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The majority of the population is of Scandinavian descent, with small groups of Inuit from Greenland, Faroese, and immigrants. According to official statistics in 2005, immigrants and their descendants made up 461,614 people, or 8.5% of the total population. Danish is spoken throughout the country, although a small group near the German border also speaks German. Many Danes are fluent in English as well, particularly those in larger cities and the youth, who are taught English in school and who have grown up with American popular culture as a part of their everyday life. Regarding religions in Denmark, according to official statistics from January 2005, 83.1% of Danes are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish People's Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. The rest are primarily of other Christian denominations, and about 2% are Muslims. Denmark has freedom of religion, and there are numerous small religious societies and communities in addition to the official church. As in most countries, the population is not distributed evenly. Although the land area east of the Great Belt and Langelands Belt only makes up 9,622 km² (3,715 sq m), 22.7% of Denmark´s land area, it has 45% (2,445,168) of the population. The average population density of this area is 254 inhabitants per km² (658 per sq m). The average density in the west of the country (32,772 km²/12,653 sq m) is 91/km² (236/sq m)(2006). The median age is 39.8 years with 0.98 males per female. 99% of the population is literate (age 15 and up). 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.), which reflects a coming drop in worker to retiree ratio. The annual average population growth is 0.33%. |
Denmark Information: Inside
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