About Denmark (courtesy of Wikipedia)
The Kingdom of Denmark is a nation situated in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries. The mainland is bordered to the south by Germany; Denmark is located to the southwest of Sweden and the south of Norway. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland (Jylland) and a large number of islands, most notably Zealand (Sjælland), Funen (Fyn), Vendsyssel-Thy, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has long controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea, and these waters are also known as the Danish straits. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are autonomous provinces of Denmark with home rule.
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. It is a member of NATO and the European Union, having joined the European Economic Community in 1973. The national capital and the largest city is Copenhagen. Originally a seafaring nation relying on fishing, farming and trade, Denmark experienced steady industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries and developed the Scandinavian model welfare state. In 2006 and 2007, surveys[1] ranked Denmark as "the happiest place in the world," based on standards of health, welfare, and education. In 2007 Copenhagen was ranked the third most liveable city in the world by Monocle magazine.
Denmark is divided into five regions (Danish: regioner, singular: region) and a total of 98 municipalities. The regions were created on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform to replace the country's traditional thirteen counties (amter). At the same time, smaller municipalities (kommuner) were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 to 98. The most important area of responsibility for the new regions is the national health service. Unlike the former counties, the regions are not allowed to levy taxes, and the health service is primarily financed by a national 8% (sundhedsbidrag) tax combined with funds from both government and municipalities. Each Regional Council consists of 41 elected politicians elected as part of the 2005 Danish municipal elections.
Most of the new municipalities have a population of least 20,000 people, although a few exceptions were made to this rule.
The Ertholmene archipelago (96 inhabitants (2008)) is neither part of a municipality, nor a region but belongs to the Ministry of Defence.
Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, as members of Rigsfællesskabet but have autonomous status and are largely self-governing, and are each represented by two seats in the parliament.
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