Danes pursue common interests in leisure, sports, and politics. Associations are essentially nongovernmental, originating in the late 19th century, when farmers and workers formed interest groups. Today Denmark has one of the highest proportions of association membership in the world. More than 90 percent of thepopulation belongs to an organization, and more than 73 percent of the people have multiple memberships in more than three hundred thousand organizations. Organizations and associations play three important roles. First, they have been able to develop common interests and identities among different groups of people. Second, practical improvements in the form of production, increases in salary, and membership discouns have been achieved. Third, organizations participate in the political struggle for the distribution of values and goods in society. For example, charities use sophisticated public relations campaigns to raise funds and employ standard lobbying techniques with governments. Interest groups may be of political importance because of their ability to influence social and political outcomes.