Last updated on July 20th, 2021
Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Nordic country and the southernmost of the Scandinavian nations. It has an area of 43,094 square km. Copenhagen is its capital city; Danish is its official language. Its official currency is Danish krone (DKK). It has only one bordering country and that is Germany. The kingdom of Denmark also includes Faroe Island and Greenland. With these 112 facts about Denmark let us learn more about its history, culture, people, economy, government and more…
Facts about Denmark’s history
1. Between 1397 and 1523, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were ruled by Kalmar Union.[1]
2. The constitution of Denmark was signed on 05 June 1849.[2]
3. Between 1660 and 1849, Denmark was under the absolute monarchy. Denmark is also a part of the Schengen area.
4. The Danish flag is the oldest state flag in the world which is still in use by an independent nation.[2]
Flag of Denmark
(Flag description: Red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side; the banner is referred to as the Dannebrog (Danish flag) and is one of the oldest national flags in the world; traditions as to the origin of the flag design vary, but the best known is a legend that the banner fell from the sky during an early-13th century battle; caught up by the Danish king before it ever touched the earth, this heavenly talisman inspired the royal army to victory; in actuality, the flag may derive from a crusade banner or ensign. Source – CIA)
5. Iceland exited from Denmark and became an independent republic in 1944.[39]
6. Denmark has the third oldest monarchy in Europe – 1000 years and still going.[7]
7. Denmark remained neutral during the World War II.[23]
8. In 1792, Denmark became the first European country to abolish slavery.[8]
9. They introduced women in parliament in 1918. A total of 12 women were elected in the parliament that year. Four to the lower house and 8 to the upper house.[33]
Facts about its Geography
10. Denmark is the southernmost of the Scandinavian nations (these include Denmark, Norway, and Sweden).[40]
11. Zealand, North Jutlandic Island, and Funen are the largest of the islands in Denmark.[41]
12. Jutland is the only peninsula in Denmark, the rest are islands.[42]
13. Denmark has 406 islands. And 7314-kilometer long coastline.[31]
14. From any point in the country, one could reach ocean by traveling just 52 km.[43]
15. Denmark is almost flat. “Mollehoj” at 171 m is the highest point in Denmark.[15]
16. Football is the national sport of Denmark.[46]
17. Sydney opera house was designed by a Dane – Jorn Utzon.[47]
18. There are a lot of bicycles in Denmark. Interestingly, there are more bicycles in Copenhagen than there are people.[48]
19. Denmark also hosts the largest 4th July celebration outside the U.S.[50]
20. Interestingly, the U.S. tried to buy Greenland from Denmark in 1946 for a sum of 100 million. Denmark, however, denied.[34]
Map of Denmark
Some key statistics about Denmark
21. 75% of the people aged between 15 and 64 in Denmark have a paid job which is clearly above the OECD employment average of 67%.[27]
22. Denmark has the highest cancer rates in the world – 328.8 occurrences per 100,000 people. France and Australia follow Denmark by a close margin.[28]
23. Denmark is amongst the world’s leading pork exporting countries with 28 million pigs slaughtered every year. They have close to 5,000 farms. The pork meat industry has been thriving in the region for more than 100 years now. Almost 90% of the production is exported.[26]
24. Denmark has a 46 percent market share of the total amount of foreign tourists’ bednights in the Nordic Region.[51]
25. Arla Foods, headquartered in Denmark, is Britain’s largest and the world’s 7th largest dairy company. Nestle tops the list.[3]
26. Carlsberg Lager one of the worlds favorite beer has its founding father – J. C. Jacobsen – from Denmark. The beer was first exported in 1868 to Edinburgh, Scotland.[3]
27. Lego from Denmark is the largest toy manufacturing company in the world.[3]
28. Denmark’s population of 5.7 million is approximately equal to that of Singapore.[3]
29. Denmark is the most expensive European Union country to live in.[3]
30. Denmark also has one of the world’s best restaurants – Copenhagen’s Noma. Restaurant Magazine ranked it the best restaurant in the world in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.[11]
31. Gay marriages in Denmark were made legal in 2012.[12]
32. Denmark is the first European country to allow legal changes to gender without sterilization.[13]
33. In Denmark, 1, 2, 5 Krone coins have holes in the middle. These coins are minted in a silver look. The currency was first introduced in 1875.[17]
34. There are 11 Nobel Prize winners from Denmark. Neils Bohr won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932.[21]
35. Winston Churchill called Denmark Hitler’s Pet Canary.[23]
36. The country also has the world’s leading turbine industry.[25]
Facts about taxation in Denmark
37. Denmark has a progressive tax system. This means that the higher an individual earns, the more taxes they pay. Income tax rate in 2018 in Denmark is based at 27% for someone making 52,900 Kr. Over this income limit, the tax rate increases to 42%.[24]
38. Approx. 80% of the Danish population are members of the Danish National Evangelical Lutheran Church. They have a ‘church tax’ but it is optional. The income from this type of tax is used for the maintenance and running of the churches in the municipality.[24]
39. Green taxes are collected for using the society’s resources which include: oil, electricity, and water. High taxes on these resources are levied to discourage their usage so that the impact on the environment is limited.[24]
Facts about Danish people
40. There are more women in Denmark then men because of the high mortality rate among men in the country.[35]
41. The average age in Denmark as of January 2017, is 41.3 years. Also, at the same time, there were 1,143 people that were older than 100 years.[35]
42. As of January 2017, immigrants and descendants comprised 12.9 percent of the total
Danish population. There are people from over 200 different countries living in Denmark. The largest of these comes from Turkey.[35]
43. The country has one of the highest fertility rates in the European Union.[35]
44. One-quarter of all deaths in Denmark are caused by cancer. Breast and prostate cancer were among the most common among women and men respectively.[35,36]
45. The average age to get married for men and women in Denmark is 34.8 and 32.2 years respectively.[35]
46. Peter and Jens are the most common first names for men while Anne and Kirsten were most famous for women in Denmark.[35]
47. Denmark has world’s highest social mobility and a high level of income equality.[44]
48. The country also has the lowest perceived level of corruption in the world along with Sweden, Finland, and New Zealand.[45]
49. Use of the first name is common in Denmark.[5]
50. In Denmark pregnant ladies get a 4 week paid off before delivering the baby and 14 weeks paid off after the delivery. In total, parents in Denmark get 52 weeks of paid parental leave. Thus, the Danish enjoy a lot of support from the government and the employer.[58]
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