Northern Europe · DNK

Denmark

The story · 11 chapters

How it was drawn

A Viking kingdom, then a North Sea empire and the head of a union with Norway, Denmark lost its eastern provinces to Sweden and its southern duchies to Germany before settling its border in 1920.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Denmark fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of the Franks804 to 811
As Charlemagne conquered the Saxons, his empire reached the Danish border. King Godfred raided the Frankish coast and strengthened the Danevirke. After Godfred's death in 810, a peace in 811 fixed the frontier on the river Eider.
Anglo-Saxon England865 to 1042
A great Danish army conquered much of England from 865, until Alfred of Wessex stopped it in 878. Danish kings came back, and Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Cnut took the English throne in 1013 and 1016. Danish rule in England ended in 1042.
Hanseatic League1361 to 1370
Valdemar IV captured Visby on Gotland in 1361 and threatened Baltic trade. The Hanseatic towns and their allies fought back and took Copenhagen in 1368. The Peace of Stralsund in 1370 gave the League fortresses on the Sound for fifteen years.
Kingdom of Sweden1520 to 1523
Christian II reconquered Sweden in 1520 and executed some eighty opponents in the Stockholm Bloodbath. Gustav Vasa led a revolt, was elected king in 1523, and Sweden left the Kalmar Union for good.
Swedish Empire1563 to 1720
Denmark and Sweden fought a long series of wars for control of the Baltic. In 1658 a Swedish army crossed the frozen straits and forced Denmark to give up Scania. Danish attempts to win it back failed, the last in the Great Northern War, ended in 1720.
Kingdom of Great Britain1801 to 1814
The British navy attacked the Danish fleet at Copenhagen in 1801 and bombarded the city in 1807, seizing its warships. Denmark joined Napoleon and fought Britain in the Gunboat War until 1814, then lost Norway at the peace.
Kingdom of Prussia1848 to 1864
Germans in Schleswig and Holstein rose against Danish rule in 1848, backed by Prussia, and Denmark won that first war by 1851. In 1864 Prussia and Austria attacked, broke the Danish line at Dybbol, and took all three duchies.
Nazi Germany1940 to 1945
Germany occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940 to secure its route to Norway. The Danish government cooperated until August 1943, when resistance and strikes grew. German forces in Denmark surrendered in May 1945.
Canada1973 to 2022
When Denmark and Canada drew their sea boundary in 1973, they left out tiny Hans Island between Greenland and Canada. For decades officials planted flags and left bottles of liquor there. In 2022 the two countries split the island in half.

Today

Denmark now

Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is part of the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. The country has opted out of certain elements of the EU's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union and justice and home affairs issues.

Capital: Copenhagen
Government: parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Head of government: Mette Frederiksen
Head of state: Frederik X of Denmark
Languages: Danish
Area: 42,920 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population5.9 million2023 · 4.3 million in 1950
Life expectancy81.9 years2023 · 70.3 years in 1950
GDP per person$50,6892022 · $11,067 in 1950
Living in cities89%2025 · 69% in 1950
Literacy99%1950
Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950
Military spending3.3% of GDP2025 · 1.7% of GDP in 1950
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Sweden

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Denmark fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of the Franks804 to 811

As Charlemagne conquered the Saxons, his empire reached the Danish border. King Godfred raided the Frankish coast and strengthened the Danevirke. After Godfred's death in 810, a peace in 811 fixed the frontier on the river Eider.

Anglo-Saxon England865 to 1042

A great Danish army conquered much of England from 865, until Alfred of Wessex stopped it in 878. Danish kings came back, and Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Cnut took the English throne in 1013 and 1016. Danish rule in England ended in 1042.

Hanseatic League1361 to 1370

Valdemar IV captured Visby on Gotland in 1361 and threatened Baltic trade. The Hanseatic towns and their allies fought back and took Copenhagen in 1368. The Peace of Stralsund in 1370 gave the League fortresses on the Sound for fifteen years.

Kingdom of Sweden1520 to 1523

Christian II reconquered Sweden in 1520 and executed some eighty opponents in the Stockholm Bloodbath. Gustav Vasa led a revolt, was elected king in 1523, and Sweden left the Kalmar Union for good.

Swedish Empire1563 to 1720

Denmark and Sweden fought a long series of wars for control of the Baltic. In 1658 a Swedish army crossed the frozen straits and forced Denmark to give up Scania. Danish attempts to win it back failed, the last in the Great Northern War, ended in 1720.

Kingdom of Great Britain1801 to 1814

The British navy attacked the Danish fleet at Copenhagen in 1801 and bombarded the city in 1807, seizing its warships. Denmark joined Napoleon and fought Britain in the Gunboat War until 1814, then lost Norway at the peace.

Kingdom of Prussia1848 to 1864

Germans in Schleswig and Holstein rose against Danish rule in 1848, backed by Prussia, and Denmark won that first war by 1851. In 1864 Prussia and Austria attacked, broke the Danish line at Dybbol, and took all three duchies.

Nazi Germany1940 to 1945

Germany occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940 to secure its route to Norway. The Danish government cooperated until August 1943, when resistance and strikes grew. German forces in Denmark surrendered in May 1945.

Canada1973 to 2022

When Denmark and Canada drew their sea boundary in 1973, they left out tiny Hans Island between Greenland and Canada. For decades officials planted flags and left bottles of liquor there. In 2022 the two countries split the island in half.

Denmark now

Capital

Copenhagen

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Head of government

Mette Frederiksen

Head of state

Frederik X of Denmark

Languages

Danish

Area

42,920 km²

Then and now

Population5.9 million2023 · 4.3 million in 1950

Life expectancy81.9 years2023 · 70.3 years in 1950

GDP per person$50,6892022 · $11,067 in 1950

Living in cities89%2025 · 69% in 1950

Literacy99%1950

Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950

Military spending3.3% of GDP2025 · 1.7% of GDP in 1950

War deathsNone2025