Denmark

C

Climate

Denmark has a temperate maritime climate, with cool summers and generally mild winters. The winds are strong for much of the year and have a prevailing direction from the west. The mean temperature in summer is about 16°C (about 61°F); in winter, about 0°C (about 32°F), with slightly cooler average temperatures in the eastern part of the country. Average annual rainfall is about 610 mm (about 24 in). The wettest months are typically July through October.

D

Natural Resources

Some 53 percent of the total land area of Denmark is cultivated—a relatively large percentage for an industrialized nation. Much of Denmark’s energy needs are met by petroleum and natural gas reserves located in Denmark’s sector of the North Sea. Other minerals are limited. The most common include the clays, peat, and other deposits common to boggy country.

The gray soils of Denmark are only moderately fertile. Because the soil is acidic and tends to quickly drain minerals, it must be heavily fertilized to permit intensive cultivation.

E

Plants and Animals

In ancient times Denmark was heavily forested. Relatively little wild vegetation remains in Denmark because so much of the land is urbanized or under cultivation. The forests, which cover just 11.8 percent of the country, include conifers (mainly fir, spruce, larch, and pine), beech, oak, birch, and ash. Several varieties of ferns and mosses common to the northern European mainland are also found. Wild animals are scarce. Natural animal life is limited to deer and small animals such as foxes, squirrels, hares, wild ducks, pheasants, and partridges. Numerous species of freshwater fish live in Denmark’s streams and lakes.

---

---

F

Environmental Issues

Considered highly advanced in environmental planning and world environmental activism, Denmark is a leader in pollution control and was the first industrialized country to establish a ministry of the environment. Denmark recognizes most of its protected areas as special zones rather than setting them aside as parks and reserves. Commercial activity is strictly regulated to preserve natural and historical value of the landscape. About one-third of the country falls into these protected zones.

Virtually all of the nation’s sewage is treated, and sulfur dioxide emissions—a source of acid rain—were significantly reduced during the 1990s. Nevertheless, challenging problems remain to be solved. Agricultural runoff, which contains high levels of fertilizers, has caused harmful algal blooms (see algae) in the North Sea and increasingly contaminates drinking water supplies.

Denmark has ratified an international convention on wetlands and protects many designated sites. There is an immense tundra reserve in northeastern Greenland, a Danish dependency. Other international environmental agreements ratified include those pertaining to air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, hazardous wastes, marine dumping, marine life, the ozone layer, ship pollution, tropical timber, and whaling. Regionally, Denmark is party to agreements to protect terrestrial and marine habitats.

III

People

Ethnically, the majority of Danes are of Scandinavian descent. The Scandinavians are a Germanic people who have occupied Norway, Sweden, and Denmark since pre-Viking times. The languages of the three countries are closely related. A small German-speaking minority lives in southern Jutland near the border with Germany. A largely Inuit population inhabits the Danish territory of Greenland, and the Faroe Islands have a Nordic population, the descendents of Viking colonizers. About 6 percent of Denmark’s people are classified as immigrants.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain