Svalbard (2006) | Denmark (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 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 | - | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 4 (2006) | 99 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 63 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 61,020 sq km
land: 61,020 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
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 smaller than West Virginia | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
Background | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 11.59 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $118.5 billion
expenditures: $116 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Longyearbyen
geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Copenhagen |
Climate | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 3,587 km | 7,314 km |
Constitution | - | 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: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
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 | NA deaths/1,000 population | 10.53 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $21.7 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 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 | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone | 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 | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) | - |
Economy - overview | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. | 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 | - | 32.41 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 8.775 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 8.199 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 35.47 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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-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 | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001) | 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: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Odd Olsen INGERO (since 8 June 2001) and Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
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 | 332,100 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | - | 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 |
Flag description | the flag of Norway is used | 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: 2%
industry: 22.1% services: 75.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $31,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 0% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 78 00 N, 20 00 E | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; site of future seed repository under construction by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government | 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%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Imports | $NA | 195,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | - | Germany 23.1%, Sweden 13%, UK 7%, Netherlands 6.9%, France 4.9%, Norway 4.5%, Italy 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | none (territory of Norway) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 0.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | - | food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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) | - | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 | NA | 4,760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | NA | 2.863 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 4%, industry 17%, services 79% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005) |
arable land: 54.02%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 45.79% (2001) |
Languages | Norwegian, Russian | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | NA | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 77.44 years
male: 75.17 years female: 79.83 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway | 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 | Arctic Region | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | 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 - note | demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920 | - |
Military branches | - | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5.501 billion | $3,271.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 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 | - | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | - | noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic | 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 | coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | 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 | - | 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 | - | NA |
Population | 2,701 (July 2006 est.) | 5,413,392 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.02% (2006 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 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 3,002 km
standard gauge: 3,002 km 1.435-m gauge (595 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | - | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 |
Telephone system | general assessment: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
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 | NA | 3,610,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 4,785,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.74 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 6.1% (2003) |
Waterways | - | 417 km (2001) |