Dominican Republic (2007) | Denmark (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Bahoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, El Seibo, Elias Pina, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Sanchez Ramirez, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*, 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 32.1% (male 1,532,813/female 1,477,033)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,971,620/female 2,851,207) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 247,738/female 285,407) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.9% (male 523,888; female 497,420)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 1,808,376; female 1,774,388) 65 years and over: 15% (male 344,113; female 465,207) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 34 (2007) | 99 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (2007) |
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 63 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
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 |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
Background | Explored and claimed by Christopher COLUMBUS on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930-61. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962, but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President (1996-2000) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term. | 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. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs. |
Birth rate | 22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.59 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.658 billion
expenditures: $6.119 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $118.5 billion
expenditures: $116 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Santo Domingo
geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 69 54 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Copenhagen |
Climate | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 1,288 km | 7,314 km |
Constitution | 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 | 5 June 1849 adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of 5 June 1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state |
Country name | conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Currency | - | Danish krone (DKK) |
Death rate | 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.53 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.909 billion (2006 est.) | $21.7 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Roland W. BULLEN
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Stuart A. BERNSTEIN; note - will leave 15 January 2005
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Flavio Dario ESPINAL Jacobo
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
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 and New York |
Disputes - international | Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work; illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area) remains dormant; 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 continue to study proposals for full independence; uncontested dispute with Canada over Hans Island sovereignty in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.99 million (2005) | - |
Economy - overview | The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy that enjoyed strong GDP growth until 2003. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 80% of export revenues), but recovered in 2004-06. With the help of strict fiscal targets agreed in the 2004 renegotiation of an IMF standby loan, President FERNANDEZ has stabilized the country's financial situation. Although the economy continues to grow at a respectable rate, high unemployment and inflation remain important challenges. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. The Dominican Republic's development prospects improved with the ratification of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in September 2005. | 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 enjoys 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 Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish Krone remains pegged to the euro. Given the sluggish state of the European economy, growth in 2003 was a mere 0.3%. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.791 billion kWh (2005) | 32.41 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 8.775 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 8.199 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 12.22 billion kWh (2005) | 35.47 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001), 8.0831 (2000), 6.9762 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA 8.7% |
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 |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 332,100 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | US 72.6%, UK 3.2%, Belgium 2.4% (2006) | Germany 18.7%, Sweden 12.6%, UK 8.5%, US 6.2%, Norway 5.7%, France 5.1%, Netherlands 4.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $167.2 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.6%
industry: 28.6% services: 59.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 22.1% services: 75.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $31,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.7% (2006 est.) | 0% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 00 N, 70 40 W | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Highways | - | total: 71,591 km
paved: 71,591 km (including 880 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2004) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions; significant amphetamine consumption | - |
Imports | 116,700 bbl/day (2004) | 195,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 46.9%, Venezuela 8.4%, Colombia 6.3%, Mexico 5.7% (2006) | Germany 23.1%, Sweden 13%, UK 7%, Netherlands 6.9%, France 4.9%, Norway 4.5%, Italy 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 0.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco | food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills |
Infant mortality rate | total: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.6% (2006 est.) | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, Caricom (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 2,750 sq km (2003) | 4,760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council comprised of the president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and an additional non-governing party congressional representative) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 3.896 million (2006 est.) | 2.863 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 17%
industry: 24.3% services: 58.7% (1998 est.) |
agriculture 4%, industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 22.49%
permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005) |
arable land: 54.02%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 45.79% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (178 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 22, PRD 6, PRSC 4; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 96, PRD 60, PRSC 22 |
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 8 February 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 31%, Social Democrats 29%, Danish People's Party 12%, Conservative Party 9%, Socialist People's Party 6%, Social Liberal Party 5%, Christian People's Party (now Christian Democrats) 2%, Unity List 2%; 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 (now Christian Democrats) 4, Unity List 4; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.07 years
male: 71.34 years female: 74.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 77.44 years
male: 75.17 years female: 79.83 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti | 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) |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
total: 276 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,952,473 GRT/9,030,444 DWT
by type: bulk 4, cargo 77, chemical tanker 36, container 83, liquefied gas 15, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 27, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 11, short-sea/passenger 5, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: Germany 1, Greece 1, Indonesia 2, Norway 5 registered in other countries: 284 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3,271.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006) | 1.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,276,087 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,088,751 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 30,333 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts | 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 |
Natural resources | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | -2.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 12 km; gas 3,892 km; oil 455 km; oil/gas/water 2 km; unknown (oil/water) 64 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Ramon ALBURQUERQUE]; National Progressive Front [Vincent CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ANTUN] | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian Democrats (was Christian People's Party) [Marianne KARLSMOSE]; 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; Soren BALD, 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) | NA |
Population | 9,365,818 (July 2007 est.) | 5,413,392 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 42.2% (2004) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.5% (2007 est.) | 0.35% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aabenraa, Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Hirtshals, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 517 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076 m, 0.889 m, and 0.762-m gauges (2006) |
total: 3,002 km
standard gauge: 3,002 km 1.435-m gauge (595 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network
domestic: fixed telephone line density is about 10 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile cellular service with a subscribership of roughly 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 1-809; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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: country code - 45; 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 897,000 (2006) | 3,610,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.606 million (2006) | 4,785,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 25 (2003) | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.81 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.74 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2006 est.) | 6.1% (2003) |
Waterways | - | 417 km (2001) |