The Country
Denmark is a country in northern Europe. It consists of the Jutland peninsula and more than 440 named islands - of which 78 are populated while the rest are uninhabited - referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark is located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway and is bordered by the German state to the south.
The Kingdom of Denmark also includes two overseas territories, both located west of Denmark: Greenland, the world's largest island, and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. These territories are self-governing. Along with Norway and Sweden, Denmark is a part of the northern European region known as Scandinavia.
The history of Denmark as a unified kingdom began in the 8th century, but the area has a rich prehistory, having been populated by several prehistoric cultures and people since the end of the last ice age.
One of the most notorious periods in Danish history is the age of the Vikings (9th -11th centuries). At one point, the Danish Viking Sweyn I (Forkbeard) and his son Canute I (the Great) were the kings not only of Denmark but of Norway, Southern Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland, Orkney and parts of England.
Most of Denmark's modern cities were founded after the Viking era.
In the late 14th century, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland and Orkney were united as the Union of Kalmar. Although Sweden broke away from the Union in 1523, Norway was ruled by Denmark until 1814. Iceland gained independence in 1918.
Today, Denmark is a constitutional monarchy ruled by a representative democracy and a strong defender of free trade and human rights.
The Danish monarchy is one of the oldest in the world: Queen Margrethe II's heritage can be traced back more than a thousand years to Gorm the Old (believed to be born around the year 900).
Denmark has been named the world's happiest country on numerous occasions, and remains at the very top of the UN World Happiness Report.