Polity · 1526 CE – 1940 CE
Denmark-Norway
Dänemark-Norwegen · Danmark-Norge
- Peak recorded area
- 634,508 km²
- 1626 CE
- Data series
- 52
- 1550 CE–1940 CE
Overview
Denmark–Norway was a 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real union consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway, the Duchy of Schleswig, and the Duchy of Holstein. The state also claimed sovereignty over three historical peoples: Frisians, Gutes and Wends. Denmark–Norway had several colonies, namely the Danish Gold Coast, Danish India, and the Danish West Indies.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
47 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 4 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1940 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population125 obs · 1816 CE–1940 CE | 3.8Mpersons1940 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Urban Population125 obs · 1816 CE–1940 CE | 806Kpersons1940 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Life Expectancy107 obs · 1775 CE–1940 CE | 66.25years1940 CE · Clio-Infra |
| City Pop Copenhagen16 obs · 1600 CE–1925 CE | 790Kpersons1925 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| Height Men12 obs · 1820 CE–1940 CE | 175.9cm1940 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Infant Mortality11 obs · 1830 CE–1940 CE | 42.17per 1000 live births1940 CE · Clio-Infra |
Economy
4 of 5 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP141 obs · 1800 CE–1940 CE | 8,476int'l $ (inflation adj.)1940 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita121 obs · 1820 CE–1940 CE | 8,1552011 int'l $1940 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Real Wage22 obs · 1914 CE–1940 CE | 28.41index (1500=1)1940 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Income Inequality Gini6 obs · 1820 CE–1929 CE | 43.29gini (0-1)1929 CE · Clio-Infra |
Military
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score125 obs · 1816 CE–1940 CE | 0.0017CINC (share of world capability)1940 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption125 obs · 1816 CE–1940 CE | 4.6Mcoal-ton equivalents1940 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production125 obs · 1816 CE–1940 CE | 39Ktons1940 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel125 obs · 1816 CE–1940 CE | 13Kpersons1940 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure GBP74 obs · 1835 CE–1913 CE | 1.6Mcurrent GBP1913 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure27 obs · 1914 CE–1940 CE | 36Mcurrent USD1940 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production41 obs · 1900 CE–1940 CE | 0.58TWh1940 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production41 obs · 1900 CE–1940 CE | 0TWh1940 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production41 obs · 1900 CE–1940 CE | 0TWh1940 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index152 obs · 1789 CE–1940 CE | 0.68index (0-1)1940 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index152 obs · 1789 CE–1940 CE | 0.587index (0-1)1940 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index152 obs · 1789 CE–1940 CE | 0.479index (0-1)1940 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index152 obs · 1789 CE–1940 CE | 0.989index (0-1)1940 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity2140 obs · 1800 CE–1939 CE | 10index (-10 to 10)1939 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type41 obs · 1900 CE–1940 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)1940 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index152 obs · 1789 CE–1940 CE | 0.641index (0-1)1940 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km116 obs · 1825 CE–1940 CE | 5,796km1940 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage112 obs · 1829 CE–1940 CE | 1,206gross tons1940 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Radios101 obs · 1815 CE–1939 CE | 679count1939 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items80 obs · 1861 CE–1940 CE | 324items1940 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph76 obs · 1865 CE–1940 CE | 1.61count1940 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Danish, German
Memberships
- Germany–Denmark Non-Aggression Pact (1939)Historical alliance · member1939 CE – 1940 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban PopulationChandler 1987 / Modelski 2003
Chandler, T. (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth; Modelski, G. (2003). World Cities: -3000 to 2000.
Compiled from published works (Chandler 1987; Modelski 2003)
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Denmark-Norway is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.