PEOPLE
The Danes,
a homogenous Gothic-Germanic people, have inhabited Denmark since
prehistoric times. Danish is the principal language. English is
a required school subject, and fluency is high. A small German-speaking
minority lives in southern Jutland; a mostly Inuit population
inhabits Greenland; and the Faroe Islands have a Nordic population
with its own language. Education is compulsory from ages seven
to 16 and is free through the university level.
Although religious freedom is guaranteed, the state-supported Evangelical Lutheran Church accounts for about 95% of those persons claiming religious affiliation. Several other Christian denominations, as well as other major religions, find adherents in Denmark. Islam is now the second-largest religion in Denmark.
During
the Viking period (9th-11th centuries), Denmark was a great power
based on the Jutland Peninsula, the Island of Zealand, and the
southern part of what is now Sweden. In the early 11th century,
King Canute united Denmark and England for almost 30 years.
Viking
raids brought Denmark into contact with Christianity, and in the
12th century, crown and church influence increased. By the late
13th century, royal power had waned, and the nobility forced the
king to grant a charter, considered Denmark's first constitution.
Although the struggle between crown and nobility continued into
the 14th century, Queen Margrethe I succeeded in uniting Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland
under the Danish crown. Sweden and Finland left the union in 1520;
however, Norway remained until 1814. Iceland, in a "personal
union" under the king of Denmark after 1918, became independent
in 1944.
The Reformation
was introduced in Denmark in 1536. Denmark's provinces in today's
southwestern Sweden were lost in 1658, and Norway was transferred
from the Danish to the Swedish crown in 1814, following the defeat
of Napoleon, with whom Denmark was allied.
The Danish
liberal movement gained momentum in the 1830s, and in 1849 Denmark
became a constitutional monarchy. After the war with Prussia and
Austria in 1864, Denmark was forced to cede Schleswig-Holstein
to Prussia and adopt a policy of neutrality. Toward the end of
the 19th century, Denmark inaugurated important social and labor
market reforms, laying the basis for the present welfare state.
Denmark
remained neutral during World War I. Despite its declaration of
neutrality at the beginning of World War II, it was invaded by
the Germans in 1940 and occupied until liberated by the Allied
forces in May 1945. Resistance against the Germans was sporadic
until late 1943. By then better organized, the resistance movement
and other volunteers undertook a successful rescue mission in
which nearly the entire Jewish population of Denmark was shipped
to Sweden (whose neutrality was honored by Germany). However,
extensive studies are still undertaken for the purpose of establishing
a clearer picture of the degree of Danish cooperation--official
and corporate--with the occupying power. Denmark became a charter
member of the United Nations and was one of the original signers
of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Nationality: Noun--Dane(s). Adjective--Danish.
Population (Dec. 2007): 5,475,791.
Annual growth rate (Dec. 2006-Dec. 2007): 0.53%.
Ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali.
Religion membership: Evangelical Lutheran 95%; other Protestant denominations and Roman Catholics 3%; Muslim 2%.
Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (Inuit dialect), some German. English is the predominant second language.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Attendance--100%. Literacy--100%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2006)--4.4/1,000. Life expectancy--men 75.9 years, women 80.5 years.
Work force (2007): 2.9 million. Employment: Industry, construction, and utilities--23%; government--38%; private services--37%; agriculture and fisheries--2%.
