Western Sahara (2004) | Denmark (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: as a result of an extensive 2005 local government reform, with 2006 being a transition year, 275 municipalities will be merged to 99 by 1 January 2007, and the 14 counties will be reorganized into five regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 18.7% (male 523,257/female 496,697)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,815,240/female 1,787,406) 65 years and over: 15.2% (male 355,656/female 472,405) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 11 (2003 est.) | 92 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 64
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 61 (2006) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 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 | about the size of Colorado | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 | 11.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $144 billion
expenditures: $135 billion; including capital expenditures of $4.6 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | none | name: Copenhagen
geographic coordinates: 55 40 N, 12 35 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 |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 1,110 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: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $352.9 billion (30 June 2005) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador James P. CAIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 33 41 71 00 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Friis Arne PETERSEN
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $2 billion (2004) |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | - |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | 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. Nonetheless, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Economic growth gained momentum in 2004 and the upturn accelerated through 2005. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2001) | 31.68 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 15.6 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 7 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2001) | 43.32 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001) |
Executive branch | none | 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: Council of State appointed by the monarch 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 (2001) | 332,100 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Germany 17.5%, Sweden 13.2%, UK 8.8%, US 6.4%, France 5.5%, Netherlands 5.3%, Norway 5.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 24.6% services: 73.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 3.2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Imports | NA (2001) | 195,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) | Germany 20.5%, Sweden 13.8%, Norway 6.6%, Netherlands 6.6%, UK 6%, China 4.7%, France 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | - | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 1.6% (2005 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | none | AfDB, Arctic Council, 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,490 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 12,000 | 2.9 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture: 3%
industry: 21% services: 76% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 52.59%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 47.22% (2005) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | - | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral People's Assembly or Folketinget (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 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 29%, Social Democrats 25.9%, Danish People's Party 13.2%, Conservative Party 10.3%, Social Liberal Party 9.2%, Socialist People's Party 6%, Unity List 3.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 52, Social Democrats 47, Danish People's Party 24, Conservative Party 18, Social Liberal Party 17, Socialist People's Party 11, Unity List 6; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 77.79 years
male: 75.49 years female: 80.22 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | 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 | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 293 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,986,735 GRT/9,936,431 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 63, chemical tanker 48, container 86, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 25 (Canada 1, Germany 13, Greece 5, Greenland 1, Norway 3, Sweden 1, UK 1) registered in other countries: 409 (Antigua and Barbuda 14, Bahamas 59, Belgium 4, Cayman Islands 5, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Estonia 2, France 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Gibraltar 1, Hong Kong 6, Isle of Man 53, North Korea 1, Liberia 8, Lithuania 10, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 2, Netherlands 9, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 32, Panama 34, Portugal 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 14, Singapore 52, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 4, UK 46, US 24, Vanuatu 6, Venezuela 3, Vietnam 1) (2006) |
Military branches | - | Defense Command: Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Tactical Air Command (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $3,271.6 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.5% (2004) |
National holiday | - | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | 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 | phosphates, iron ore | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | - | 2.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 12 km; gas 3,931 km; oil 626 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Christian Democrats (was Christian People's Party) [Bodil KORNBEK]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership]; Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 267,405 (July 2004 est.) | 5,450,661 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | NA | 0.33% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 2,673 km
standard gauge: 2,673 km 1.435-m gauge (601 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | Muslim | 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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 3.35 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 5.469 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 5.7% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 400 km (2001) |