Denmark lies northwest of Europe, the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries. It is bounded on the north by the Skagerrak, an arm of the North Sea; on the east by the Kattegat (an extension of the Skagerrak). Also by the Øresund (The Sound) a strait linking the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea; on the south by the Baltic Sea, a strait called the Fehmarn, and Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; and on the west by the North Sea. Denmark comprises most of the Jutland, or Jylland, peninsula, which extends about 338 km in a north and south direction, and numerous islands in the Baltic and North seas. The principal islands, lying between the mainland and Sweden, are Fyn, Lolland, Sjaelland (English Zealand), Falster, Langeland, and Møn. About 130 km to the east of Sjaelland, in the Baltic, is the Danish island of Bornholm. Far to the northwest of Jutland, in the Atlantic Ocean, between the Shetland Islands and Iceland, lie the Faeroe Islands, a group of 18 islands, part of Denmark since 1948; and near the North American mainland, between the North Atlantic and the Arctic oceans, is the island of Greenland, an integral part, from 1953, of the Danish monarchy. Both the Faeroe Islands and Greenland are internally self-governing. Excluding these islands, Denmark has an area of 43,069 sq km, and the surface of the Danish mainland is generally low; the average elevation is about 30 m above sea level.
             Denmark has a small open economy highly dependent on foreign trade and therefore a strong interest in the free exchange of goods and services across its borders. Consequently, Denmark has joined international economic organisations such as the EU, OECD, and WTO, and within the framework of these has striven to remove obstacles to free trade. Foreign trade accounts for approximately 2/3 of GDP and most foreign trade is with other EU countries. Denmark's main trading partner is Germany, but Sweden and Great Britain are also important. Outside the EU, Norw...