Any country that numbers among its patron saints Hans Christian Andersen, Victor Borge, and an ancient king named Harald Bluetooth, must have a true sense of whimsy, wonder, and humor. Denmark's sea-wrapped landscape may be lovely, its thatched cottages charming, and its capital one of the most pleasant cities of Europe, but the country's greatest asset is its people—the Danes—though the food may run a close second. Pack your sense of fun when you take off for Denmark.

With its small cottages and tiny hamlets, Denmark appears idyllic—almost a toy nation—and its emphasis on fantasy and fun (it has two of the best amusement parks in the world) makes it ideal for students. But it has as much to offer students as well, including sophisticated buildings and a remarkable history with monuments and art.

The term the Danes use to describe the style that is so much a part of their life is hyggelig, which, though strictly untranslatable, suggests a combination of friendliness, coziness, and cheer. You'll find this ever-so-Danish quality everywhere you go.

Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far, however, the country has opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the new joint monetary system.

Geography

Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany

Area:
total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km
water: 700 sq km
note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark, but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland

Land boundaries:
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km

Coastline: 7,314 km

Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Ejer Bavnehoj 173 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand

Land use:
arable land: 60%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 5%
forests and woodland: 10%
other: 25% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,350 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes

Environment - current issues: air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in Copenhagen.


People

Population: 5,336,394 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 505,820; female 479,815)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,802,665; female 1,755,633)
65 years and over: 15% (male 330,055; female 462,406) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.31% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 12.16 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.54 years
male: 73.95 years
female: 79.27 years (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish

Ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 97%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic, other

Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
Note: English is the predominant second language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: NA%
female: NA%