Denmark is a country in
Northern Europe. The most southern of the
Nordic countries, it is located southwest of
Sweden and south of
Norway, and bordered to the south by
Germany. The
Kingdom of Denmark is a
sovereign state that comprises Denmark and two autonomous
constituent countries in the
North Atlantic Ocean: the
Faroe Islands and
Greenland. Denmark proper has an area of 43,094
square kilometres (16,639 sq mi), and a population of around 5.7 million inhabitants (October 2014). The country consists of a peninsula,
Jutland, and the Danish archipelago of
443 named islands, of which around 70 are inhabited. The islands are characterised by flat,
arable landand sandy coasts, low elevation and a
temperate climate.
A Scandinavian nation, Denmark shares strong cultural and historic ties with its overseas neighbours Sweden and Norway. The national language, Danish, is very closely related and mutually intelligible with Swedish and Norwegian.
The Flag of Denmark (Danish: Dannebrog Danish pronunciation: [ˈdanəˌbʁoˀ]) is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. The cross design, which representsChristianity, was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries; Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Åland Islandsand the Faroe Islands, as well as the British archipelagos of Shetland and Orkney. During the Danish-Norwegian personal union, Dannebrog ("Danish cloth") was also the flag of Norway and continued to be, with slight modifications, until Norway adopted its current flag in 1821.
