Denmark - Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Prime Minister
(pronounced "AHN-durs FOEHG RAS-muh-senn")
"We need to change attitudes in society, so that it becomes natural to strive for greater goals. We need to place people before the system and show respect for the individual. The right to decide over one's own life will be the backbone of our policies."
The Kingdom of Denmark is situated in the north of Europe, between the Baltic and North seas. Its southern border with Germany is the only land connection to the continent. Denmark consists of the Jutland peninsula along with 100 inhabited islands, including the large Arctic island of Greenland and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, which are self-governing territories. Denmark proper has an area of only 43,094 sq km (16,638 sq mi), with a population estimated in 2002 at 5.4 million. The capital city is Copenhagen.
The population is 95% Scandinavian in origin, but a significant immigration during the past 30 years has eroded the previous homogeneity. Likewise, 95% of the Danish people are Lutheran in religious affiliation, and Danish is their first language.
Danes enjoy one of the world's highest standards of living, with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) equivalent to US$28,500 in 2001.
