Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/858

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DENMARK

lighthouses, and other works of public importance. The following table gives the national liabilities for six years : —

Year ending March 31

1916

1916 1917

Capital of Debt

£

21,813,118 25,608,619 32,726,974

Year ending March 81

191S 1919

1920

Capital of Debt

£ 33,519,930 48,861,488

51,458,894

The debt is divided into an internal and a foreign. The total foreign debt amounted in 1920 to 14,130,2822. The debt is at 3, 3£, 4 and 5 per cent.

The investments of the State on March 31, 1920, including the reserve fund, the State railways, and the domains, amounted to 79,285,842/.

The revenue and expenditure and the property and debt of Copenhagen and of the provincial towns and places and rural communes, were as follows (year ending March 31) : —

-

Revenue

Expenditure

Property

Debt

Copenhagen (1920) Provincial Towns and

£1,000 10,443

£1,000 9,363

£1,000 25,582

£1,000 24,742

Places (1919).

7,504

8,618

16,516

13,234

Rural Communes

(1919).

5,777

5,525

7,323

5,092

Defence

The Danish army is a national militia, resembling in some respects the Swiss army. Every able-bodied Danish subject is liable to serve in the army or navy, except the inhabitants of Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. Exemptions in Denmark are few, even clergymen having to serve.

Service commences at the age of 20 and lasts for 16 years. For the first 8 the men belong to the active army, and for the second 8 years to the extra, or territorial, reserve. At the time of joining, the recruits are continuously trained for 165 days in the infantry, 280 days in the field artillery, 1 year in the garrison artillery, and 200 days in the cavalry. The engineers have 7 months', and the train 2 months' continuous training. In the case of about one fourth of the men, their initial training is prolonged by periods ranging from 2\ to 8£ months, according to the arm of the service to which they belong. Subsequent training for all arms only takes place once or twice in the remaining six or seven years of army service, and then only for 25 or 30 days on each occasion.

The country is divided into two territorial commands; one including Copenhagen and the three Zealand divisions, the other comprising the troops in Fiinen and Jutland. There are 15 regiments of infantry, each of 3 or 4 battalions, ami 2 battalions of Life Guards, making 52 battalions altogether: 4 regiments of cavalry, 2 regiments and 1 section of field artillery, totalling 20 four-gun batteries : 2 regiments of garrison artillery, and 1 regiment ot engineers. The field army consists of 3 divisions and 5 independent regiments, with a strength of 53,000 rifles and 120 held guns. The total peace strength is 78,000 men, and the additional force available on mobilisation is 105,000 men.