While other countries are trying to make their land as big as possible, there is one country that does the opposite, having more than 2 million square kilometers of land but having to "let out" more than half of it.
However, even though there is only "a little" of land left in this country, it does not affect the quality of life of its citizens, on the contrary, due to the nature of developed countries, they are still the happiest country in the world.
So where is this country, and why would it rather be a small country than a big one?
Rather small than big, not greedy for "cheap"
Denmark claims to be a small country with an area of only 43,000 square kilometers, and would rather be a small country than admit that it is a big country.
However, Denmark is not only a mainland land, but also has a number of independent islands, such as the capital Copenhagen.
Of all the islands, the most controversial is Greenland, which is far northwest and across the sea from the mainland.
In fact, when querying the territory area, Denmark generally only shows 43,000 square kilometers of the mainland, and in the additional labeling of the territory, Denmark also has two dominions: Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
With an area of just over 1,000 square kilometres, the Faroe Islands are almost negligible on a huge map.
Greenland, on the other hand, is a large island with an area of 2.175 million square kilometers, which is almost one-fifth the size of China's territory and the largest island in the world.
If you add the size of Greenland, Denmark can become the 13th largest country in terms of land area, and if you don't include Greenland, Denmark is only the 130th largest country in terms of land area.
Why would Denmark prefer to be a small country about the size of Taiwan Province of China rather than a large country the size of an entire Saudi Arabia?
Could it be that Greenland is a worthless "garbage island"?
The answer, of course, is no, because Greenland is rich in oil and rare earth resources, it is a baby bump in the eyes of many countries, and the United States is the one that "jumps" the most, and once wanted to spend money to buy this island.
And the United States did just that, as early as 1867, the United States had a specific plan, but the subsequent wars put this plan on hold.
Later, when Nazi Germany invaded Denmark, the United States came to protect Greenland for the first time, and Greenland belonged to the United States at this time.
However, when Denmark returned to liberation and freedom, the United States returned the island with a crisp action and an eager attitude, as if it wanted to throw away a hot potato.
The reason for this has to do with Greenland's location and climate, most of the island is within the Arctic Circle, and the temperature is below zero all year round, with temperatures as low as -70 degrees Celsius.
Exploiting oil and rare earths on a vast white glacier? This difficulty and economic expenditure are daunting when you think about it, and the United States is not willing to make such efforts to "slip away" in a hurry.
Denmark also understands the twists and turns, but he cannot abandon the land that belongs to him, and can only honestly take over Greenland.
But Denmark didn't have the energy or mood to govern and develop it, so it simply made Greenland a dominion.
So what does Dominion mean?
A Dominion is a fully self-governing territory that is much freer than a colony, a semi-colony, and an autonomous or semi-autonomous colony, but the Dominion does not have full sovereignty, so it is still a territory belonging to the suzerain.
At this time, Greenland was equivalent to Denmark's "national China".
There is another reason why Denmark cannot completely "throw" Greenland out, that is, Greenland itself does not want to be independent, first, it can no longer obtain economic support from Denmark after independence, and second, it will be coveted by other countries after independence.
Why is "tiny" Denmark capable of giving Greenland economic support?
A well-developed fairytale kingdom
When it comes to Denmark, it is easy to think of Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote fairy tales, so many people think that Denmark is the fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen, which is also known as the "fairy tale kingdom".
In fact, there is nothing wrong with this perception, Denmark is indeed one of the happiest countries in the world.
Happiness is often reflected in daily life, and the welfare in Denmark is indeed too good to say, people are not very tired when they go to work, the average working hours are 6 hours a day, and the overtime work of squeezing workers is almost non-existent.
The second is the envy of other countries' medical benefits, where citizens in Denmark can enjoy free services provided by the national health system, regardless of whether they have money or not.
Of course, there is no need to worry about education, Denmark implements a ten-year free compulsory education, and then you can also apply for free youth education courses according to your ability, in short, Denmark attaches great importance to lifelong education.
Denmark's economic income is also guaranteed in many aspects, first of all, it is famous for its pig industry, because of the high level of talent and skill per capita, a pig factory only needs a few people to operate, so that the average income can be greatly improved.
Denmark is also known for its new energy technology, biomedicine, nanotechnology and acoustics, which are leading in these scientific and technological fields, which bring security to Denmark's economy and status.
As a developed western industrial country, Denmark's per capita GDP is also among the highest in the world, with a per capita GDP of about 580,000 yuan in 2021.
Each of the above shows that Denmark is a developed and powerful country, which has nothing to do with the size of the country, which is also the capital support of Denmark to Greenland.
But there is much more to the happiness of citizens living in Denmark.
There is one thing that Denmark cannot imitate in other countries, that is, there is almost no corrupt government and official system, government officials must make their assets public, and they do not enjoy high salaries because of their positions, and the queen of Denmark also works with wages.
In addition, Denmark, like the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries, is one of the countries where you can legally own firearms, but this has not led to a high rate of vicious gun crime.
Same-sex marriage is legal in Denmark, and in 1989 Denmark became the first country in the world to recognize same-sex partnerships through the Civil Unions Act, and in 2012 it became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage by law.
Denmark has a strong respect for women, not only can kings be women (like Queen Margrethe II, who just abdicated at the beginning of the year), but also prime ministers (current female prime minister, Mette Fraseriksen).
These benefits and happiness points may be one of the reasons why Greenlanders are reluctant to be independent.
epilogue
In fact, in history, the United States has repeatedly expressed to Denmark that it wants to buy Greenland, and there was a time when Denmark was very hesitant, but in the end it refused, and Denmark retained the ownership of Greenland.
Because Denmark is a country with a very forward-looking and executive power, although there is no energy to develop and manage Greenland now, maybe after the development is stronger, it will have the ability to use the island's resources at will?
Resources:
[1] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Denmark Country Profile last updated January 2024
[2] Administrative Divisions Network, Denmark-Europe-World Political Regions, 2021-11-01