Denmark/People
Most Danes today trace their heritage to a Gothic-Germanic people who have inhabited Denmark since prehistoric times. However, with immigration in recent into the country from various parts of the world, the Danish population has become increasingly heterogeneous. Danish is the principal language of Denmark.
During the Völkerwanderung migrations (times of Huns and later Slavs and Avars onslaughts into Magna Germania), Danes came onto the peninsula of Jutland. They were repelled by native Juetlanders, Friesians and other native Germanic tribes. Danish attackers left many ships, on which they came, stuck in the moors, which can still be found today. In time the Frankish/German emperors married off the Jutland chief's daughters to Danes, thus making them part of the empire as kings.
A small German-speaking minority lives in southern part of Denmark on Jutland, more exactly in northern Sleswig. Schleswig and Holstein dukes were for a long time under the Holy Roman Empire also the kings of Denmark. The dukes of Schleswig/Holstein were to also be kings of Denmark, but it was to always remain separate. Despite this the northern part of Schleswig near Tondern was cut off and "given" to Denmark after the first world war at Versailles. Today most people in border regions of Europe speak both languages.
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.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church (Den danske folkefirke) is state-supported and, according to statistics from January 2002, accounts for about 84.3% of Denmark's religious affiliation. Denmark has religious freedom, however, and other religions exist, both Protestant denominations and other. The office of the Minister of Religion (Kirkeministeren) recognizes 12 difference religions for tax and legal purposes; in addition it acknowledges a number of other religious groups for the purpose of conducting wedding ceremonies.
Ansgar of Hamburg (later Hamburg-Bremen) was designated archbishop over the North and East. Hamburg-Bremen remained so until Lund was designed to take on their own archbishopric.
Population:
5,336,394 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
18% (male 505,820; female 479,815)
15-64 years:
67% (male 1,802,665; female 1,755,633)
65 years and over:
15% (male 330,055; female 462,406) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.31% (2000 est.)
Birth rate:
12.16 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate:
11 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate:
1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.71 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
5.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
76.54 years
male:
73.95 years
female:
79.27 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.73 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Dane(s)
adjective:
Danish
Ethnic groups:
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German
Religions:
Lutheran 97%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic, other
Languages:
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note:
English is the predominant second language
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
100%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
- See also : Denmark
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