Islam in Denmark
Islam in Denmark being the country's largest minority religion plays a role in shaping its social and religious landscape. According to a 2018 estimate, a little more than 300.000 people or 5.3% of the population in Denmark is Muslim. The figure has been increasing for the last several decades. In 2009, the U.S. Department of State reported the share as approximately 3.7% of the population. Earlier sources, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, have cited lower percentages. However, according to figures reported by the BBC in 2005, about 270 thousand Muslims lived in Denmark at the time (4.8% out of a population of 5.6 million).
Economy of Denmark
According to economic historian Angus Maddison, Denmark was the sixth-most prosperous country in the world around 1600. The population size relative to arable agricultural land was small so that the farmers were relatively affluent, and Denmark was geographically close to the most dynamic and economically leading European areas since the 16th century: the Netherlands, the northern parts of Germany, and Britain. Still, 80 to 85% of the population lived in small villages on a subsistence level.