Two autonomous provinces with home rule are considered part of Denmark despite their distance from the Jutland Peninsula. They are the [[Faroe Islands]], a small archipelago located in the Norwegian Sea between [[Scotland]] and [[Iceland]]; and [[Greenland]], off northeast [[Canada]], part of the [[North America]]n landmass and the largest island in the world.
===Greenland and the Faroe Islands===
[[File:Columnar-Basalt von Frooba Faroe.jpg|thumb|Columnar-Basalt von Froðba, Färöer]]
The Greenland economy has increased by an average of some 3% to 4% annually since 1993, the result of increasing catches and exports of shrimp, Greenland halibut and, more recently, crab. However, it was not until 1999 that the economy had fully recovered from the economic downturn in the early 1990s. During the last decade the Greenland Home Rule Government (GHRG) has pursued a fiscal policy with mostly small budget surpluses and low inflation. The GHRG has taken initiatives to increase the labor force and thus employment by, among other things, raising the retirement age from 60 to 63 years. However, structural reforms are still needed in order to create a broader business base and economic growth through more efficient use of existing resources in both the public and the private sector. Due to the continued critical dependence on exports of fish, the economy remains very vulnerable to foreign developments. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in Greenland's economy. Close to one-half of the government revenues come from Danish Government grants, an important supplement of GDP. Greenland has registered a foreign trade deficit since the closure of the last remaining lead and zinc mine in 1989. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and mineral exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Two major aluminum producers reportedly have expressed interest in building smelters in Greenland to take advantage of abundant hydropower potential. Besides a continued increase in local content, i.e., using a Greenlandic rather than Danish work force in both the public and private sectors, tourism appears to be the sector that offers the best near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. Air Greenland has announced it will begin its first scheduled service to North America in May 2007, with summer season flights to Baltimore.
Politically, the Greenland Home Rule Government has had increasing autonomy since its creation in 1979. An independent commission from Greenland made recommendations for greater self-rule in 2003. In May 2003, the Danish and Greenland Home Rule governments reached agreement on a set of power-sharing principles on Greenland's involvement in Danish foreign and security policy. The so-called Itilleq Declaration provides that Greenland will have foreign policy involvement with a view toward having equal status on questions of concern to both Denmark and Greenland. The Danish Government intends to form, together with Greenland, a new Danish-Greenlandic Commission to make joint recommendations to the Danish parliament on ways to update the Home Rule Act of 1979.
The Faroese economy has performed strongly since the mid-1990s with annual growth rates averaging close to 6%, mostly as a result of increasing fish landings and salmon farming and high and stable export prices. Unemployment is insignificant and there are labor shortages in several sectors. Most of the Faroese who emigrated in the early 1990s (some 10% of the population) due to the economic recession have now returned. The positive economic development also has helped the Faroese Home Rule Government produce increasing budget surpluses that in turn help to reduce the large public debt, most of it to Denmark. However, the total dependence on fishing and salmon farming makes the Faroese economy very vulnerable, and the present fishing efforts appear in excess of what is required to ensure a sustainable level of fishing in the long term. Initial discoveries of oil in the Faroese area give hope for eventual oil production, which may lay the basis for a more diversified economy and thus less dependence on Denmark and Danish economic assistance. Aided by a substantial annual subsidy from Denmark, albeit reduced from some 10% of GDP to about 6% in 2002, the Faroese have a standard of living comparable to that of the Danes and other Scandinavians.
Politically, the present Faroese Home Rule Government has initiated a process toward greater independence from Denmark, if not complete secession from the realm, a project the outcome of which it is too early to predict. In that respect, agreement on how to phase out the Danish subsidy plays a crucial role.
==People==
Denmark's relatively quiet and neutral role in international affairs was abruptly changed on September 30, 2005, when the Danish newspaper ''Jyllands-Posten'' printed 12 caricatures of Mohammed. Islamic law prohibits any visual portrayal of Mohammed, and Muslims viewed the caricatures as offensive. Muslims worldwide were infuriated with the Danes, beginning a boycott of Danish products and burning several Danish embassies. The Danish Government defended freedom of expression while it chastised the newspaper for inconsideration. The newspaper apologized, and the Danish Government repeatedly reiterated its support for freedom of religion, but the Islamic community still holds much animosity toward the Danes.
===Recent politics===
[[File:Dmytro Kanuper.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[Neo-Nazi]] Dmytro Kanuper receives standing ovation in the Danish Parliament.]]
In February 2025 Dmytro Kanuper, a [[Ukrainian Nazi]] and member of the [[Azov Battalion]], received a standing ovation in the Danish Parliament. Kanuper is a member of the [[terrorist]] [[white supremacist]] group the [[Misanthropic Division]].<ref>[https://t.me/Slavyangrad/120274 Ukrainian Nazi Dmytro Kanuper receives standing ovation in the Danish Parliament].</ref>
===Foreign Relations===
[[File:Leaders at a United Nations Conference in Copenhagen.jpg|thumb|300px|Leaders at a United Nations conference in Copenhagen, 2009.]]
Danish foreign policy is founded upon four cornerstones: the United Nations, NATO, the EU, and Nordic cooperation. Denmark also is a member of, among others, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; the World Trade Organization (WTO); the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the Council of Europe; the Nordic Council; the Baltic Council; and the Barents Council. Denmark emphasizes its relations with developing nations. Although the government has moved to tighten foreign assistance expenditures, it remains a significant donor and one of the few countries to exceed the UN goal of contributing 0.7% of GNP to development assistance.
Danish foreign policy is founded upon four cornerstones: the United Nations, NATO, the EU, and Nordic cooperation. Denmark also is a member of, among others, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; the World Trade Organization (WTO); the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the Council of Europe; the Nordic Council; the Baltic Council; and the Barents Council. Denmark emphasizes its relations with developing nations. Although the government has moved to tighten foreign assistance expenditures, it remains a significant donor and one of the few countries to exceed the UN goal of contributing 0.7% of GNP to development assistance.
[[File:Leaders at a United Nations Conference in Copenhagen.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Leaders at a United Nations conference in Copenhagen, 2009.]]
In the wake of the Cold War, Denmark has been active in international efforts to integrate the countries of Central and Eastern Europe into the West. It has played a leadership role in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping. Danish forces were heavily engaged in the former [[Yugoslavia]] in the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR), as well as in NATO's Operation Joint Endeavor/Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (IFOR/SFOR), and currently in the Kosovo Force (KFOR).
The Danish liberal movement gained momentum in the 1830s, and in 1849 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy. After the war with Prussia and Austria in 1864, Denmark was forced to cede Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia and adopt a policy of neutrality. Toward the end of the 19th century, Denmark inaugurated important social and labor market reforms, laying the basis for the present welfare state.
Denmark remained neutral during World War I. Despite its declaration of neutrality at the beginning of World War II, it was invaded by the Germans in 1940 and occupied until liberated by the Allied forces in May 1945. Resistance against the Germans was sporadic until late 1943. By then better organized, the resistance movement and other volunteers undertook a successful rescue mission in which nearly the entire Jewish population of Denmark was shipped to Sweden (whose neutrality was honored by Germany). However, extensive studies are still being undertaken for the purpose of establishing a clearer picture of the degree of Danish cooperation—official and corporate—with the occupying power. Denmark became a charter member of the United Nations and was one of the original signers of the North Atlantic Treaty. {| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''|-!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:|style=" background-color: none;"| <small>This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code</small>|-!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| <small>File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3167.htm]</small>}}}. |}
==See also==
*[[Atheistic Denmark and child pornography]]
*[[Coat of arms of Denmark]]
*[[Anti-Comintern Pact]]
*[[Denmark and bestiality]]
*[[Russophobia]]
==References==
<references />
==External link==
*[https://t.me/Slavyangrad/120274 Ukrainian Nazi Dmytro Kanuper receives standing ovation in the Danish Parliament].
{{European Union}}
[[Category:Scandinavian Countries]]
[[Category:Denmark]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]