Denmark vs. Germany
Geography
| Denmark | Germany | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes several major islands (Sjaelland, Fyn, and Bornholm) | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
| Geographic coordinates | 56 00 N, 10 00 E | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 43,094 sq km land: 42,434 sq km water: 660 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland | total: 357,022 sq km land: 348,672 sq km water: 8,350 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts; about two-thirds the size of West Virginia | three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana |
| Land boundaries | total: 140 km border countries (1): Germany 140 km | total: 3,694 km border countries (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czechia 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 447 km, Switzerland 348 km |
| Coastline | 7,314 km | 2,389 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
| Terrain | low and flat to gently rolling plains | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Mollehoj/Ejer Bavnehoj 171 m lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m mean elevation: 34 m | highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m mean elevation: 263 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish, arable land, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 63.4% (2018 est.) arable land: 58.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 4.4% (2018 est.) forest: 12.9% (2018 est.) other: 23.7% (2018 est.) note: highest percentage of arable land for any country in the world | agricultural land: 48% (2018 est.) arable land: 34.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 13.3% (2018 est.) forest: 31.8% (2018 est.) other: 20.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 4,350 sq km (2012) | 6,500 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes | flooding |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides; much of country's household and industrial waste is recycled | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power by 2022; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protection | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | composed of the Jutland Peninsula and a group of more than 400 islands (Danish Archipelago); controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward |
| Total renewable water resources | 6 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 154 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | with excellent access to the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, and the Baltic Sea, population centers tend to be along coastal areas, particularly in Copenhagen and the eastern side of the country's mainland | most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia |
Source: CIA Factbook
