DENMARKA country of Smile and

Peace

OVERVIEW OF THE COUNTRY

Country Name: Denmark

Capital City: Copenhagen

National Anthem:  Der er et yndigt land (There is a Lovely

Country)

Economy: 21st largest economy

Language: Danish

Current Queen: Margrethe II

Current Prime Minister:  Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Currency: Danish Krone

Population: 5,668,743 (approx.5.6 million) 

Religion: Christianity (Lutheran)

HISTORY OF DENMARK

HISTORY

130,000–110,000 BC (Eem interglacial period): Denmark has been inhabited since around 12,500 BC and agriculture has been evident since 3900 BC.

1800–600 BC (The Nordic Bronze Age): Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of findings including lurs and the Sun Chariot.

500 BC – AD 1 (Pre-Roman Iron Age): During the Pre-Roman Iron Age, native groups began migrating south, although the first Danish people came to the country between the Pre-Roman and the Germanic Iron Age.

Viking and Middle Ages: From the 8th to the 10th century, the Danes, Norwegians and Swedes were known as Vikings.

They colonized, raided, and traded in all parts of Europe. 

Viking explorers first discovered Iceland by accident in the 9th century.

HISTORY

Constitutional monarchy: After the European Revolutions of 1848, Denmark peacefully became a constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849.

Denmark faced war against both Prussia and Habsburg Austria in what became known as the Second Schleswig War, lasting from February to October 1864. 

Industrialization came to Denmark in the second half of the 19th century.

Post-war: After World War II, Denmark became one of the founding members of the European Free Trade Association, NATO.

Kalmar War:611 – 4 April War between Denmark and Sweden breaks out when Sweden attempts to break the Danish monopoly on trade with Russia

1611 – 11 June The Swedish Army is defeated at Kalmar

1613 – 20 January Denmark and Sweden sign a peace treaty. Denmark becomes an uncontested power nation in Scandinavia

THE JELLING MOUNDS, RUNIC STONES AND CHURCH WERE INSCRIBED ON THE

WORLD HERITAGE LIST IN 1994. 

THE RUNIC TEXT DESCRIBES HOW HARALD BROUGHT DENMARK

AND NORWAY TOGETHER AND CHRISTIANISED THE DANES.

GOVERNMENT OF DENMARK

GOVERNMENT

The political system of Denmark is that of a multi-party structure.

Chief of State: Queen Margrethe II

Government Name: Kingdom of Denmark

Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy

Main Powers:Executive:

The queen is theoretically the source of all executive and legislative power.

Judicial:

The supreme court functions as a civil and appellate court for cases from

subordinate courts. Its judgments cannot be be appealed to another Danish

court.

Legislative:

The Folketinget is the parliament of Denmark. It is the supreme and ultimate

legislative body while operating within the confines of the constitution. 

DANISH ROYAL FAMILY

The Danish Royal Family consists of the dynastic family of the monarch.

All members of the Danish Royal Family, except Queen Margrethe II,

hold the title of Princess of Denmark.

The Queen and her siblings belong to the House of Glücksburg, which

is a branch of the Royal House of Oldenburg.

The Queen's children and male-line descendants belong agnatically to

the family de Laborde de Monpezat, and were given the concurrent

title Count/Countess of Monpezat by royal decree in April 2008.

The Danish Royal Family enjoys remarkably high approval ratings in

Denmark, possibly ranging from somewhere between 82% and 92%.

THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK DURING THE QUEEN'S 70TH BIRTHDAY ON APRIL 16, 2010. 

LOCATION OF DENMARK

LOCATION

Denmark is a Nordic country located in Northern Europe.

total area of 43,094 square km.

Total land area 98%.

Total water area 2%.

consists of the peninsula of Jutland, north of Germany.

The most populated and largest of the islands is Zealand.

Germany shares 68 km (42 miles) of border with Denmark, and the other 7,314 km (4,545 miles) is coastline.

Denmark also includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, and the territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

CLIMATE IN DENMARK

CLIMATE

Denmark has a temperate climate.

mean temperatures in January of 1.5 °C (34.7 °F).

summers, with a mean temperature in August of 17.2 °C (63.0 °F).

Snowfall in December to February.

The spring (Mar-May) is very shifty. It is often very windy and fresh.

The fall (Sep-Nov) have probably the most shifty weather. It is very

windy often have storms in the fall.

POPULATION OF DENMARK

POPULATION

Denmark total population is 5,668,743 (5.6 million) 

(Wikipedia, April 2015)

89.6% of Denmark's population of over 5,580,516 is of Danish  descent  ( has

Danish Citizenship).

10.4% are immigrants (Ethnic Groups) came from Turkey, Somalia, Iraq, Bosnia,

S. Asia and Middle East.

34% approx. 200,000 population have a Western background and 66% approx.

390,000 population have a non-Western background.

99% of the population is literate.

The fertility rate is 1.73 children born per woman (2013). Despite the low birth

rate, the population is still growing at an average annual rate of 0.23%.

(Wikipedia, 2012)

POPULATION RATE (2012)

90%

8%

3%

Population Rate %

Persons of Danish origin ImmigrantsDescendent of an immigrant 

RELIGION IN DENMARK

RELIGION (WIKIPEDIA, JAN,

2015)

In January 2015, 77.8% of the population of Denmark were members of

the Church of Denmark (Den Danske Folkekirke),the officially

established church, which is Lutheran in tradition.

Despite the high membership figures, only 3% of the population

regularly attend Church on Sunday.

The constitution of Denmark states that a member of the Royal Family

must be a member of the Church of Denmark, though the rest of the

population is free to adhere to other faiths.

In 1682, the state granted limited recognition to three religious groups

which were  Roman Catholicism, the Reformed

Church and Judaism.

Denmark’s Muslims make up approximately 3% of the population and

form the country's second largest religious community.

SURVEY ABOUT GOD

25% of Danes believe Jesus is the son of God.

18% believe he is the savior of the world.

(Euro barometer Poll, 2009)

28% of Danish citizens polled responded that they "believe there is a God”

47% responded that they "believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" 

24% responded that they "do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force". 

(Euro barometer Poll, 2010)

LANGUAGE OF DENMARK

LANGUAGE

Danish is a North Germanic language. In business organizations Danish peaple also use English language.

6 million people speak Danish in Denmark and in North Germany.

There are also minor Danish-speaking communities like.

Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina.

Due to immigration around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their home language.

The Danish language developed during the Middle Ages.

The history of Danish can by convention be divided into:

Old Danish, 9th to 11th centuries

Middle Danish, 12th to 15th centuries

Modern Danish, 16th century to present.

 

ECONOMY OF DENMARK

ECONOMY

GDP $330.8 billion (2014)

2.5% contributed by Agriculture sector .

20.2% contributed by Industrial sector.

77.3% contributed by Service sector.

(Wikipedia, 2005)

Imports $84.74 billion (2009)

Exports $91.49 billion (2009)

(Wikipedia, 2009)

MAIN EXPORTS OF DENMARK

Machinery

Meat

Fish

Dairy Products

MAIN IMPORTS OF DENMARK

Equipments

Chemicals

Consumer goods

Grains & Food Stuff

TRANSPORTATION IN DENMARK

TRANSPORTATION

Transport in Denmark is developed and modern.

The motorway network now covers 1,111 km of operational tracks.

  The railway network totals 2,667 km of operational track.

Copenhagen Airport is the largest airport in Scandinavia, handling

approximately 23m passengers per year (2011)

Being an island state with a long coastline and always close to the sea,

Denmark's ports handle some 48 million passengers and 109 million

tones of cargo per year.

Denmark is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). 

Copenhagen is a city combining both excellent public transport and

one of the most extensive cycling systems in the world.

The city’s system was named the world's best metro in 2008 and 2010. 

HEALTH IN DENAMRK

HEALTH

Denmark has a universal health care system being publicly financed

through taxes and, run directly by the regional authorities.

The life expectancy in Denmark is 78.6 years.

There is 1 doctor for every 294 persons in Denmark.

 Denmark spends 11.2% of its GDP on health care.

The central government plays a relatively limited role in health care in

Denmark.

In Denmark suicide rate is 11.3%.

The quality of Denmark’s health system is extremely high.

EDUCATION IN DENMARK

EDUCATION

Education in Denmark is compulsory

Government-funded education is usually free of charge and open to

all.

Denmark has a tradition of private schools and about 15.6% of all

children at basic school level attend private schools.

Literacy rate is 99% in Denmark.

According to literacy rate Denmark ranked 42th position in the

world.

University of Copenhagen is the most famous university in Denmark.

Denmark is the 5th best country in the world at providing higher

education.

EDUCATION SYSTEM

Pre-School• nurser

y school class, from the age of 5, voluntary

Primary and lower secondary school• begin

school at the age of six or seven

• 9 years of compulsory schooling.

Upper secondary education• 2-3

years general vocational courses

Vocational education and training• Vocatio

nal education and training courses are of 3 - 4 years’ duration.

Higher education• There

are three types of institute of higher education:

• Academies

• Colleges• Universit

ies

FAMILY POSITION IN DENMARK

FAMILY POSITION

Substantial demographic changes have affected the setting for family life

and relations between family members.

Postponement of marriage and births, and decreasing birth rates have

reduce the development in family relations since the 1960’s. 

Growing numbers of divorces.

This is due to a number of factors: 

The establishment of the welfare state

  Increased the demand for more and better skilled labor 

Allowing women to enter the labor market as well as the educational

system. 

BIRTH RATE IN DENMARK(STATISTICS DENMARK, VITAL STATISTICS 2000 )

DIVORCE RATE IN DENMARK(STATISTICS DENMARK, VITAL STATISTICS 2000 )

DANISH FOOD

DANISH CUISINE

Smoked Ham or Pork

Salami - Spegepølse

Marinated or Pickled Herring

Danish Special Pastry

Marinated or Pickled Herring

GREETING METHODS IN DENMARK

GREETINGS

Greetings are casual

With a firm handshake

Direct eye contact

A smile

Say good-bye individually when arriving or departing.

Shake hand with women first.

Danes tend to introduce themselves with their first name.

   

BUSINESS HOURS IN DENMARK

BUSINESS HOURS

Banks

Monday – Friday (10am – 4pm)

Office

Monday – Friday (9am – 4pm)

SHOPS

Monday - Saturday (10am – 6pm)

HOLIDAYS IN DENMARK

HOLIDAYS

Date Holiday Name Holiday Type

January 1 New Year's Day National Holiday

February 15 Carnival Observance

March 20 March Equinox Season

April 5 Easter day National Holiday

May 1 Labor day/ May day Observance

May 14 Ascension Day National Holiday

June 5 Constitution Day Observance

October 25 Daylight saving timeends

Clock change/ daylightsaving time

December 25 Christmas Day National Holiday

December 31 New Year's Eve Observance

NON-VERBAL BEHAVIOR IN DEMARK

NON- VERBAL BEHAVIOR

Physical contact is rare and best avoided.

The American OK sign, with thumb and index finger forming a circle,

can be read as an obscene gesture in Denmark.

The thumbs-up gesture is positive as it signals approval.

Eye contact should be frequent, almost to the point of staring, as this

conveys sincerity and helps build trust.

Danes are not fond of bargaining and strongly dislike haggling.

Denmark is one of the most progressive countries in the world when

it comes to equality between men and women. Most women are

working, and many hold business leadership positions.

ATTITUDES IN DENMARK

ATTITUDES

Danish people are the most happiest people on the earth.

Danes believe there is one proper way in which to act in any given

circumstance. 

If someone is not following the rules, be they written or merely

understood, someone will generally speak up and admonish them to obey

the accepted protocol.

The expect courteous behavior from everyone.

Talk in moderate tone and do not do anything to call attention to yourself.

ANY QUESTION?