The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark; English: The Kingdom of Denmark), commonly known as Denmark, has its capital in Copenhagen and is located in Northern Europe. It shares a southern border with Germany, while its western coast faces the North Sea, and it is separated from Norway and Sweden by sea to the north. Denmark has a temperate oceanic climate. The terrain is low and flat, and the country has limited natural resources, with oil and natural gas being the most significant.
Denmark has a total area of 43,096 square kilometers (excluding Greenland and the Faroe Islands) and a coastline of 7,314 kilometers. The country is divided into five regions, 98 municipalities, and two autonomous territories: Greenland and the Faroe Islands. As of December 2023, Denmark has a total population of 5.946 million, primarily composed of Danes, most of whom are Christians.
In 985 AD, Denmark became a unified kingdom. It grew stronger in the 14th century, and in 1397, Queen Margaret I of Denmark established the Kalmar Union, a union of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and part of Finland. Denmark began to decline in the late 15th century, and in 1523, Sweden left the union and became independent. In 1814, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden. In 1849, Denmark established a constitutional monarchy. Iceland gained independence from Denmark in 1918. Denmark remained neutral during both World Wars but was occupied by Nazi Germany from April 1940 to May 1945. Denmark joined NATO in 1949 and the European Community in 1973. It retains sovereignty over Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Denmark is a developed Western industrial nation with one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. In the World Economic Forum's 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, Denmark ranked 10th. Its economy heavily depends on trade with other countries. Denmark is a founding member of NATO and a member of the European Union. In 2022, Denmark's GDP was approximately $405.5 billion.
In December 2022, Denmark's Social Democrats, the Liberal Party, and the Moderates formed a cross-party coalition government. The government's priorities include economic policies, welfare reforms, green initiatives, and foreign affairs. Key measures include implementing inflation relief, optimizing the tax system, reducing emissions by 110% from 1990 levels by 2050, achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, improving the national welfare system, advancing public sector, education, and healthcare reforms, and optimizing early retirement provisions. Denmark also aims to campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2025–2026.
Denmark operates under a constitutional monarchy, with the queen serving as a national symbol without direct executive power. The country has a unicameral parliament.