Geography and Climate
Surrounded by the North Sea to the west, the Baltic Sea to the east and a sharing a border with Germany in the south, Denmark is a popular country in the Scandinavian region known for its high quality of life. This Northern European country lies southwest of Sweden, south of Norway and consists of the Jutland Peninsula and the Danish archipelago of more than 400 islands in the Baltic Sea. The Kingdom of Denmark also claims two autonomous countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
Denmark is spread across a mostly flat landscape of over 16,000 square miles, making it the one hundred-thirtieth largest country in the world. The country is divided into five regions and 98 municipalities. The Capital Region of Denmark is the most eastern administrative region of Denmark and has 29 municipalities. The Central Region is located in the north-central region of the Jutland Peninsula and has 19 municipalities. The North Denmark Region consists of the former North Jutland County and has 11 municipalities. The southernmost region, Region Zealand, has 17 municipalities. And, the Region of Southern Denmark is the westernmost region of the country and has 22 municipalities.
Denmark has sandy coasts, flat lands with few rolling plains and beautiful forests. Its 4,545-mile coastal shoreline wraps around most of the country. With little elevation, the highest natural point is about 560 feet at Møllehøj in the Ejerbjerge hills, and Denmark’s average elevation is about 102 feet above sea level. There are many small rivers, fjords created from glaciers and natural deep-water harbors. Denmark is known to have some of the cleanest water in the world, which is pumped from underground and provides for the entire country’s domestic consumption and use.
Denmark is in the Central European Time (CET) zone and observes daylight saving time (DST), which typically starts the last week of March and ends the last week of October. Denmark is eight hours ahead of U.S. Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Denmark’s four seasons offer warm summers, colorful autumns, vibrant green springs and cold and snowy winters. Denmark has a temperate climate, with winters averaging about 32 F and summers near 65 F. Expect an average of about 121 days per year of precipitation, autumn being the wettest and spring the driest time.
Natural disasters in Denmark are few and generally are caused by heavy rainstorms and flooding.
People and Culture
Denmark’s population of nearly 5.6 million people makes it the one hundred-twelfth largest country in the world. The country’s population has been slowly rising since 2012, and life expectancy for the Danes has been on the rise since 2007.
Danish is the official language in Denmark. English is spoken as a second language by a large majority of the Danes and is mandatory for Danish students to learn starting in the third grade. Another popular language often taught and used in the Region of Southern Denmark is German. Faroese is the primary language on the Faroe Islands, and Greenlandic is the primary language in Greenland. A majority of people also speaks English in Greenland and on the Faroe Islands, but it is not uncommon for the language to not be spoken in smaller villages and towns.
Almost 90 percent of the citizens of Denmark are Danish, and the rest are from neighboring Scandinavian countries, Germany, Turkey, Iran and Somali.
Denmark is divided into five regions and 98 municipalities. The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen, which is the most populous city in Denmark with a metropolitan population of more than 1.9 million people. Greater Copenhagen is home to about one-third of the population. Copenhagen is known as the cultural and financial hub of Denmark and most of Scandinavia. Second largest is Aarhus with a metropolitan population of about 1.2 million people and one of the largest industrial harbors in Northern Europe. Third largest is Odense, which has a metropolitan population of almost 200,000 people and is known for its beautiful architecture.
The earliest traces of humans in Denmark date back to 12,500 B.C. during the last Ice Age. The first Danes were Stone Age hunters and fisherman. Organized farming was introduced in 4,000 B.C. Bronze was introduced through trade to Denmark about 1,800 B.C. and the Danes soon became very skilled at crafting and making goods. Then, iron was introduced in 500 B.C., and the Danes sold Roman merchants goods in return for Mediterranean luxuries. The Plague of Justinian struck Denmark in the sixth century, which killed a significant amount of the population. Trade still flourished despite the outbreak and the first trading settlements in Denmark were established in Hedeby and Ribe.
Denmark was home to the Vikings in the ninth century; they rose to power and raided and explored areas for 300 years. The Danish Vikings were most active in Britain, France, Ireland and Spain. Around 1350, the Black Death plague wiped out a large portion of the Danish population, which resulted in major social changes. The Kalmar Union was established in 1397, combining Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in a personal union under the Danish Queen Margaret I. In the personal union, each country was under the same monarch while their laws, interests and boundaries remained distinct. This lasted until 1530 when Sweden and Finland left the Union. Sweden and Denmark both wanted control of the Baltic Sea, which resulted in war from 1563-1570, until the Peace of Stettin ended the war. For many years after, Denmark and Sweden were at war, which did not end favorably for Denmark. The Danish Monarchy is more than 1,000 years old, making it one of the oldest constitutional monarchies in the world.
During WWI, Denmark remained neutral and tried the same in WWII, but Germany invaded Denmark and occupied the country in 1940. In 1945, the Allies freed the Danes from the Germans. Agriculture and trade flourished and the economy grew rapidly until the Great Depression, which severely hurt Denmark. After the Great Depression, the Danish economy recovered and is now doing well. Denmark is one of the founding members of the European Free Trade Association, NATO and United Nations. Helle Thorning-Schmidt became Denmark’s first female prime minister in 2011.