Officially known as the Kingdom of Denmark, it is one of the Scandinavian countries in the north of Europe. There are many small and large islands connected to the country, which was founded on a peninsula. Denmark, one of the regions known as the land of the Vikings, was with countries such as Sweden and Norway for a long time. It managed to survive as an independent country after numerous wars until recently.
Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, it uses its own currency. It is one of the smallest countries in the world, but at the same time, the happiest people in the world live here because the justice system in the country is much more advanced than many other countries and is even accepted as an international benchmark in studies. Let’s take a closer look at some interesting facts about Denmark, some of which you will hear for the first time.
Interesting little-known facts about Denmark:
- Denmark is a small but also a big country.
- Danes are the happiest people in the world.
- The country is full of islands, although most of it is not used.
- You can even swim in Denmark’s busiest ports.
- It is possible to watch the Danish prince on the podium.
- The world’s most popular toy was invented in a small town in Denmark.
- A Dane pays almost half of his earnings in taxes.
- In Denmark, if you send your child to kindergarten, you may find that he is educated in the forest.
- For those who do not like indoor weather, Denmark can be quite annoying.
- The oldest flag in the world belongs to Denmark.
- A former Danish king named it after a technology we use today.
Denmark is a small but also a big country:
When we think of the Scandinavian world, we think of vast forests, mountains and cliffs, but when we look at the surface area, we see that Denmark, one of these countries, is quite small. There are states in the United States that are much larger than Denmark, which ranks 130th in the world. The Danish mainland is 42,931 square kilometers wide.
Denmark is a small country, but it is also considered one of the largest in the world. This is because the island of Greenland is connected to this country. Thanks to Greenland, which is the world’s largest non-continental island with a width of 2.1 million square kilometers, Denmark seems to be in the 12th place in the calculation made over the sovereign lands.
Danes are the happiest people in the world:
To be honest, this order changes from time to time and Finland sometimes takes the first place, but Denmark is always one of the countries where the happiest people in the world live, according to the United Nations Happiness Report. In addition to the magnificent geography, the biggest reason why these people are happy is good management. Working conditions are humane, the minimum wage is twice that of the USA, social rights are always in favor of citizens, health is free, education is free. What else?
The country is full of islands, although most are not used:
Of course, now there is the island, there is the island. Some are made up of small cliffs, but according to official figures, there are 444 islands in Denmark. It is the fate of Scandinavian geography that only 76 of these islands are inhabited. However, do not think that the people living on these islands are suffering from misery. In 2020, Denmark’s Bornholm and Samso Islands were named the European Union’s most livable islands.
You can even swim in Denmark’s busiest ports:
Since Denmark is a small country, you can get 52 kilometers away from the sea wherever you go. When you reach the sea, there are countless beaches waiting for you. But if you say I’m crazy, let’s dive from those boats; It is possible. It happens because even the busiest ports we normally get used to being filthy, such as Copenhagen harbor, are clean enough to swim in. Because the administrations make a sustainable environmental planning.
You can watch the Danish prince on the podium:
Even symbolically, Denmark is a kingdom and has been Queen II since 1972. Margrethe is sitting. All members of the family have an interesting feature, but the young Prince Nikolai, who is 9th in line to the throne, is the most interesting among them, because he is a model. The young prince, who made his runway debut at 2018 London Fashion Week, is currently modeling for Dior designer Kim Jones.
The world’s most popular toy was invented in a small town in Denmark:
Ole Kirk Christiansen, a toymaker living in the town of Billund, Denmark, founded a company called LEGO, combining the Danish words Leg Godt, which means good game. When his stocks ran out during the Second World War, he started to make small blocks from the plastic materials he had. The LEGO company, which opened to the world after 1949, is one of the largest toy companies in the world today.
A Dane pays almost half of his earnings in taxes:
Every state takes a certain amount of tax from its citizens and we forgot, but the state uses this tax to serve its citizens. Prices in Denmark are incredibly high because the sales tax is exactly 25 percent. Interestingly, a working Dane pays 45 percent of his annual income, almost half as income tax. More interestingly, surveys show that 90 percent of the public is satisfied with this situation. Because the state does not collect so much tax and does not receive additional money for services, it provides services that are successful enough to pay its taxes back to its people until the end.
In Denmark, if you send your child to kindergarten, you may find that he is being educated in the forest:
No, as Mahmut Hoca said, ‘School is not a place with four walls, school is everywhere.’ There is no such thing as dramatic. Much of Denmark is already forested, and schools are often located further afield from urban settlements. Educators who want to evaluate this situation in a good way, introduce nature closely, especially by bringing children in the kindergarten period together with the forests. Due to the nature of the country, it is possible to touch this natural life even in the largest cities.
For those who don’t like the outdoors, Denmark can be quite annoying:
Northern Europe, also referred to as the Scandinavian region, is generally cloudy, cold and rainy. In Denmark, which is located in this region, there is an average of 170 days of rain a year. Even when there is no rain, dark weather prevails as the weather is generally cloudy. So if you say you can’t do it without seeing the sun, you can say social rights and run away from this country.
The oldest flag in the world belongs to Denmark:
Humanity has used flags to symbolize its community since the first days of civilization. Even noble families in Europe have their own flags. But the flag as we know it is a sovereign state symbol. For this reason, the oldest flag in the world is the Dannebrog, which was adopted in Denmark in 1219 and is still used today. The Guinness World Record is still on the Danish flag, as there is no older example currently known.
A former Danish king named a technology we use today:
In 1996, engineers from Intel, Nokia, and Ericsson were working together on short-range radio waves. Jim Kardach, an Intel engineer, was reading a book on the life of Harald Bluetooth, a Danish king at the time. Harald Bluetooth, who lived in the 10th century, united the entire Scandinavian world. Thinking that the technology they found would unite all devices, Jim Kardach gave this name to their technology and combined the initials of this king as a logo. Bue tooth, the name of the blue tooth, also determined the color of the logo.
Despite being one of the smallest countries in the world, we tried to get to know this geography better by talking about interesting information about Denmark, where the happiest people live. You can share your thoughts about Denmark in the comments.