Denmark is a small country with a surface area of 43,000 square kilometres (excluding Greenland and the Faroe Islands). With a total population of 5.4 million inhabitants, the country is densely populated. The majority of the population lives in towns or cities, with only 15% living in rural areas. In contrast to many other countries, Denmark's population is relatively homogeneous; only 9% have a foreign background.

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a representative democracy. The Danish Constitution (Grundlov) was adopted in 1849, and was last amended in 1953. The Danish Parliament has only one chamber, the Folketing, which has 179 members, including two elected from the Faroe Islands and two from Greenland. Elections are held using the proportional representation system, and the government is formed from the Folketing, which is elected for a four-year term. However, the government can dissolve the assembly at any time and announce new elections.

Denmark has three levels of government. The central administration, based in Copenhagen, consists of the various ministries, which may have one or more departments and comprise a number of institutions. The country is divided into 14 counties (amtskommuner) and 275 municipalities (primærkommuner). This system is currently being reformed, so that by 2007, the counties will be replaced by 5 regions, and the number of municipalities will be drastically reduced.