Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark is a country in northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula and a number of islands north of Germany. The nation includes two offshore self-governed provinces, Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, which each have seperate articles. Discussion in this article focuses on "European" Denmark.

Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into the smallest of the Nordic countries. Despite its small size and shortage of natural resources, Denmark's inhabitants are modern and prosperous. The nation is a charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, maintains close ties with the other Nordic nations, and participates (sometimes reluctantly) in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far the country has opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the new joint monetary system.

Denmark is governed by a constitutional monarchy whose capital is Copenhagen (Danish: København, Swedish: Köpenhamn). Inhabitants are called Danes (adjective, Danish); the official and primary language spoken is the Danish language; the predominant second language is English.

Other important Danish cities include Aalborg, Aarhus, and Odense.

From the CIA World Factbook 2000

External References

The goverment of Denmark maintains an official website at http://www.denmark.dk.