During my first trip to Denmark, I learned a lot. Knowing some of these interesting facts about Denmark up front would have helped me prepare for my time there, so I thought I would share! Other ones of these facts are just fun to know (limited fun, but fun none-the-less).
Here are 10 useful facts about Denmark and 10 fun facts about Denmark to get you excited for your trip!
10 Useful Facts About Denmark
These initial ten facts fall under “things to know before you go to Denmark”. From knowing how to get around to what to expect of the weather, you’ll be better prepared for your time in the country with these useful facts about Denmark.
1. Transportation and Traffic in Denmark
Biking is the number one form of transportation with more than twice the amount of bicycles than cars on the road. (4.2 million bicycles vs. 1.8 million cars) This means bikes are everywhere! Stay off the bike path when walking, but this does not guarantee you won’t get hit. Keep your eyes open.
Additionally, Danes typically wait for traffic signals to indicate they can walk before they cross the street. No jaywalking here! This is partially due to the possibility of a fine of 1000 DKK for jaywalking.
2. The Danish Language
The Danish language is considered one of the most difficult ones to learn due to complex pronunciation and a bunch of silent letters. This includes an additional 3 letters from the English alphabet – all of which come after Z in the alphabet: Æ, Ø and Å.
No worries though, most Danish people speak English perfectly.
3. Drinking Water
Tap water is “potable”, or safe to drink. In fact, you’ll find some of the world’s cleanest tap water in Denmark.
4. The Cost of Things in Denmark
Prices are generally lower than other Scandinavian countries but slightly higher than the rest of Europe. You may be surprised to find sales tax is set at 25%, one of the highest in the world.
5. Credit Cards
In Denmark, credit cards are accepted everywhere, usually with no minimum limit. However, some places require a PIN and will not let you sign for it.
6. Weather
On average, it rains 171 days per year in Denmark – that’s every other day! This includes any day with precipitation of more than 0.004 inch or 0.1 mm. It is also regularly breezy with an average wind of 13 mph.
Temperature wise, Denmark does not typically exceed 10 – 20 Celsius or 50 – 70 Fahrenheit.
7. Size of Denmark
Denmark is a small country made up of an archipelago of over 100 islands, some of which are uninhabited. No matter where you are in Denmark, you will never be more than 1 hour away from the sea. In fact, Denmark ranks 130th in the world by size – just larger than the Netherlands and Switzerland!
While Denmark is considered small by land mass, if you include all of the islands in the Kingdom of Denmark – over 400 islands, it makes them the 12th largest country in the world. This is partially because of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark and the Faroe Islands.
8. Amusement Parks in Denmark
Denmark offers the world’s oldest and second oldest operating amusement parks: Bakken and Tivoli. Bakken opened back in 1583 and is just 20 minutes outside of central Copenhagen and Tivoli dates back to 1843 and is located in central Copenhagen.
In fact, Walt Disney visited Tivoli and thus decided to create Disneyland.
9. Convenience Stores
Denmark offers lots of convenience stores, including 7-Elevens, which are everywhere! Should you need a snack or drink, you will never need to go without – except maybe after 11pm as things do close early.
10. Castles of Denmark
Denmark has a number of great sights, including lots of castles throughout the country. In fact, there are a number of castles that are within a day trip’s distance of Copenhagen – including Hamlet’s Castle.
Read more: Day Trip from Copenhagen to Three Castles
10 Fun Facts about Denmark
These next ten Denmark facts are a bit more fun and likely less known. They’ll give you a new appreciation for this tiny Scandinavian country and help set it apart from its neighbors of Sweden and Norway.
1. Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world.
Multiple surveys have rated Denmark as being the happiest or second happiest country in the world. In fact, the UN World Happiness Report has rated Danes as the happiest people on earth two years in a row! Looks like you’ll have to visit to find out if you agree…
2. The Danish flag is oldest national flag still in use.
First acknowledged in 1219, the flag of Denmark, the “Dannebrog”, is the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation.
3. Denmark is home of the Lego.
Originally invented back in 1949 by Ole Kirk Christiansen, lego is an abbreviation of “Leg godt” which means “play well”.
4. The Danish government has a hand in naming children.
The Danish government keeps a list of baby names that are pre-approved for the newest Danes. There are currently about 22,000 approved girls’ names, 18,000 approved boys’ names, and 1,000 approved unisex names on the list.
5. The Copenhagen harbor is considered clean enough to swim in.
While the water is deemed clean enough, you may want to reconsider the actual swim as it is still a harbor with boats actively moving in and out.
6. The Danish monarchy is the oldest continuous monarchy.
Having existed for over 1,000 years, the Danish monarchy is the oldest on record. It was originally an elective monarchy, but became hereditary in the 17th century. Then, in the 19th century was converted to a constitutional monarchy.
7. Denmark is one of the “least corrupt” countries in the world.
According to Transparency International, the Global Coalition Against Corruption, Denmark is the least corrupt country in the world as of 2021.
8. Denmark is extremely progressive/liberal.
Denmark is considered quite liberal and as a very open society, Danes are afraid to speak their minds or live alternative lifestyles. This can be seen in Christiania in Copenhagen. In fact, Denmark was the first country to legalize same-sex unions in 1989 and same-sex marriage was granted in 2012.
9. The average tax rate in Denmark is 49%.
While the tax rate is high, it covers healthcare and education so that everyone has the opportunity to good healthcare and education.
10. Denmark is the 5th largest exporter of food in the world.
Danes know a lot about good food. As one additional fun fact, Danes eat an average of 42 sausages per year – some might even consider this a funny fact about Denmark! Just wanted to leave you with a bit of a chuckle!
Learn More about Denmark
And there you have it – 20 useful and fun facts about Denmark! Did you learn anything new or have a favorite interesting fact about Denmark? Feel free to share it in the comments!
In the meantime, learn more about Denmark and its capital, Copenhagen, in these other useful posts:
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