Denmark - International Encyclopaedia of Laws

General Introduction 11–41. In this section, figures and statistics are sourced from English-language publications by StatisticsDenmark, ‘Denmark in Figures 2009’, ‘Denmark in Figures 2010’ and ‘Statistical Yearbook2009’, available for download from: (last visited 19 Mar. 2010).§1. DENMARK: AGENERAL BACKGROUNDI. Geography and Climate1. Located in Northern Europe, Denmark is a small country of 43,098 squarekilometres, characterized by 407 islands and an extensive coastline stretching over7,300 kilometres. Bordered by Germany to the south, Denmark is the most southernof the Nordic countries and forms a natural link between continental Europe and itsNordic neighbours. The Kingdom of Denmark includes Bornholm, an island in theBaltic Sea, and the essentially self-governing areas of Greenland and the FaroeIslands.2. Danes use ferries, air transport and well-developed infrastructure to travelwithin the country. Bridges and motorways connect Denmark’s western peninsularof Jutland to the middle island of Funen, and further east to the largest of Denmark’sislands, Zealand. Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen (København), is locatedon the east coast of Zealand and in 2009 had almost 670,000 residents 1 and a relativelynew metro system. Since 1999, the Oresund Bridge near Copenhagen haslinked Denmark to southern Sweden.1. As on 1 Jan. 2009, ‘Copenhagen City’ is listed as having 667,228 residents and the ‘CapitalRegion’ (Region Hovedstaden) a population total of 1,662,285 people.3. The predominantly flat Danish landscape reflects thousands of years of historyas an agricultural country – around 66% of the surface area is considered manmadeagricultural, while forests and nature-like areas account for another 15%, andcities, roads, motorways, bridges or other artificial surfaces total a further 10%. Thetemperate coastal climate is punctuated by variable weather, with a high annualnumber of rainy or cloudy days and minimal hours of sunshine. Temperaturescan fluctuate significantly away from the winter and summer averages of 0°C inJanuary and 16°C in August.II. Population and Values4. At the start of 2009, Denmark’s population was 5.51 million people, withwomen slightly outnumbering men due to a higher male mortality rate. The ageingCompetition Law – (February 2011)Denmark – 15