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Most Danes today trace their heritage to a Germanic people who have inhabited Denmark since prehistoric times. However, with immigration in recent history 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 World War I 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 18 and is free through the university level.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church (Den danske folkekirke) 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 different religions for tax and legal purposes; in addition it acknowledges a number of other religious groups for the purpose of conducting wedding ceremonies.
Ansgar was in 835 designated archbishop over the North and East. His bishopric Hamburg-Bremen remained so until Lund was designed to take on their own archbishopric in 1103.
Demographic data
Population
Denmarks population from 1769 to 2006.
| Year | Polulation January 1st | Year | Polulation January 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1769 | 797,584 | 1976 | 5,065,313 |
| 1787 | 841,806 | 1977 | 5,079,879 |
| 1801 | 929,001 | 1978 | 5,096,959 |
| 1834 | 1,230,964 | 1979 | 5,111,537 |
| 1840 | 1,289,075 | 1980 | 5,122,065 |
| 1845 | 1,356,877 | 1981 | 5,123,989 |
| 1850 | 1,414,648 | 1982 | 5,119,155 |
| 1855 | 1,507,222 | 1983 | 5,116,464 |
| 1860 | 1,608,362 | 1984 | 5,112,130 |
| 1870 | 1,784,741 | 1985 | 5,111,108 |
| 1880 | 1,969,039 | 1986 | 5,116,273 |
| 1890 | 2,172,380 | 1987 | 5,124,794 |
| 1901 | 2,449,540 | 1988 | 5,129,254 |
| 1906 | 2,588,919 | 1989 | 5,129,778 |
| 1911 | 2,757,076 | 1990 | 5,135,409 |
| 1916 | 2,921,362 | 1991 | 5,146,469 |
| 1921 | 3,267,831 | 1992 | 5,162,126 |
| 1925 | 3,434,555 | 1993 | 5,180,614 |
| 1930 | 3,550,656 | 1994 | 5,196,642 |
| 1935 | 3,706,349 | 1995 | 5,215,718 |
| 1940 | 3,844,312 | 1996 | 5,251,027 |
| 1945 | 4,045,232 | 1997 | 5,275,121 |
| 1950 | 4,281,275 | 1998 | 5,294,860 |
| 1955 | 4,448,401 | 1999 | 5,313,577 |
| 1960 | 4,585,256 | 2000 | 5,330,020 |
| 1965 | 4,767,597 | 2001 | 5,349,212 |
| 1970 | 4,937,579 | 2002 | 5,368,354 |
| 1971 | 4,950,598 | 2003 | 5,383,507 |
| 1972 | 4,975,653 | 2004 | 5,397,640 |
| 1973 | 5,007,538 | 2005 | 5,411,405 |
| 1974 | 5,036,184 | 2006 | 5,427,459 |
| 1975 | 5,054,410 | 2007 | ? |
- Source Danmarks Statistik
Age structure
- 0-14 years: 18.7% (male 523,257; female 496,697)
- 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,815,240; female 1,787,406)
- 65 years and over: 15.2% (male 355,656; female 472,405) (2006 est.)
Median age
- total: 39.8 years
- male: 38.9 years
- female: 40.7 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate
- 0.33% (2006 est.)
Birth rate
- 11.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate
- 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate
- 2.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
- under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
- total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate
- total: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births
- male: 4.54 deaths/1,000 live births
- female: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy
- total population: 77.79 years
- male: 75.49 years
- female: 80.22 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate
- 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2003 est.)
- people living with HIV/AIDS: 5,000 (2003 est.)
- deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)
Nationality
- noun: Dane(s)
- adjective: Danish
Ethnic groups
- Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Religion
- Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2%
Language
- 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: 99%
- male: 99%
- female: 99% (2003 est.)
References
See also
Demografía de Dinamarca | Démographie du Danemark | Demografia da Dinamarca | Население Дании
"Demographics of Denmark"