More basic facts about Denmark
For more basic facts and information about Denmark, please visit the official website for Denmark:
A quick introduction to Denmark's green transition
Denmark is on the road to a greener future, but we are not quite there yet. Let us share experiences and inspire each other to continue the journey. Watch a quick animated summary of where we are heading. The movie is funded by the Confederation of Danish Industry and developed in cooperation with State of Green.
Basic facts
- Population: 5.7 million
- Area: 43,000 km2
- Capital: Copenhagen
Geography:
- Denmark’s 12,000 km of coastline equal 1.5 meters of coast per Dane
- No place in Denmark is more than 50 km from the sea
State:
- More than 1,000 years old, the Danish monarchy is the oldest continuing monarchy in the world
Transport:
- Danes are the proud owners of more than 4.6 million bicycles. That is almost two bicycles for every privately owned car
Water:
- Denmark’s water supply is 100% based on groundwater
Decoupling:
- While growing GDP by more than 90% since 1980, Denmark has managed to flatline its energy consumption, decrease its water consumption and lower its CO2 emissions
Cities:
- Copenhagen aims to be the world’s first carbon-neutral capital by 2025
Clean air:
- Denmark has reduced air pollution to less than one fifth of the 1970s levels
Waste:
- In Denmark, 2/3 of all waste is recycled
Circular economy:
- One in five Danes participates in activities related to the sharing economy (e.g. car sharing, house swapping, etc.)
- In Denmark, 9 out of 10 bottles and cans are returned and reused. From 1000 cans you can make a bicycle.
Energy:
- Danes can be confident that there is power in the socket more than 99.99% of the time
- 70% of Danish electricity comes from renewable sources (2017)
- Since 2016, Denmark has topped the World Energy Council’s ranking of the world’s best energy systems
District heating:
- 6 in 10 Danish households are supplied with district heating – 60% is generated from renewables
Wind:
- The world’s first offshore wind farm was built in Vindeby, Denmark in 1991
- 43% of Danish power was produced solely by wind energy in 2017: That’s a world record!
Green business is good business:
- Employment in the green sector has increased by 27% since 2012, which is more than four times the increase in the private sector in general
- From 2012 to 2017, turnover in the Danish green sector has increased by 31%, which outgrows the development in the general private sector more than five-fold
Other:
- Transparency International has repeatedly found Denmark to be among the least corrupt countries in the world.
- Denmark’s flag from 1219 is the oldest flag in the world
- Every year, Danes can meet their politicians face-to-face at the People’s Democratic Festival