Denmark

Kingdom of Denmark

Europe's oldest still-reigning monarchy, Denmark converted its Viking power into a model of consensual society.

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Heritage

The Jelling stone, carved around 965, proclaims that Harald “made the Danes Christian”: the country's written birth certificate. The Lutheran Reformation of 1536 created a state Church that would fund literacy; in the nineteenth century Kierkegaard refounded there the Christian thought of existence.

History

From the eighth to the eleventh century the Danes shaped northern Europe: raids, trading posts, then a North Sea empire under Cnut the Great, who ruled Denmark, England and Norway simultaneously.

The Kalmar Union (1397) briefly gathered all Scandinavia under a Danish sceptre. The Reformation of 1536 and absolutism from 1660 forged a centralised, literate state. The defeats of 1864 against Prussia reduced the kingdom to a small country that chose to intensify its agriculture and cooperatives.

In the twentieth century Denmark built a universalist welfare state. It joined the Communities in 1973 alongside the United Kingdom and Ireland, but kept opt-outs: it has not adopted the euro. Greenland, a member through Denmark, left the Communities in 1985.

Milestones

965 Christianisation

Jelling stone

Harald Bluetooth proclaims the Christianisation of the Danes: the kingdom’s birth certificate.

1016 Middle Ages

Empire of Cnut the Great

The Danish king rules England, Norway and Denmark: a North Sea empire.

1397 Middle Ages

Kalmar Union

The three Scandinavian kingdoms are united under a single crown for more than a century.

1536 Renaissance and Reformations

Lutheran Reformation

The Church becomes a state Church; universal religious instruction prepares national literacy.

1849 Early modern period

Liberal constitution

Absolutism ends; Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy.

1943 Contemporary period

Rescue of the Danish Jews

In a few nights, more than 7,000 Jews are evacuated to neutral Sweden.

1949 European construction took part

Council of Europe

Ten states found in London the first European political organisation, matrix of the Convention on Human Rights.

1973 European construction

Accession of Denmark to the Communities

The first Nordic member, Denmark enters alongside the United Kingdom and Ireland.

1973 European construction took part

First enlargement

Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the Communities, which grow from six to nine.

1992 European construction took part

Maastricht Treaty

The European Union is created, with European citizenship and the timetable for the single currency.

Political landscape

Results of the June 2024 European election and their translation into European Parliament groups.

SF — Socialistisk Folkeparti 3
S — Socialdemokratiet 3
V — Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti 2
DD — Danmarksdemokraterne 1
LA — Liberal Alliance 1
EL — Enhedslisten — De Rød-Grønne 1
RV — Radikale Venstre 1
DF — Dansk Folkeparti 1
K — Det Konservative Folkeparti 1
M — Moderaterne 1

Distribution of European seats

Renew Europe Group 5
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance 3
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament 3
European Conservatives and Reformists Group 1
The Left group in the European Parliament — GUE/NGL 1
Patriots for Europe Group 1
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) 1

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The state in numbers

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Public debt, % of GDP 26.8 % 0.4 % GDP per head (EU = 100) 129.4 0.3 Government spending, % of GDP 47.3 % 0.1 % Total tax burden, % of GDP 45.1 % 0.4 % Prisoners per 100,000 people 69.9 0.1