Denmark (2002) | Mauritius (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskomunes); Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing overseas administrative divisions |
9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.7% (male 514,589; female 488,121)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,806,722; female 1,760,149) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 334,599; female 464,674) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.8% (male 152,424; female 149,908)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 418,836; female 420,411) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 31,104; female 47,798) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish |
Airports | 116 (2001) | 5 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 71 (2002) |
total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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 (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
total: 2,040 sq km
land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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 general political and economic integration of Europe. However, the country has opted out of European Union's Maastricht Treaty, the European monetary system (EMU), and issues concerning certain internal affairs. | Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. |
Birth rate | 11.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $52.9 billion
expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.) |
revenues: $1.122 billion
expenditures: $1.461 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003) |
Capital | Copenhagen | Port Louis |
Climate | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) |
Coastline | 7,314 km | 177 km |
Constitution | 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius |
Currency | Danish krone (DKK) | Mauritian rupee (MUR) |
Death rate | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.7 billion (2000) | $1.75 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Stuart BERNSTEIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John PRICE
embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH
chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
Disputes - international | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM; Faroese are considering proposals for full independence | Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation in 2001; claims French-administered Tromelin Island |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $42 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join the 12 other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish Krone remains pegged to the euro. Given the sluggish state of the world economy, growth in 2003 likely will be only moderately higher than in 2002. | Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector and responsible fiscal management, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). |
Electricity - consumption | 33.925 billion kWh (2000) | 1.219 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 7.679 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 8.318 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 35.792 billion kWh (2000) | 1.311 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 84%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 16% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
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 | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 8.418 (January 2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997); note - the Danes rejected the euro in a 28 September 2000 referendum | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.9015 (2003), 29.962 (2002), 29.1293 (2001), 26.2496 (2000), 25.1858 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch |
chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003) and Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since 30 September 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on 30 September 2003 |
Exports | $56.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses |
Exports - partners | EU 64.7% (Germany 19.6%, Sweden 11.8%, UK 9.5%, France 5.1%, Netherlands 4.5%), US 6.9%, Norway 5.5% (2001) | UK 31%, France 21.3%, US 17.6%, Madagascar 6.3% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $155.5 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $13.85 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 6.1%
industry: 30.3% services: 63.6% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2002 est.) | 4.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 56 00 N, 10 00 E | 20 17 S, 57 33 E |
Geography - note | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen | the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs |
Highways | total: 71,474 km
paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
total: 1,926 km
paved: 1,868 km (including 44 km of expressways) unpaved: 58 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry |
Imports | $47.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 69.9% (Germany 21.9%, Sweden 12.1%, UK 7.5%, Netherlands 7.1%, France 5.7%, Italy 4.5%), US 4.2% (2001) | South Africa 12.1%, France 12%, China 8.4%, India 8.2% (2003) |
Independence | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy | 12 March 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2002 est.) | 8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 15.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2002 est.) | 4.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 13 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,760 sq km (1998 est.) | 200 sq km (2000 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 2.856 million (2000 est.) | 560,000 (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2002 est.) | agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 55.74%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 44.07% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 49.26%
permanent crops: 2.96% other: 47.78% (2001) |
Languages | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
English (official), Creole, French (official), Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri |
Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party 56, Social Democrats 52, Danish People's Party 22, Conservative Party 16, Socialist People's Party 12, Social Liberal Party 9, Christian People's Party 4, Unity List 4; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
unicameral National Assembly (66 seats; 62 elected by popular vote, 4 appointed by the election commission from the losing political parties to give representation to various ethnic minorities; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 September 2000 (next to be held NA September 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - MSM/MMM 52.3%, MLP/PMSD 36.9%, OPR 10.8%; seats by party - MSM/MMM 54, MLP/PMSD 6, OPR 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.91 years
male: 74.3 years female: 79.67 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 72.09 years
male: 68.11 years female: 76.13 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.6% male: 88.6% female: 82.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn) | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Europe | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 301 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,258,959 GRT/8,143,520 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 105, chemical tanker 26, container 72, liquefied gas 20, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 25, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 16, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Greenland 1, Indonesia 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 22,946 GRT/27,102 DWT
by type: cargo 1, combination bulk 4, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: Belgium 1, India 4, Switzerland 2 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard | National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF and National Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.47 billion (FY99/00) | $11.2 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY99/00) | 0.2% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,287,168 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 342,482 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,099,900 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 172,157 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 29,212 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
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 | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | 2.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Social Democratic Party [Mogens LYKKETOFT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Johannes LEBECH, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership] | Hizbullah [Cehl Mohamed FAKEEMEEAH]; Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER] - in coalition with MSM; Mauritian Social Democrat Party or PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH] - governing party; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various labor unions |
Population | 5,368,854 (July 2002 est.) | 1,220,481 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 10% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.29% (2002 est.) | 0.81% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Hirtshals, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle | Port Louis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Radios | 6.02 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated)
standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double-track) (1998 est.) |
- |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% | Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
general assessment: small system with good service
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay trunk system international: country code - 230; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.785 million (1997) | 348,200 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,444,016 (1997) | 462,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) | 2 (plus several repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | low and flat to gently rolling plains | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.73 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.97 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.1% (2002) | 9.8% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 417 km | - |