 2005. In 2007, Alex-andra married a commoner and she nowhas the title Countess of Frederiksborg. In2008, Prince Joachim married Marie Caval-lier, born in France in 1976. In spring2009, the couple had a son, Prince Henrik.

The Queen was born a week after Den-mark’s occupation during the SecondWorld War and already through the timeof her birth became a bright spot for thepopulation, just as the family, with thetwo sisters Princess Benedikte, b.1944,

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In Roskilde – Denmark’s tenth largest city with42,000 inhabitants, located 30 km west ofCopenhagen – past and present intersect. Ros-kilde Cathedral from the 1170s (photo), which isthe burial church of the Danish Royal House, wasincluded in UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage listin 1995. The city also placed itself on the worldmap with the 1971 launch of the RoskildeFestival, inspired by the Woodstock music festi-val in the USA. Since then, it has been held forfour days every summer and attracted over100,000 visitors in its best years. Furthermore,Roskilde inspired the authors Gustav Wied(1858-1914) and Lise Nørgaard, b. 1917. In hissatirical novels, Gustav Wied revealed themisanthropy and depraved lifestyle of his con-temporaries. The setting is the city of Gammel-købing – a pseudonym for Roskilde. In the morerecent TV series ”Matador” (“Monopoly”), themain author Lise Nørgaard and the director ErikBalling (1924-2005) set an epic family sagaabout narrow bigotry and female emancipationin Roskilde – now under the alias Korsbæk. The24 episodes of the series have been broadcastin several countries. Roskilde has also attractedinternational attention for a topical reason whichthe city could probably have done without –Roskilde Bank was the first Danish financialinstitution to fall victim to the international eco-nomic crisis due to over-optimistic loans and toogenerous bonus systems for its management.Photo: Roskilde Lejre T0urist Office.

Prince Joachim Prince Joachim and Princess Marie Princess Marie Princess Benedikte

and Princess Anne Marie, b.1946, came tobe seen as the model family par excellence.As queen since 1972, Margrethe has adopt-ed an open style and further increased thepopularity of the monarchy with her infor-mality, charm and artistic gifts.

As a creative artist, she has, amongother things, created several chasubles anddesigned the ballet “Et folkesagn” (“A FolkTale”) at The Royal Theatre in Copenhagenand the ballets “Tommelise” (“Thumbe-lina”), “Fyrtøjet” (“The Tinderbox”) and“Snedronningen” (“The Snow Queen”) forthe so-called peacock stage in the amuse-ment park Tivoli. She also contributeddesigns for the film version of Hans Chri-stian Andersen,s fairy tale “De vilde sva-ner” (“The Wild Swans”).

The two princes have received demand-ing academic educations and militarytraining. Images treasured by the Danesinclude the two Princes freefalling duringtheir time in the air force and the Crown

Prince on a four month sledge journey inthe polar frost on Greenland.

The Danish population and the language spokenDenmark has a population of 5,534,738 (1 January 2010), distributed on 2.6mhouseholds and the number is almost con-stant these days. Immigrants and theirdescendants now constitute 9.5% of a pop-ulation which is otherwise very homoge-neous and therefore highly coherent. Thepopulation density is high – 129 per sq. km.

The language spoken is Danish. It hasmany vowels – including the special let-ters æ, ø and å – and many significantglottal stops, which make it difficult forforeigners to learn Danish. Although thedistance from the west coast of Jutland tothe capital in the east is less than 300 km,there is a distinct division into dialectswith associated alleged character differ-ences – from the taciturn Jutlanders in the

west through the garrulous natives ofFunen in the middle to the Zealanders inthe east, whose broad and drawling dialectcalls to mind the fat lands owned by theirancestors. The metropolitan populationspeaks a flat and rapid language, suggest-ing that here the pace is fast and peopledo not put up with anything.

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“Estelle Mærsk” (photo) from the shipping com-pany A.P. Møller-Mærsk – launched in 2006 –ploughs through one of the oceans. With itslength of 397 metres, it and seven similar sistersconstitute a fleet of the world’s largest containerships. The ship is shown here as a symbol of the entrepreneurial spirit and good investmentclimate in Denmark. Like many other well-knownDanish companies, such as Danfoss, Lego andGrundfos, A.P. Møller-Mærsk started on a tinyscale, but has long since reached world formatand now the second and third generation hastaken over with great skill. The DanishGovernment wants to develop Denmark into aleading entrepreneurial nation. Newcomers donot have to look abroad for role models.

The Prime Minister’s Office The Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Culture

For every three marriages, there is adivorce. Thus, in 2008, there were 36.0marriages per 1,000 unmarried men over18 years of age and 12.9 divorces per1,000 married men. Registered partner-ships between same-sex persons have beenallowed since 1987. In many respects, thearrangement has the same legal and finan-cial implications as traditional marriages.In 2009, there were 702 registered part-nerships. The partnerships are registeredat a town hall. In 2010, the possibility ofallowing same-sex church weddings wasdiscussed.

The free and respected position ofwomen was among other things demon-strated by their getting the vote in 1915and already in 1908 for local elections.The latest constitutional amendment in1953 introduced female succession to thethrone, but a prince still took precedenceover an elder sister. Full equality of succes-sion was introduced by a referendum in2009, with 45.5% voting in favour and7.8% against.

Gender Equality, Association Life and the MediaDenmark has still to experience a femalePrime Minister. 38% of the members ofthe parliament, the Folketing, are women.Equal pay has to a considerable extentbeen achieved. Gender discrimination injob advertisements is prohibited. Thepublic childcare system enhances women’sopportunities to pursue a career outsidethe home. Around 96.3% of all childrenaged 3-5 are looked after in day-care insti-tutions.

82.1% of the Danes belong to theLutheran National Church. Moreover,church and state – politics and religion –are strictly separated in Denmark. Thesecond-largest religious group is the Mus-lims, who constitute about 5% of thepopulation. There is no differential treat-ment in the education system. Muslimfree schools receive public support in linewith Danish schools. A bill introduced inspring 2010 proposed a point system,

whereby greater fluency in Danish andparticipation in Danish association liferesult in permanent residence permitsbeing granted more quickly.

Danes form associations whenever theyspot a sensible or enjoyable reason fordoing so. Every third Dane has attendedat least one association meeting within thelast month. Association life is also trainingin democracy.

The Danes are newspaper readers. Inthe past, every major provincial town hada newspaper for each of the four mainparties. The introduction of television ledto many newspaper closures, but there arestill 37 daily newspapers and many dis-trict weeklies and trade papers.

A fresh threat to the traditional news-papers is the internet, where news is nowreported almost as it is happening. This hasmade the newspapers themselves establishcontact with their readers through theinternet and at the same time restructurethe printed editions to provide more opin-ion and background material. To achievehigher overall advertising revenue, the large

newspaper groups also publish householdor street distributed free papers.

There are several public and privateradio and television stations, including a24 hour news channel. On average, Da-nes watch television for 2 hours 55 min-utes a day.

The personality of the DanesCommon to all Danes is their tendency totake the ups and downs of life with a touchof irony, often self-irony. Foreign spouses inmixed marriages often complain that theyfind it difficult to understand what theirpartners really mean because they tend tosay the opposite of what they think, inkeeping with the nature of irony.

The Danes’ inalienable rights includefreedom of worship and freedom of speechand writing. These rights are not onlydeeply rooted in the Danish minds, butalso laid down in the Constitution. Free-dom of speech and Danish humour in itscrudest form collided with the Muslimworld, when a cartoonist in September2005 depicted the prophet Mohammedwith a bomb in his turban in a Danishpaper, thereby offending many Muslimsall over the world. The result was riotsand demonstrations in several countries.In retrospect, former Minister for ForeignAffairs Per Stig Møller said during the cri-sis : “We believe in respect between reli-gions. Denmark respects Islam and ofcourse does not wish to contribute to con-demning or insulting either people or theirreligion. As we have said many times: It is the differences between cultures andreligions that enrich the world”. However,he did not add that Denmark wouldintroduce restrictions to the freedom ofspeech.

Since the Mohammed crisis, Denmarkhas added a new dimension to its foreignpolicy, called Public Diplomacy. The in-tention is to make Danish attitudes andintentions known beyond narrow govern-ment circles. At the same time, Denmarkis strengthening its links with G8, ASEAN,ASEM, The Arab League, The African

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Family types (January 2009)

Single persons without children

Married couples without children

Other couples without children

Single parents with children

Married couples with children

Other couples with children

Children aged under 18 not living at home

Source: Statistics Denmark.

46.2%

19.9%

6.2%

5.9%

16.8%

4.4% 0.6%

Albertslund Allerød Assens Ballerup Bornholm BrøndbyBillund

Union and the Organization of AmericanStates.

The tone among Danes themselves isrelaxed. Almost everyone is addressed bythe informal “du”. The formal “De” israrely used and only when speaking to anolder, distinguished person. In the schools,the pupils are on first-name terms withthe teachers. With an open economy andgreat dependence on what is happening inthe surrounding world, the Danes havebenefited from their open and interna-tional attitude. Thus they consistentlysupport maximum free trade in the world.

Over the years, there have also beentraces of local insularity, snobbery andconformity. It was best not to be different.

“The Ugly Duckling” of the fairytale wri-ter Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)is given a hard time because it is unusual.

The Danish-Norwegian author AkselSandemose (1899-1965) invented theconcept “Janteloven” (“The Jante Law”)with the bigoted rules he felt dominatedhis birthplace, a provincial town in Jut-land. The (fictitious) rules include: “Donot imagine you are anything special” and“Do not imagine you can teach us any-thing”.

The “free town” of ChristianiaOccasionally, there are clashes involvingmotorcycle clubs, autonomous groups andsecond generation immigrants. A conflict

between young people in Copenhagenand the local authorities concerning theright of ownership of a youth centre alsoresulted in clashes. In such situations, thepolice avoid using water canon. Knivesabove a certain length and hoods havebeen prohibited

The legislation contains a so-calledgang package for combating rocker andother gang crime. The package amongother things allows the police to establishvisitation zones based on suspicion. Thecombating of gangs with their often lucra-tive drugs trade increasingly involves col-laboration between police and tax authori-ties – popularly known as the Al Caponemodel. As part of the international collab-oration to combat crime, Denmark hasfor the first time extradited a Danish citi-zen for criminal prosecution abroad. Theage of criminal responsibility has just beenreduced to 14. Hitherto, complaint casesagainst the police have been processed bythe police, but an independent complaintsboard is now being established.

An area of Copenhagen, Christiania,has declared itself a “free town” and to alarge extent observes its own laws and rulesof conduct. The authorities have nowturned a blind eye to the experiment formore than 25 years, although the policeoccasionally carry out raids in the area. The

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Denmark aims to be a model within environmen-tal care and transition to sustainable energy.Danish trade and industry are already extremelyactive on the world market with equipment forwater purification, air filtration, etc. The Danishwind turbine industry is the largest in the worldwith a market share of 12.5%. Over 40,000 windturbines from the company Vestas are installedin more than 65 countries in all five continents.A wind turbine installation is completed everyfour hours 24 hours a day. In a single year, 5,000lorries and around 40 container ships wererequired to transport wind turbine parts fromVestas to North America. The offshore wind farmat Horns Rev by Jutland’s west coast (photo),owned and operated by the Swedish companyVattenfall with the Danish DONG Energy as co-owner, supplies 2% of Denmark’s energy con-sumption.

Brønderslev Dragør Egedal Esbjerg Fanø Favrskov Faxe

Council of Christiania has been in negotia-tions with Copenhagen Municipality forseveral years concerning normalisation of theconditions for the approx. 800 residents.

Denmark in words and figuresThe gross domestic product per capita was$62,313 in 2008, which places Denmarkin the top fifth of the EU countries. Inaddition to the state-funded welfare andsecurity, Danes are materially well-off –also in terms of their own means.

Out of 100 Danish households in 2009,60 owned a house or flat, 79 a washingmachine, 59 a dishwasher, 72 a micro-waveoven, 44 a flat screen television, 31 a videocamera, 91 a CD-player, 86 a DVD-play-er, 86 a home computer, 98 a mobile tele-phone, 81 had internet access and 42 GPSnavigation. There is also free internet accessin all libraries.

Traditionally, Denmark has been placedhigh on international barometers of qualityof life. The welfare system pushes it up.However, it is pulled down by the averagelife expectancy of 76.3 years for men and80.7 for women, which is lower than inDenmark’s neighbouring countries. Theexperts attribute this to rich food, too lit-tle exercise (although many jog) and toomuch smoking. However, the health au-thorities act with campaigns on everyfront and in the past five years or so, thelife expectancy has improved considerably.

Life in Denmark cannot be entirelyunhealthy when the average height of theconscripts rose from 168.4 centimetres in1896 to 180.2 centimetres in 2009.

Cancer is the main cause of death(29.4% of the men, 26.7% of the women).Heart diseases account for 18.5% and 17.4% respectively. Traffic accidents account for0.8% of male and 0.3% of female deaths.Other accidents account for 3% and 2,6 %respectively.

1.7% of the men and 0.6% of thewomen commit suicide. The old myth ofDenmark as a country with many suicidesis greatly exaggerated.

In 2007, 20 persons died of aids-relat-

ed illnesses. Some 250 drug-related deathsare registered annually. Abortion was lega-lised in 1973. In 2006, there were 15,053legal abortions, corresponding to 12.2 per1,000 women aged 15-45.

In 1967, the ban on written pornogra-phy was lifted and in 1969, Denmark wasthe first country in the world to legalisepicture pornography.

The Danish RealmDenmark has never been a major colonialpower, but it had small tropical coloniesin Africa, Asia and the West Indies. Den-mark was the first country in Europe toprohibit slave trading in 1793 (with effectfrom 1803), but that cannot explain awayDenmark’s active participation in the hu-man transport until then or the existence

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Several Danish architects are world famous. JørnUtzon’s opera house in Sydney is included innew lists of the Seven Wonders of the World.Arne Jacobsen’s college buildings in Oxford,England, are sensitively adapted to the historicalenvironment. Henning Larsen – master of thenew opera house in Copenhagen – has designedlandmarks in many parts of the world. In addi-tion to the Saudi-Arabian Ministry of ForeignAffairs, which was built in Riyadh in 1984 (smallphoto), the company recently designed theMassar Children’s Discovery Centre in Damascus,Syria (large photo), which is in the course ofconstruction. Local culture is brilliantly reflectedin the subtle shape of a Syrian rose – an artisticand highly sustainable design, which adds afairytale element to the forthcoming adventure ofdiscovery.

Fredericia Frederiksberg Frederikshavn Frederikssund Furesø FaaborgMidtfyn

Fredensborg

of slavery in the Danish West Indies until1848.

In the North Atlantic, Denmark hasruled over Iceland, which withdrew fromthe union with Denmark in 1944.

The Faroe Islands and Greenland, theworld’s largest island, are still part of theDanish Realm. There has been home ruleon the Faroe Islands since 1948 and inGreenland since 1979. In addition, self-government was introduced in Greenlandin 2009. Neither territory is a member ofthe EU.

Both have two seats in the Folketing.The Faroe Islands are considering fullindependence from Denmark, to whichthe Danish Government has respondedthat Denmark would then phase out itseconomic support of the Islands over ashorter term than the Faroese wish.

The political systemUntil 1953, Denmark had a bicameralsystem. After the abolition of the Lands-ting, the Folketing remains. The votingage is 18. The election period is fouryears, but the Prime Minister may call anelection at any time. If the Folketing pass-es a vote of no confidence in the govern-ment, it must resign or call an election.

Elections are by proportional represen-tation. 135 seats are allocated on a con-stituency basis, which ensures an even dis-tribution across the country, with a smalladvantage to sparsely populated areas. 40supplementary seats ensure that partieswith perhaps more dispersed support alsohave a chance of being elected. If a partycannot obtain 2% of the votes, it will notbe represented in the Folketing. This min-imum percentage is low in an internation-al context. For the last 20 years, the turn-out has varied between 82% and 88%.

Since 1909, no party has had an abso-lute majority. That is why the legislationis compromise-led and centre-seeking,which has given Danish politics the name“collaborative democracy”. Since 1955, theFolketing has after every election nominat-ed an Ombudsman, who may criticise the

administration by the central and since1998 also the local authorities.

Around 200 new acts are passed everyyear. The developments within for instanceIT, traffic and hospital techniques necessi-tate larger administrative units in localpolitics and in 2007, Denmark’s 271 mu-nicipalities were consolidated into 98 larg-er municipalities, while the 13 countieshave been replaced with 5 regions. In ad-dition, the 54 police districts have beenmerged into 12 and the 82 city court dis-tricts into 24.

There have been both single-party andcoalition governments.

Public servants in both central andlocal administration are apolitical and notreplaced in connection with elections.

Centre-right governmentsAt the general election in November2001, the parliamentary majority shiftedtowards centre-right, as a new coalitiongovernment consisting of Venstre (Den-mark’s Liberal Party) and Det KonservativeFolkeparti (The Conservative People’sParty) gained a majority with the supportof the anti-immigration party DanskFolkeparti (The Danish People’s Party). Atthe general elections in February 2005 andNovember 2007, this constellation wasgiven a clear mandate to continue.

These centre-right governments were

led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, b.1953(Liberal), until he was appointed GeneralSecretary of NATO at the beginning ofApril 2009 and was succeeded by his partycolleague Lars Løkke Rasmussen, b.1964.

Following a cabinet reshuffle in February2010, the government now also includesLene Espersen, b. 1965 (Conservative) asDeputy Prime Minister and Minister forForeign Affairs, Claus Hjort Frederiksen,b. 1947 (Liberal) as Minister for Finance,Gitte Lillelund Bech, b. 1969 (Liberal) as Minister for Defence and Søren Pind,b.1969 (Liberal) as Minister for Develop-ment Cooperation.

A world class countryThe government has established ten goalsto be met no later than 2020. They are topropel Denmark to world class status bymaking the country one of the ten, some-times three and in a few cases very best inthe following areas:

Prosperity measured as gross nationalproduct per inhabitant, available workforce,educational level of school children, at leastone top quality university, higher lifeexpectancy, sustainability and security ofenergy supply, equal opportunities for all cit-izens, personal freedom and successful inte-gration of immigrants, content and confi-dent citizens and minimum bureaucracy.

The overall aim is to maintain andexpand the welfare state. This will be donethrough a chain reaction, where increasedknowledge results in increased growth,which in turn creates prosperity, whichproduces welfare.

The process have already started. Someexamples can be mentioned. The increasedavailability of labour, which is necessaryfor increased economic growth, is alreadybeing supported by the tax policy. As soonas it came to power in 2001, the centre-right government introduced a tax stop.Within this, the tax on earned income hassubsequently been eased in several stages.While many used to have to pay 63 øre ofthe last earned krone of 100 øre, 70% ofthe tax payers now pay a maximum income

9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2008 20092007200620052004

Families’ access to computer and internet at home (2004-2009)

Computer (%)

Internet (%)

Source: Statistics Denmark.

Gentofte Gladsaxe Glostrup Greve Gribskov Guldborgsund Haderslev

tax of 42%. These reductions are largelyachieved by increased taxes on energy con-sumption, which also benefits the environ-mental policy.

In addition, attempts are already beingmade to stimulate the availability oflabour by effective integration of immi-grants and by encouraging students to com-plete their studies more quickly. Moreover,older people are being encouraged toremain on the labour market for longer. In2020-24, the national pension age willincrease from 65 to 67. subsequently, itwill continue to increase concurrently withthe increased life expectancy of the popu-lation. During 2019-22, the start age forthe early retirement scheme which allowspeople to leave the labour market earlywill increase from 60 to 62. Economistsgenerally recommend further tighteningof this scheme in order to keep more peo-ple working, but so far both the govern-ment and the leader of the opposition, theChairman of the Social Democrats, HelleThorning-Schmidt, b. 1966, wish toretain the rules currently in force. Well-educated foreign labour is welcomed andin 2010 expanded dissemination of infor-mation about fast access to work permitsand tax conditions will be initiated. More

school places for the children of foreignerswill also be established.

The individual elements of the reformpolicy support each other, for instance theupgrading of public transport as part ofthe infrastructure reform which has beeninitiated will both reduce queuing on theroads, thereby increasing the number ofworking hours, and reduce CO2 emissions.

Altogether, the remodelling of Denmarkinto a sustainable society is well underway.The goal is total independence of fossilfuels, which also has security politicaladvantages by making the country inde-pendent of supplies from areas of politicalunrest. To achieve this goal, the percent-age of sustainable energy is to be doubledby 2025. Denmark already produces farmore wind energy per citizen than anyother country and wind turbines accountfor almost 20% of the electricity consump-tion. Danish industry is a leading producerof environmental technology – not onlywind turbines, but also for instance equip-ment for water purification. Danish indus-try is applying its comprehensive environ-mental knowledge to its own production,as the country’s economic growth of 80%since 1980 has been achieved with almostunchanged energy consumption, whileCO2 emissions have been reduced.

With the very small income differen-tials as an important parameter, Denmarkendeavours to maintain and expand itsposition as virtually a world champion ofsocial cohesiveness. Consequently, thegovernment attempts to prevent ghettoformations and expresses its dislike of theuse of burka and niqab as an expression ofa view of people and women which itcondemns, even though it will not bansuch clothing.

A robust economyThe reform programme is implementedon the basis of a national economy whichis one of the strongest in Europe. Forinstance, Denmark has for years compliedfully with the EU requirements in relationto economic health in the countries that

wish to be part of the economic union,i.e. conditions applying to inflation rate,interest rate, public debt and currency sta-bility. As a striking example, Denmarkhad foreign debts every year from WorldWar II until 2006, but has been debt-freesince then.

Consequently, the Danish NationalBank was able to rebuff internationalspeculators’ attempt to provoke a Danishdevaluation during the economic crisis.However, with its open economy andintensive exports, Denmark was naturallynot unaffected by the international crisis.GDP, which in normal years grows by 2-2.5%, in 2009 declined by 5.1%, but isexpected to be positive again already in2010 with a growth of 1.3%, followed byincreases of 1.7% and 1.9% the followingyears. There are two reasons why Denmarkwas not as hard hit by the crisis as severalother countries. One was the country’seconomically strong starting point, char-acterised among other things by unemploy-ment of just 2.8%, far below the Euro-pean average. In 2010, the figure rose to4.1%, which remains close to the lowestin Europe, as is inflation of just 1-2%.Moreover, the lid on the Exchequer waslifted, allowing public funds to supportconsumption and investments. This activ-ity resulted in a budget deficit of morethan 5% of GDP in 2010, which broughtDenmark into conflict with the EU rulelimiting budget deficits to 3%. In May2010, the government and its supportersin the Folketing therefore established acomprehensive recovery package intendedto return Denmark to the top of the classin EU’s convergence programme withinthree years. Among other things, thepackage halves the unemployment benefitperiod to two years, reduces the stateallowance for families with children, freezesdevelopment aid at its already high leveland postpones planned tax reliefs for topincomes. The opposition wanted to solvethe budget problem partly by extendingthe working week from the current 37hours to 38.

10

The Folketing after the generalelection in 2007

% of the votes SeatsThe Social Democrats 25.5 45The Social-Liberal Party 5.1 9The Conservative People’s Party 13.5 18The Socialist People’s Party 6.0 11The Danish People’s Party 10.5 23The Christian Democratic Party 0.9 0Denmark’s Liberal Party 26.3 46New Alliance 2.8 5The Unity List 2.2 4

In addition, two members are elected onGreenland and two on the Faroe Islands. The turn-out was 86.6%.

Since the election, there has been sometransfers between parties and New Alliance has changed its name to Liberal Alliance.

Hedensted Helsingør Herlev Herning Hillerød HjørringHalsnæs

An environmentally aware countryThe Danish desire to improve the environ-ment is not only demonstrated by thegovernment’s major and long-term reformplans, but also in many practical everydaydetails.

The water consumption has beenreduced by almost 10% over 30 years. Carsrun on unleaded petrol. An agreement con-cerning Denmark as a pilot country forelectric cars is ready. An electric car canrun 160 km on a battery and a network ofbattery exchange stations will be estab-lished from 2011. As initial state support,electric cars are exempt from taxes until2015. More than 6% of the arable land isfarmed biodynamically. 66% of all wasteis recycled. The water in Copenhagen har-bour is now so clean that it is safe to swimin the designated bathing basins. Environ-mental awareness is on the increase and isnow also used for public relations purpos-es. The amusement park Tivoli in Copen-hagen receives its entire energy supply –for rollercoasters, merry-go-rounds, con-cert hall, etc. – from one of the marinewind turbines erected in Copenhagen aslandmarks for the UN Climate Summit in2009. The Ministry of Food, Agricultureand Fisheries monitors all food shops andrestaurants. The customer is informed ofthe result by smileys – with five levels from

elite to unacceptable. Denmark is also aclean country in other respects. In corrupt-ibility lists, Denmark almost always appearsas snowy white. Animal welfare is alsogiven a high priority. Unit trusts increas-ingly avoid investing in companies with aquestionable working environment, childlabour, etc. A state institution has sold itsshares in a tobacco producing company.

It was therefore an environment andclimate friendly country which hosted theUN climate conference COP15 (COP =Conference of the Parties) in Copenhagenin December 2009. With more than30,000 participants from 192 countries,the Conference is one of the largest underUN auspices so far. The overall goal of the

Danish government was that the Confer-ence should result in an agreement be-tween all countries in the world, withambitious targets for reduction of globalgreenhouse gas emissions. However, during2009, it became evident that the countrieswere too divided for a final, legally bindingagreement to be reached at COP15.

Instead, a representative group ofcountries, including all the world’s largeeconomies as well as the poorest and mostexposed developing countries, achievedagreement on the Copenhagen Accord. Itskey elements are the shared target thatglobal temperatures must not increase bymore than two degrees as a result of cli-mate changes caused by human activity

11

What other capital has a popular oasis at thefoot of its town hall tower, where people of allages and families with children can enjoy a la-vish display of flowers, catering at all prices, freegraceful pantomime performances, concertswith the biggest names in the world, gentle fair-ground attractions for children and terrifyingrides in the world’s highest rollercoaster for thebrave? This is Tivoli – the Copenhagen fairytalegarden (photo). At the moment, Copenhagen ismaking its mark as a developing regionalEuropean business centre and as a charming,well-functioning landing stage for not only cruis-es, but also many kinds of events. In 2009,Copenhagen hosted World Outgames, theInternational Olympic Committee and the UNClimate Summit. In 2010, international food writ-ers and others chose Noma in Copenhagen asthe best restaurant in the world.

Holbæk Holstebro Horsens Hvidovre Høje-Taastrup Hørsholm Ikast-Brande

and the allocation of significant amountsto assist developing countries, startingwith $30 billion per year for the first threeyear and increasing to $100 billion in2020. As the group of countries behindthe Copenhagen Accord represents over80% of the greenhouse gases, their agree-ment in Copenhagen is an important stepon the way towards a global, binding cli-mate agreement.

Denmark and the worldDuring the history of Denmark, the imageof the Danes has changed completely. Thebarbaric Viking has been replaced by theDanish UN soldier with a child on his armin Kosovo or Eritrea.

The war against terrorism, peacekeep-ing, dissemination of democracy and sup-port of developing countries are amongthe objectives given top priority in Danishforeign policy.

Among other things, this is achieved

through membership of the UN (Den-mark was a co-founder in 1945), NATO(since 1949), the Nordic Council (since1952) and the EEC/EU (since 1973). Inthe European Commission, Denmark isrepresented by Connie Hedegaard, b. 1960(Conservative), a former Danish Ministerfor the Environment and later for Climateand Energy.

Danish participation in international actionsMeasured by population, Denmark has sentout more soldiers and policemen than anyother country in the world – over 87,000between 1948 and 2007 – to undertakepeacemaking, peacekeeping and humanitar-ian tasks for the UN, NATO and OSCEand as EU monitors.

So far, Denmark has reserved its positionwith regard to participation in the EU’smilitary task force. Naturally, this is not aresult of cowardice, but the general delib-

erations about the extent of Denmark’sparticipation in EU.

By contrast, Danish troops are veryactive when Denmark itself is involved orgoes into action as a member of NATO.Already in 1999, Danish fighter planestook part in NATO’s Kosovo action. Afterthe terrorist attack in the US on 11 Sep-tember 2001, Denmark spontaneouslyand unconditionally supported the inter-national reaction. From day one, Danishtroops took part in the initially US-ledand now NATO-led action in Afghanistanagainst the Taleban and Al Qaeda, and thepresence was stepped up in 2007.

The troops will not be withdrawn untilAfghan military and police, trained byamong others Danish instructors, are ableto take over.

In Iraq, Danish troops participated inthe action against Saddam Hussain’s ruleand the subsequent effort to prevent a civilwar. In Afghanistan, the Danish troops arestationed in the particularly war-tornHelmand province, which has claimed somany victims that Denmark is the coun-try with the greatest loss of life measuredby population.

The development is reminiscent ofShakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, which is ofcourse set in the Danish castle at Elsinore.Initially the Danish prince Hamlet hesi-tates for a long time, but when it comesto the crunch, he acts decisively.

12

Århus in Jutland is the second-largest city inDenmark. Of course there is some rivalry withthe capital, Copenhagen. However, the citizensof Århus can temper their jealousy with theknowledge that many of the highest positionsin the capital and in Danish politics are held bypeople from Jutland. Århus itself is bubblingwith initiative as a city of business and culture.An annual festival week, launched in 1965, hasdeveloped into a European cultural event withdance, theatre, exhibitions, concerts, etc.Every year, it focuses on a special theme, in2009 ”The Future is Near” and in 2010”Neighbours”. The photo shows the Town Halldesigned by the architects Arne Jacobsen andErik Møller, which will be illuminated in redwhen a red route trails through the city duringthe festival week.

Jammerbugt Kalundborg Kerteminde Kolding København KøgeIshøj

All men who have reached the age of18 must present themselves before thearmed forces with a view to being calledup. Less than half of each class will actual-ly do their national service. Those drawnfor service may instead choose to becomeconscientious objectors or to undertakevoluntary or civil defence service or volun-tary service abroad. The armed forces wel-come women on a voluntary basis. Nonational service men or women are sent oninternational missions without their con-sent and only after prior specialist training.

The Danish development assistanceDenmark contributes large amounts todeveloping countries and has for manyyears complied with the UN request thata developed country should give at least0.7% of its gross domestic product asdevelopment assistance. Moreover, Den-mark abstains from demanding full exportopportunities for the assistance. Thusalmost half the money is handed over to

the UN and similar organisations foradministration.

Through its own direct developmentassistance, which goes for instance to 16selected programme cooperation countries(ten in Africa, four in Asia and two in LatinAmerica), Denmark seeks to promote free-dom for the populations of the developingcountries – freedom from hunger, freedomfrom political oppression and freedom toflourish and become self-supporting. This isachieved through projects to reduce poverty,with a special effort for women and theirliberation, but also to support trade andindustry on the assumption that this willbenefit overall employment. In addition,assistance is provided towards changingautonomous regimes into democracies, forinstance by drafting a new form of govern-ment and election technique training.Moreover, Denmark does not shy awayfrom adjusting its assistance according tothe relevant regime’s willingness for instanceto combat corruption.

Previously, the effort against povertyconsisted of many individual projects, butnow the Danish assistance is provided bysector, for instance a country’s fishingindustry is supported rather than individ-ual fishermen.

Development aid is increasingly focusedon Africa and an Africa Commission withinternational top people, chaired by thePrime Minister, has been established. Themain aim is to strengthen Africa’s privatesector so that the continent’s countries canincrease their opportunities and wealth bytheir own efforts.

Denmark has also established a rehabil-itation centre for victims of torture, whichhas been given advisory status in the UNEconomic and Social Council.

Denmark and the EUSince joining the EEC/EU in 1973 after areferendum where 63.3% voted in favourof membership, Denmark has worked fortransparency in the EU decision-making,

13

The 750 Danish soldiers currently stationed atthe front in the war-torn Helmand province inAfghanistan are very exposed (photo) and havesuffered considerable losses. The Danish peaceeffort extends to the whole world, with partici-pation of all the armed forces. The airforce hasthus fought Al Qaeda and the Taleban inAfghanistan with its jet fighters and undertakestransport tasks in Lebanon. The navy wasalready involved in the first Gulf War with thecorvette Olfert Fischer. Danish navy personnelhave chased pirates in Somali waters and othersare leading the UN minesweeper unit. Currently,a UN frigate group is Danish-led. In 2010, thearmy will be deployed not only in Afghanistan,but also in Kosovo, Lebanon and Iraq. Denmarksent a fully equipped military hospital toAfghanistan in 2009 and both the armed forcesand the police are very active as instructors oflocal personnel in countries fighting internal ter-rorism. Photo: Forsvarets Mediecenter.

Langeland Lejre Lemvig Lyngby-Taarbæk

Læsø MariagerfjordLolland

the inclusion of environmental concernsin all decisions, the creation of more jobsin Europe and the opening up of the EUto, among others, Central and EasternEurope so that it does not become “a clubfor the rich”.

Above all, Denmark from the beginningadvocated that the Baltic countries shouldbe allowed to join the EU as soon as pos-sible. In the EU, Denmark has likewisechampioned that the 20% of the Union’senergy consumption must come fromrenewable sources by 2020 – a target adopt-ed in March 2007. Denmark has signed theSchengen Agreement, which came intoforce in 2001 and allows completely freepassage between a number of Europeancountries.

The Danish reservations inrelation to the EUThe Danish population has alwaysregarded the EU as an excellent forumfor economic cooperation, but has onlyreluctantly accepted political integration.

As a result, the Maastricht Treaty of1992 with its chapters on increased inte-gration was only accepted at a Danish ref-

erendum in 1993, after the so-called Edin-burgh Agreement had allowed Denmarkto take a step back from the cooperationin four areas.

This manifested itself in reservationson the final phase of the European Eco-nomic and Monetary Union (EMU) andthe euro, the defence political coopera-tion, an extension of the legal cooperationand union citizenship.

In 2000, a referendum was held to testif the population was prepared to abandonone of the reservations – the change fromkrone to euro. The answer was no by53.2% of the votes.

On the other hand, many Danes nowregard the defence reservation as absurd.They find it inconsistent that their coun-try participates in the war against terror-ism or peacekeeping actions when UN-ledor NATO-led, but not if the uniform hap-pens to say EU.

The present Government will work

Referenda about the EU

Yes, % No, %

1972 Denmark’s EC membership 63.3 36.7

1986 The Single European Act (consultative referendum) 56.2 43.8

1992 The Maastricht Treaty 49.3 50.7

1993 The Edinburgh Agreement 56.7 43.3

1998 The Amsterdam Treaty 55.1 44.9

2000 Denmark’s participation in the Single European Currency, the euro 46.8 53.2

Although Denmark is relatively small, there aresignificant linguistic and mental differencesbetween the regions. Aalborg in North Jutland isthe fourth-largest city in the country. It has itsown special atmosphere of industrial culture,robust attitude to life and party spirits until lateat night. Industrially, the city is the home of,among others, a world famous aquavit company(large photo), which regularly launches newbrands, e.g. in 2007 “Aalborg Nordguld” (smallphoto). The city also boasts an internationallyknown production of so-called Portland cement(named after the colour of sandstone fromSouthern England), which has protected the sur-faces of buildings, bridges and ports all over theworld from even the worst weather and mostpowerful waves.

Norddjurs Nordfyn Nyborg Næstved OdderMorsøMiddelfart

towards the removal of the four Danishreservations, but will not call a referen-dum on the issue until it is almost certainthat the Danes will say yes.

In 2008, Denmark was the tenth EUcountry to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. TheTreaty includes elements of the Danish flex-icurity model, which among other thingsmakes it easy for employers to fire people,who are then maintained by a social safetynet while waiting for another job.

A political majority is opposed to un-controlled immigration and experience aconflict between this attitude and the EUrules concerning free mobility of labour.

Denmark and the euroDespite the rejection of the euro, manyDanish companies are prepared to tradein euros if their trade partner so wishes.Many shops also accept euros and pricesare often displayed both in kroner andeuros. The voters did not reject the euro in2000 because they feared that Denmarkcould not meet the standards of economichealth required of a Euroland member. Onthe contrary, Denmark has for many yearsbeen better qualified than many of thecurrent members.

The stable economy is primarily attrib-uted to Denmark’s change in 1982 fromfrequent devaluations to a fixed exchangerate policy. This tied the krone rate to theGerman mark. Now it is tied to the eurowith a central rate of 7.46038 and anallowable fluctuation of 2.25% on eitherside. As one of its first actions, the newlyelected centre-right government in Novem-ber 2001 confirmed its determination toplan economic policy, etc. so that thefixed exchange rate policy can continue.

Given its position outside the EMUand the euro, Denmark can no longerexpect the same support as before fromEU-partners in cases of assaults on thekrone ex-change rate by internationalspeculators. That is why Denmark has tolead an economic policy which is evenhealthier and more stable than if it hadjoined Euroland.

Trade, industry and exportsFrom the mid 1960s, industrial exportsexceeded agricultural exports. A thousand-year old farming and fishing country wasthus rapidly changing into a fully devel-oped industrial nation, where airplanes,cars and heavy weapons are among thevery few items not produced. However,farming has by no means ceased. It stillfeeds 15 million people, corresponding tofor instance the total populations of Lon-don and Tokyo.

The rapid industrial development mayseem baffling, as Denmark’s only naturalresources worth mentioning are oil andnatural gas and these were only discoveredrecently, in the 1960s. However, the Da-nes have managed to extend the naturalresources concept. Instead, milk, sugarbeets, eggs and meat from the farms wereused as natural resources.

They became the basis of a productionof powdered milk, sugar, cakes, tinnedmeat, etc.

Large-scale beer and aquavit productionwas likewise based on agricultural rawmaterials. For the processing, machineswere needed, so the Danes also started pro-ducing – and exporting – these.

The export goods needed transporta-tion. This started a shipbuilding industry.The ships needed painting, so a paint andvarnish industry developed. The goodsneeded to be kept cold during transport.This created a refrigeration industry. Andso on and so forth.

Seen from outside, this colossal indus-trial growth and constant ramificationinto new types of production may appearrandom, but in fact there was – as shownabove – a strong, logical, inner coherence.

Danish export companiesInternational market leaders among Danishcompanies include firms producing phar-maceutical products (such as insulin andpsychopharmaca), medical equipment,enzymes for food production, detergentsand bioethanol to replace petrol, cement-making machines, wind turbines, pumps,

thermostats, skylights and other glass ele-ments for building purposes, water purifi-cation equipment, hearing aids, toys(including toy bricks), draught beer fit-tings and much more.

These export successes include severalwhich can be described as environmentaltechnology. They have developed from apositive domestic attitude towards envi-ronmental improvement and look likelyto become some of the most importantDanish export products. The transforma-tion into a post-industrial informationsociety is already far advanced. Proofs ofthis include a large software export and thefact that service provision (public as well asprivate) has become by far the largest occu-pation, employing 28.8% of all workers.

An export branch that is becoming

15

Odense Odsherred Randers Rebild Ringkøbing-Skjern

Ringsted Roskilde

Source: Calculated on the basis of material from Statistics Denmark

Animal agricultural products

Vegetable agricultural products

Tinned meat and milk products

Medicine and pharmaceuticals

Machines and instruments

Other industrial products, including textiles, clothes, furniture, beer, etc.

Ships and oil drilling rigs

Fish

Raw fur (mink)

Oil and electricity

Not stated

8.0 %1.7 %

1.1 %

8.7 %

24.8 %

38.1%

1.1 %2.1 %0.8 % 8.8 %

4.8 %

Export (2009)

increasingly visible in the balance of pay-ment is culture, including films such as the groundbreaking so-called Dogme films,bestseller books such as Peter Høeg’s “Frø-ken Smillas fornemmelse for sne” (“MissSmilla’s Feeling for Snow”) and music suc-cesses such as the percussion duo SafriDuo and the pop duo Junior Senior.

The genesis of Danish companiesDanish companies have their own genesis.They have often sprung from a good ideaor a small invention, which the inventorstarts producing using his own savings. Inthis way, industry has become dispersedall over the country.

If the inventor is in luck and has founda niche in the world market which hasnot previously been intensively cultivated

by others, the small workshop in the vil-lage or provincial town can grow into aninternational corporation. This has beenthe development so far for companiessuch as Danfoss (thermostats), Grundfos(pumps) and Lego (toys).

Denmark actively participates in glob-alisation. The flexicurity model, whichensures that dismissal and change of job isno disaster for the Danish worker, has cre-ated a positive attitude in the populationtowards globalisation and its frequent jobrelocation to other countries. Many Danishfirms buy foreign companies and foreigninvestors are welcomed in Denmark, wherethe low company tax (28%) is among theattractive factors. In 2008, Danish compa-nies had 4,148 subsidiaries abroad. Con-versely, foreign companies had established

3,066 subsidiaries in Denmark with a totalof 228,000 employees (2003).The indus-trial development benefits from the excel-lent Danish infrastructure. As an islandcountry, Denmark has needed to buildbridges between the regions. The engineershave created aesthetic masterworks such asthe Farø and Great Belt bridges and Da-nish bridge-builders are now in demandfor instance in the Far East.

A bridge-tunnel link between Denmarkand Sweden at Copenhagen and Malmöwas opened in 2000. This is creating aregional force field, which will be particu-larly attractive to pharmaceutical compa-nies from many countries. The name Me-dicon Valley is already being used.

From adscription to cooperative movementNonetheless, the full explanation of howthe farming and fishing country Denmarkhas turned into a fully developed industri-al nation without the help of naturalresources perhaps still eludes us? The lastpart of the explanation is the high qualityof the Danish workforce combined withthe above-mentioned flexicurity model onthe labour market.

In the 18th century, the Danes were a

16

While other countries may base their hot mealson rice or pasta, Denmark favours potatoes. Asthe Danes travel extensively, for instance onpackage holidays, they bring back ideas fromforeign cuisines, so Danish food is now markedlyinternational. However, open sandwiches(photo) remain a traditional staple, mostlyenjoyed at lunchtime. They consist of a slice ofbuttered rye bread with various toppings, oftenpickled herring on the first slice, followed byelaborate structures of for instance egg andshrimps and to finish usually cheese. Most peo-ple eat hot dinners. Traditional dishes are lambat Easter, rice pudding and roast goose onChristmas Eve and boiled cod on New Year’s Eve.The most traditional hot dinner consists of roastpork with red cabbage, followed by stewed fruitwith cream. Danes enjoy challenging foreign visi-tors to pronounce the name of an example ofthis dish (made with redcurrants): “rødgrød medfløde”. Most fail. The successful ones are admit-ted to a warm fellowship. Photo: J. Buusman.

Samsø Silkeborg Skanderborg Skive SlagelseRødovreRudersdal

cowed people. The farm workers were serfsand not allowed to move from the land-owner’s property. For fear of evil powersand the dark of night, the farms wereplaced in a protected cluster, far from thefields.

Through farsighted political efforts du-ring Absolutism, adscription was abol-ished and the peasants liberated in 1788.This created a type of free farmer whodared to place his farm at the point of pro-duction. The same free-born attitudespread to the workers in the towns whenindustrialisation emerged.

The spiritual liberation was given addedimpetus by N.F.S. Grundtvig. He was thefather of further education for young peo-ple, especially from the country – the so-called folk high schools, the first of whichopened in 1844 – where the young learn-ed to value and use the spoken word andfreedom of thought.

Self-aware as they now were, they be-came able farmers, who also respected theirneighbours, so that they could join togeth-er in groups on a cooperative basis aroundproduction, breeding and export withequal voting rights for all irrespective of thesize of their land or herd.

The folk high school concept and thecooperative movement have both been imi-tated in many countries and are among theoffers to countries receiving Danish devel-opment assistance.

The labour marketApart from what has been said above aboutthe flexicurity model, the following pointsare worth noting:

Danish workers are mainly organisedaccording to industry, rarely religion.

Many children in Denmark work, as26% of the 7-14 year old have spare timejobs. However, this is entirely on their owninitiative, in order to earn money for fash-ionable clothes, mobile phones, CDs, etc.

Some of the latest collective bargainingdecisions have been an increase of the an-nual holiday entitlement from five to sixweeks at some workplaces, an increased

proportion of the wages set aside for pen-sions and increased access to further edu-cation.

The new two-year agreements in 2010added another week for both mother andfather to the already existing maternity andpaternity leave scheme, with weekly leavepaid first by the employer and then by thepublic authorities. Other changes includedthe establishment of a board to ensureequal pay for men and women and protec-tion against unacceptable wage offers to forinstance the workers from Eastern Euro-pean countries who can now freely seekemployment in Denmark as part of Den-mark’s membership of the EU.

EducationSchool attendance is not compulsory inDenmark, but nine years of education are.As a result, 13% of the children are taughtoutside the state school system in privateindependent schools, which may receiveup to 70% government subsidy.

The elementary and lower secondaryschool is comprehensive, i.e. the childrenare not divided on the basis of ability orsocial background.

The average percentage of bilingualchildren, especially children from immi-grant families, is 8.2%, but in some bor-oughs in large cities it can reach a third.

Formerly, pupils wanting to continue inupper secondary school had to be vouch-ed for by the school they were leaving. Thischanged in 2001 – now the pupils decidethemselves.

For the cultural area, a catalogue – theso-called canon – has been created of im-portant Danish works through the ageswithin literature, painting, music, architec-ture, etc. It is not compulsory, for instancefor school children, to know all the works,but the list is intended to guide and inspireboth young and old. The official culturalcanon has since been supplemented withcanons for literature, history (includingthe Reformation, the Storming of theBastille and the Fall of the Berlin Wall),democracy (including the Magna Carta,

the Bill of Rights and the American Con-stitution) and design.

The 24 volumes and 160,000 articlesof the national encyclopaedia – “Encyklo-pædien” – is now available free on theinternet under the title “Den Store Danske”(“The Big Danish”). Interested parties arewelcome to contribute updates on anongoing basis.

Almost all education is a free benefit aspart of the welfare system. From the ageof 18, young people receiving educationmay obtain public support, the so-calledState Educational Grant SU (Statens Ud-dannelsesstøtte). Grants are given bothtowards general youth education and fur-ther education. The grant in the lattercase amounts to DKK 2,677 per monthfor young people living at home andDKK 5,384 for those who have left home,so that no one is precluded from furthereducation because of social or economicstatus.

As part of the efforts to increase theworkforce, the state educational grant willbe adapted to encourage quicker comple-tion of studies.

Local authorities and political educa-tional associations offer extensive eveningeducation opportunities for adults.

The social systemThe social system acts as a fine-meshedsafety net under the Dane from birth todeath. The many individual benefits in-clude maternity and parent leave, whichthe parents may choose to share. It isregarded as an advantage – both for theindividual and the exchequer – if peopleweakened by illness or age remain in theirown homes as long as possible. Here, eld-erly people can receive home help fromthe local authority. If that is not sufficient,they are offered protected housing or nur-sing home accommodation.

The welfare system does not escapecriticism. Hospital hygiene has been criti-cised and improved. Treatment guaranteeshave been issued for life-threatening illness-es such as cancer and heart disease, but

17

Solrød Sorø Stevns Struer Svendborg Syddjurs Sønderborg

nonetheless waiting lists do occur. Patientswho cannot be treated in the public hospi-tal system in Denmark within the guaran-teed time-limit of ideally one month arenow offered treatment at a private hospitalor at a hospital abroad at the public ex-pense. From 2011, the arrival of an ambu-lance or helicopter can be expected within15 minutes in the case of acute illness oran accident.

At intervals, there are political calls foruser payment for instance for GP visits,patients’ food in hospitals and borrowingof library books, but so far these have allremained free.

ScienceThe Danes have made their contributionto solving the mysteries of the universe,nature and the human body.

As examples may be mentioned thatOle Rømer (1644-1710) calculated thespeed of light, that Niels Stensen (1638-1686), among other things, founded geo-logy as a science and made importantanatomical discoveries, that H.C. Ørsted(1777-1851) discovered electro-magnet-ism and that Niels Bohr (1885-1962) wasone of the theorists who had a decisiveinfluence on quantum mechanics andamong other things made the develop-ment of nuclear weapons and the exploi-tation of nuclear power possible.

Thomas Bartholin (1616-1680) dis-covered the human lymphatic vessels andNiels Finsen (1860-1904) proved that rays

of light have a healing effect on skin dis-eases. In addition, Henrik Dam (1895-1976) discovered vitamin K and JohannesFibiger (1867-1928) demonstrated thatcancer can be caused by external factors,such as contact with tar products.

LiteratureThe Danish-Norwegian comedy writerand philosopher Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) is often described as Denmark’scounterpart to France’s Molière. He intro-duced the European Enlightenment inDenmark and his plays with their jovial-ironic exposure of prejudices and conceitare still performed today on both Danishand foreign stages.

The fairytale writer Hans ChristianAndersen (1805-1875) probably remainsthe best-known Dane in the world. It iswell-deserved that one of the characterswho sprang from his imagination, the LittleMermaid, has also become the symbol ofthe Danish capital, Copenhagen. Cast inbronze, she gracefully receives visitors to thecity from her wet stone in Copenhagenharbour. In 2005, the bicentenary of hisbirth was celebrated all over the world.

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard(1813-1855) sowed the seeds of Existen-tialism and is being read more and more.

Danish Nobel Prize winners include theauthor Johannes V. Jensen (1873-1950),whose book “Kongens fald” (“The Fall ofthe King”) in 2000 was chosen by the pop-ulation as the best Danish 20th centurynovel.

Karen Blixen’s (1885-1962) memoirsof Africa became an international success,both as a novel and a major film.

Contemporary names such as KlausRifbjerg, b.1931, and Peter Høeg, b.1957,also stand out.

Music, film and balletThe composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)is becoming increasingly popular in con-cert halls all over the world. So is the re-cently discovered Rued Langgaard (1893-1952).

In the world of jazz, the violinist SvendAsmussen, b.1916, belongs to the worldelite and the double bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (1946-2005)was in great demand internationally.

The pianist Victor Borge (1909-2000)

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Is there a yardstick called international fame bysquare kilometre? If such a method of assess-ment exists, the island of Funen in the middle ofDenmark belongs to the elite. With its 2,985square kilometres and main city of Odense – thethird-largest in the country – it is the birthplaceof no less than two internationally famous fig-ures, the fairytale writer Hans Christian Ander-sen and the composer Carl Nielsen. Odense hasmuseums for both – the photo shows the HansChristian Andersen Museum opposite the out-door restaurant. However, the city is not compla-cently sunning itself in its fame. It is burstingwith culture and activity, most recently a resource-ful television station. Photo: BAM/Heine Pedersen.

Tårnby Vallensbæk Varde Vejen VejleTønderThisted

was a much-loved entertainer all over theworld. His philosophy of life was that asmile reduces the distance between peo-ple.

Danish cinema had a golden age duringthe silent film period, among others withCarl Th. Dreyer’s (1889-1968) film aboutthe passion and death of Joan of Arc.

In this new millennium, the spotlightis again sweeping over Danish cinema,with several directors winning Oscars andGolden Palms, including Bille August,b.1948, and a new generation of directorsheaded by Lars von Trier, b.1956, intro-ducing Dogme films as an entirely newgenre. One of the latest film director starsis Lone Scherfig, b. 1959, whose film ”AnEducation” was nominated for an Oscar.

Danish actors are receiving offers from

Hollywood. Iben Hjejle, b.1971, appearedin “High Fidelity” and “Dreaming of Julia”.Viggo Mortensen, b.1958, among otherthings played Aragorn in “Lord of theRings”, and Mads Mikkelsen, b.1965,played leading roles in the James Bond film”Casino Royale” and in ”Clash of theTitans”.

Another Danish strength is televisiondrama series. They have won DenmarkEmmy Awards for series such as “Nikolajog Julie” (“Nikolaj and Julie”), “Rejsehol-det” (“The Flying Squad”), “Ørnen” (“TheEagle”) and “Unge Andersen” (“YoungAndersen”).

Danish humour flourishes in film seriessuch as “Olsen Banden” (“The OlsenGang”) and television series such as “Ma-tador” (“Monopoly”), which have many

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Copenhagen’s status as a city of culture is ever-expanding. In 2008, the Danish BroadcastingCorporation inaugurated a new concert hall(photo) designed by the French architect JeanNouvel. The auditorium, with its uniqueacoustic, has attracted international stars fromday one. The concert hall is part of a new trinitywith The Royal Theatre’s Opera and new play-house, which are only a few years old. The lasttwo were designed by Danish architects and arespectacularly situated opposite each other ateither side of Copenhagen harbour. Copenhagenalso offers mass audience entertainment. Thusboth Madonna and Bruce Springsteen haveappeared at the sports and event centre Parken.Famous international stars visiting Denmark donot only go to Copenhagen. In regional citiessuch as Århus, Horsens and Herning, consider-able stage facilities have been exploited by,among others, Leonard Cohen, Elton John, JimiHendrix, Pink Floyd – and Bill Clinton. Photo:Bjarne Bergius Hermansen.

Vordingborg Ærø Aabenraa Aalborg ÅrhusVesthimmerland Viborg

viewers also outside Denmark as do manyDanish films for children.

Within ballet, August Bournonville(1805-1879) as ballet master at The RoyalTheatre raised Danish ballet to an inter-national standing that has not faded.

Visual artsDanish painters from the first half of the19th century, the so-called Golden Age,are experiencing an international renais-sance. Over the years, painters have oftenjoined together regionally. Groups such asthe Skagen Painters and the Funen Pain-ters now have their own, well-attendedmuseums. Asger Jorn (1914-1973) co-founded the international COBRA group(named after Copenhagen, Bruxelles andAmsterdam).

Major contemporary names includeBjørn Nørgaard, b.1947, who, amongother things, has designed tapestries fea-turing the history of Denmark as a birth-day present for Queen Margrethe, and PerKirkeby, b.1938. The sculptor BertelThorvaldsen (1770-1844) preferred towork in Rome, where his marble statuesare seen for instance in St Peter’s.

Design, applied art and architectureThe Danes are world famous for appliedart and design within a broad spectrum offashion, furnishing fabrics, furniture, sil-verware, porcelain and jewellery.

The silversmith Georg Jensen (1866-1935) created magnificent hollowwareand cutlery.

The architect Poul Henningsen (1894-1967) explored the effects of light anddesigned lamps which are outstanding interms of lighting technique and aesthetics.

Jacob Jensen, b.1926, designs radiosand televisions, telephones, cars, etc., andsome of his works have been exhibited atthe Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The multimedia artist Olafur Eliasson,b.1967, who among other things is a mas-ter of lighting, is represented in collectionsall over the world.

The Lego toy bricks familiarise the Da-

nes with appealing design already in thenursery.

Together with deeply quality-consciouscraftsmen, furniture designers such as HansJ. Wegner (1914-2007) have made Danishfurniture synonymous with sophisticateddesign and comfort. Thousands of interna-tional customers include the UN SecurityCouncil.

The sense of design also benefits lessobvious products such as industrial machi-nery, public signage and much else.

Danish architects make their mark outside their native country as well. Jørn Utzon, (1918-2008), designed SydneyOpera House, Johan Otto von Spreckelsen(1929-1987) the Grande Arche in Paris,Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) St Catherine’sCollege in Oxford and Henning Larsen,b.1925, the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh.

Another architectural masterpiece byHenning Larsen is the new opera houseon the waterfront in Copenhagen, whichwas sponsored by the shipping magnateMærsk McKinney-Møller.

The firm of architects 3XN Arkitekterhas designed the highly acclaimed newDanish embassy in Berlin and an entirequarter in Copenhagen for UN institutions.

Against tough international competi-tion, the firm of architects SchmidtHammer Lassen won the commission tobuild permanent headquarters for theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) inthe Hague.

SportsThe Danish national sport is football andDanish players are often to be found inthe line-up of great European clubs, suchas Arsenal, Ajax Amsterdam and Liver-pool.

Other strong Danish disciplines, forinstance at the Olympics, include women’shandball, yachting, rowing, swimming,cycling and badminton.

Danish handball teams, trained by AnjaAndersen, b.1969, and Ulrik Wilbek, b.1958, have won numerous medals both inDenmark and abroad.

Caroline Wozniacki, b. 1990, regularlytriumphs on the world’s tennis courts.

Crown Prince Frederik has been a mem-ber of the International Olympic Commit-tee (IOC) since 2009.

Victor AndersenJournalist, cand.polit.

Further informationDenmark’s official websitewww.denmark.dkUdenrigsministeriet(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark)Asiatisk Plads 2DK-1448 Copenhagen K(+45) 3392 0000www.um.dkum@um.dk

Folketinget(Danish Parliament)ChristiansborgDK-1240 Copenhagen K(+45) 3337 5500www.folketinget.dkfolketinget@folketinget.dk

Visit Denmark(Danish Tourist Board)Islands Brygge 43DK-2300 Copenhagen S(+45) 3288 9900www.visitdenmark.com contact@visitdenmark.com

Kunststyrelsen(Danish Arts Agency)H.C. Andersens Boulevard 2DK-1553 Copenhagen V(+45) 3374 4500www.danish-arts.dkinfo@danish-arts.dk

Danmarks Statistik(Statistics Denmark)Sejrøgade 11DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø(+45) 3917 3917www.dst.dkdst@dst.dk

Klima- og Energiministeriet (Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy) Stormgade 2-6DK-1470 Copenhagen K(+45) 3392 2800www.kemin.dk kemin@kemin.dk

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Denmark – an overviewFactsheet Denmark _ Published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairsof DenmarkAddress: Asiatisk Plads 2, DK-1448 Copenhagen K, DenmarkTelephone: (+45) 33 92 00 00 _ Telefax: (+45) 32 54 05 33E-mail: um@um.dk _ Website: www.um.dkEditor: Flemming AxmarkPicture editor: Kirstine Fryd

Translation: Siri Fischer Hansen Design: Ole Jensen _ ojdesignReproduction of the text, with or without acknowledgement, is permitted.Published May 2010

ISBN 978-87-7087-362-8