Iceland
Reykjavik • Kopavogur • Hafnarfjoerdur • Akureyri • Gardabaer • Mosfellsbaer • Akranes • Selfoss • Isafjoerdur • Saudarkrokur • Egilsstadir • Borgarnes •
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THE ICELAND COAT OF ARMS
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 Location of Iceland within the continent of Europe | |||
 Map of Iceland | |||
 Flag Description of Iceland:The flag of Iceland was officially adopted on June 19, 1915. The cross design is modeled after the Danish flag. The color red is said to symbolize the island's active volcanoes; white the ice and snow that covers most of the country, and blue is symbolic of the surrounding Atlantic Ocean. | |||
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Official name Lýdhveldidh Ísland (Republic of Iceland)
Form of government unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (Althingi, or Parliament [63])
Head of state President: Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Head of government Prime Minister: Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
Capital Reykjavík
Official language Icelandic
Official religion Evangelical Lutheran
Monetary unit króna (ISK)
Population (2013 est.) 323,000COLLAPSE
Total area (sq mi) 39,777
Total area (sq km) 103,0221
Urban-rural population
- Urban: (2011) 93.8%
- Rural: (2011) 6.2%
Life expectancy at birth
- Male: (2012) 80.8 years
- Female: (2012) 83.9 years
Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate
- Male: 100%
- Female: 100%
GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2012) 38,710
1Total area cited by National Land Survey of Iceland.
About Iceland
Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Denmark granted limited home rule in 1874 and complete independence in 1944. The second half of the 20th century saw substantial economic growth driven primarily by the fishing industry. The economy diversified greatly after the country joined the European Economic Area in 1994, but Iceland was especially hard hit by the global financial crisis in the years following 2008. Literacy, longevity, and social cohesion are first rate by world standards.
Iceland, island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, and culture. Sparkling glaciers, such as Vatna Glacier (Vatnajökull), Europe’s largest, lie across its ruggedly beautiful mountain ranges; abundant hot geysers provide heat for many of the country’s homes and buildings and allow for hothouse agriculture year-round; and the offshore Gulf Stream provides a surprisingly mild climate for what is one of the northernmost inhabited places on the planet.
Iceland was founded more than 1,000 years ago during the Viking age of exploration and settled by a mixed Norse and Celtic population. The early settlement, made up primarily of Norwegian seafarers and adventurers, fostered further excursions to Greenland and the coast of North America (which the Norse called Vinland). Despite its physical isolation some 500 miles (800 km) from Scotland—its nearest European neighbour—Iceland has remained throughout its history very much a part of European civilization. The Icelandic sagas, most of which recount heroic episodes that took place at the time the island was settled, are regarded as among the finest literary achievements of the Middle Ages, reflecting a European outlook while commemorating the history and customs of a people far removed from continental centres of commerce and culture.
The capital, Reykjavík (“Bay of Smokes”), is the site of the island’s first farmstead and is a thriving city, handsome in aspect and cosmopolitan in outlook. Other major population centres are Akureyri, on the north-central coast; Hafnarfjördhur, on the southwestern coast; and Selfoss, in the southern lowlands.
Iceland is a Scandinavian country, the world’s oldest democracy but modern in nearly every respect. Unlike most European countries, however, it is ethnically homogeneous, so much so that genetic researchers have used its inhabitants to study hereditary disorders and develop cures for a host of diseases. Although increasingly integrated into the European mainstream, Icelanders take care to preserve their traditions, customs, and language. Many Icelanders, for example, still believe in elves, trolls, and other figures in the mythical landscape of the Norse past, while even Icelanders who live in cities harbour a vision of their country as a pastoral land, in the words of Nobel Prize-winning author Halldór Laxness, of
- crofts standing at the foot of the mountains or sheltering on the southern slope of a ridge, each with a little brook running through the home-field, marshy land beyond, and a river flowing smoothly through the marsh.
Geography of Iceland
The Land
Iceland’s rugged coastline, of more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km), meets the Greenland Sea on the north, the Norwegian Sea on the east, the Atlantic Ocean on the south and west, and the Denmark Strait—which separates it from Greenland by about 200 miles (320 km)—on the northwest.
Glacier ice and cooled lava each cover approximately one-tenth of the country’s total area. The glaciers are a reminder of Iceland’s proximity to the Arctic Circle, which nearly touches its northernmost peninsula. The area covered by Vatnajökull (Vatna Glacier), the country’s largest, is equal to the combined total area covered by all the glaciers on the continent of Europe. The volcanoes, reaching deep into the unstable interior of the Earth, are explained by the fact that Iceland is located on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is estimated that since the year 1500 about one-third of the Earth’s total lava flow has poured out of the volcanoes of Iceland.
Geologically young, Iceland contains about 200 volcanoes of various types. A new volcano erupting on the bottom of the sea between November 1963 and June 1967 created the island of Surtsey, off the southwestern coast. The new island grew to about 1 square mile (2.5 square km) in area and rose more than 560 feet (170 metres) above sea level, a total of 950 feet (290 metres) from the ocean floor.
Volcanic activity has been particularly frequent since the 1970s. A major eruption took place in 1973, when a volcano on Heima Island (Heimaey) spilled lava into the town of Vestmannaeyjar, an important fishing centre. Most of the more than 5,000 residents had to be evacuated, and—although the harbour remained intact—about one-third of the town was destroyed. Continuous eruptions took place in the Krafla area in the northeast in 1975–84, damaging a geothermal generating project in the area. Iceland’s best-known volcano, Hekla, erupted four times in the 20th century: in 1947, 1970, 1980, and 1991; it also had a series of small eruptions in 2000. There were eruptions in the Vatnajökull area in 1983 and 1996. Eyjafjallajökull volcano, beneath an extension of Mýrdalsjökull (Mýrdals Glacier), erupted in March 2010 for the first time since 1821. It erupted again beginning on April 14 and sent wandering ash plumes into the skies that disrupted air traffic for days across northern and central Europe.
Relief
Iceland is largely a tableland broken up by structural faults. Its average elevation is 1,640 feet (500 metres) above sea level, but one-fourth of the country lies below 650 feet (198 metres). The highest point is 6,952 feet (2,119 metres), at Hvannadals Peak, the top of Öræfajökull in Vatnajökull. The glaciers range in size from those in small mountain recesses to the enormous glacial caps topping extensive mountain ranges. Vatnajökull covers an area of more than 3,000 square miles (8,000 square km) and is about 3,000 feet (900 metres) deep at its thickest point.
Much of Iceland is underlain by basalt, a dark rock of igneous origin. The oldest rocks were formed about 16 million years ago. The landscape in basaltic areas is one of plateau and fjord, characterized by successive layers of lava visible one above the other on the valley sides. The basalt sheets tend to tilt somewhat toward the centre of the country. Iceland’s U-shaped valleys are largely the result of glacial erosion. The depressed zones between the basalt areas have extensive plateaus above which rise single volcanoes, table mountains, or other mountain masses with steep sides.
Iceland has more hot springs and solfataras—volcanic vents that emit hot gases and vapours—than any other country. Alkaline hot springs are found in some 250 areas throughout the country. The largest, Deildartunguhver, emits nearly 50 gallons (190 litres) of boiling water per second. The total power output of the Torfajökull (Torfa Glacier) area, the largest of the 19 high-temperature solfatara regions, is estimated to equal about 1,000 megawatts.
Earthquakes are frequent in Iceland but rarely result in serious damage. Most of the buildings erected since the mid-20th century have been built of reinforced concrete and designed to withstand severe shocks from earthquakes.
Traditionally, Iceland has been divided according to the four points of the compass. The centre of the country is uninhabited. In the southwest several fine natural harbours have directed interest toward the sea, and good fishing grounds lie off the shores of this region. Because of its extensive lava fields and heaths, the southwest has little farmland. The middle west is divided between fishing and farming and has many places of great natural beauty. The western fjords have numerous well-sheltered harbours and good fishing grounds but little lowland suitable for agriculture. The north is divided into several smaller districts, each of which has relatively good farmland. The eastern fjords resemble the western fjords but have, in addition, an inner lowland. The southeast, locked between the glaciers and the sea, has a landscape of rugged splendour. The southern lowland comprises the main farming region. Soil and climatic conditions are favourable, and it is close to the country’s largest market, Reykjavík and its environs.
Drainage
Heavy rainfall feeds the numerous rivers and lakes in the glaciated landscape. Many of the lakes are dammed by lava flows or glacial ice. The presence of waterfalls is typical of the geologically young mountain landscape. The rivers are mainly debris-laden streams of glacial origin or clear streams formed by rainfall and springs of underground water. In the regions not drained by glacial rivers, fjords and smaller inlets cut into the rocky coasts. Because glacial erosion has often deepened the inner portions of the fjords, there are many fine natural harbours. Elsewhere the coasts are regular, sandy, and lined extensively with offshore sandbars that form lagoons to the landward side.
Soils
Iceland has soils of both mineral and organic composition. The mineral soils are basically a yellow-brown loess, formed by deposits of wind-transported matter. Both types of soil are suitable for agriculture, but, because of the slow rate of biological activity in the northern climate, they require heavy fertilization.
Climate
The climate of Iceland is maritime subarctic. It is influenced by the location of the country on the broad boundary between two contrasting air currents, one of polar and the other of tropical origin. The climate is affected also by the confluence of two ocean currents: the Gulf Stream, from near the Equator, and the East Greenland Current. The latter sometimes carries Arctic drift ice to Iceland’s northern and eastern shores.
Seasonal shifts in temperature and precipitation are largely the result of weather fronts crossing the North Atlantic. Relatively cold weather, particularly in the northern part of the country, results from the movement of a front south of Iceland; mild, rainy weather is brought by the movement of a front northeastward between Iceland and Greenland. Although its northernmost points nearly touch the Arctic Circle, Iceland is much warmer than might be expected.
Temperatures do not vary much throughout the country. The mean annual temperature for Reykjavík is 40 °F (4 °C). The mean January temperature is 31 °F (−0.5 °C), and the mean July temperature is 51 °F (11 °C). Snow falls about 100 days per year in the northwest, about 40 in the southeast. Annual precipitation ranges from 16 inches (410 mm) on some high northern plateaus to more than 160 inches (4,100 mm) on the southern slopes of some ice-capped mountains. In the south it averages about 80 inches (2,000 mm). Gales are frequent, especially in winter, and occasionally heavy fog may occur, but thunderstorms are rare. Although winters are fairly dark, Reykjavík averages nearly 1,300 hours of bright sunshine a year. Often the aurora borealis is visible, especially in fall and early winter.
Plant and animal life
Iceland lies on the border between a tundra vegetation zone of treeless plains and a taiga zone of coniferous forests. Only about one-fourth of the country is covered by a continuous carpet of vegetation. Bogs and moors are extensive, and sparse grasslands are often overgrazed. The remains of large birch forests are found in many places. A reforestation program instituted by the government in the 1950s has shown considerable success since the mid-1970s.
Foxes were the only land mammals in Iceland at the time of its settlement. Humans brought domestic and farm animals and accidentally introduced rats and mice. Later, reindeer were introduced, and many are still found in the northeastern highlands. After 1930, mink that were brought in for the production of furs also became wild in the country. Birdlife in Iceland is varied. Many nesting cliffs are densely inhabited, and the colony of ducks at Lake Mývatn, in the north, is the largest and most varied in Europe. Salmon and trout abound in the lakes, brooks, and rivers. The fishing banks off the Icelandic shores are abundantly endowed with fish, although these resources have been considerably eroded by overexploitation. There are no reptiles or amphibians in Iceland.
Demography of Iceland
The People
- Ethnic groups and languages
The population of Iceland is extremely homogeneous. The inhabitants are descendants of settlers who began arriving in ad 874 and continued in heavy influx for about 60 years thereafter. Historians differ on the exact origin and ethnic composition of the settlers but agree that between 60 and 80 percent of them were of Nordic stock from Norway. The rest, from Scotland and Ireland, were largely of Celtic stock. The dominant language in the period of settlement was Old Norse, the language spoken in Norway at the time. Through the centuries it has evolved into modern Icelandic, which is used throughout the country. Modern Icelanders can still read Icelandic sagas in Old Norse without difficulty. There are no ethnic distinctions. The early Nordic and Celtic stocks have long since merged, and the small number of subsequent immigrants have had no major effect on the population structure.
- Religion
The Lutheran faith has been the dominant religion since the mid 16th century. About nine-tenths of the population belongs to the state-supported Evangelical Lutheran church. There is freedom of religion.
- Settlement patterns
Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century. With the advent of the fishing industry, commerce, and services at the beginning of the 20th century, the population became increasingly concentrated in towns and villages. At the beginning of the 21st century, more than 90 percent of the population lived in communities of 200 or more people.
The mainstay of most coastal towns is fishing and fish processing. The greatest population concentration is in Reykjavík and its environs, with about three-fifths of Iceland’s total population. Reykjavík is a modern, cosmopolitan urban centre that—in addition to being the seat of government—is the national focus of commerce, industry, higher education, and cultural activity. Akureyri, a fishing and educational centre situated on the Eyja Fjord in the north, is second in importance. Reykjanesbaer is a fishing port on the southwestern peninsula near Keflavík International Airport. The Vestmanna (Westman) Islands, off the southern coast, have some of the most important fishing operations in Iceland. Akranes, located across the bay from Reykjavík, is a service town for its region and has some industry. Ísafjördhur is a service town for the western fjord area. Seydhisfjördhur and Neskaupstadhur, on the eastern coast, are important ports for herring and capelin fishing. Höfn, on the southeastern coast, is also an important fishing port. Selfoss is in the southern lowlands, serving the farming region, and is the largest inland rural community in Iceland.
- Demographic trends
The first comprehensive census in Iceland was taken in 1703, at which time 50,358 people were reported. The 18th century was marked by great economic hardship, and by 1801 the population had declined to 47,240. There began a slow increase in the 19th century, and by 1901 the population had risen to nearly 80,000. Accelerated economic growth during the early decades of the 20th century was paralleled by a rapid growth in population, which in 1950 exceeded 140,000. During World War II and the early postwar period there was rapid improvement in the standard of living and a new acceleration in the rate of population growth. The annual growth rate reached its peak during the 1950s and has been declining since 1960, primarily because of a sharply reduced birth rate and continued emigration. For a brief period from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s the birth rate rose again before resuming its downward trend. In the late 1980s the population reached a quarter of a million.
Between 1870 and 1914 there was large-scale emigration to Canada and the United States because of unfavourable conditions in Iceland; during that period emigrants outnumbered immigrants by the equivalent of about one-fifth of the 1901 population. Since 1901 emigration has continued to exceed immigration, though usually by only a small margin.
Economy of Iceland
The Icelandic economy is based heavily on fishing and the production of a broad variety of fish products, but it also includes manufacturing and services. Exports account for about two-fifths of the gross national product. Despite Iceland’s small population, the economy is modern, and the standard of living is on a par with that of other European countries.
Most of Iceland’s production is in private hands. Government ownership has declined since the early 1990s through increased privatization of government-owned enterprises. The state shares ownership of most electricity-generating systems with local governments, and it assumed control of much of the banking sector in 2008 as a result of financial crisis.
Since World War II the government has aimed at a high rate of economic growth and full employment, and fluctuations in fish prices and catches have been an important influence on the economy. Iceland’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by an average of about 4 percent per year after the war. After 1987, however, there was a slowdown in economic growth because of limits imposed on fish catches in response to the depletion of fish stocks that had been overexploited for many years. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s the annual GDP growth rate averaged less than half what it had been. From the late 1990s to the mid- 2000s, however, there was a strong resumption of growth, mainly as a result of an improving fish catch and an influx of foreign capital. Iceland’s economy collapsed in late 2008 as a result of massive currency depreciation and the failure of its domestic banking industry.
Agriculture and fishing As is the case throughout the Nordic countries, less than 5 percent of Iceland’s population is engaged in agriculture, and this number continues to decline. The raising of livestock—mostly sheep—and dairy farming are the main occupations. About one-fifth of the land is arable, most of it used for grazing. Greenhouses are common, especially in the southern part of the country. Iceland is virtually self-sufficient in fresh foods and dairy items, but it imports most other foodstuffs.
A steady improvement in Iceland’s fishing technology has increased catches despite the gradual erosion of what once were enormously rich fish populations off the country’s coasts. During the late 1980s and early 1990s the concern over declining fish stocks led the government to strengthen already strict catch quotas to further husband eroded fish stocks—particularly cod, the most important species. The strict quota regime paid off with a sharp increase in the cod stock in the late 1990s. Those catch quotas for domestic waters led to increased fishing in foreign waters, particularly in the Barents Sea and off the coast of Newfoundland.
Cod and capelin make up about two-thirds of the total catch, and whitefish species such as cod and haddock are exported fresh, frozen, salted, or dried. The capelin and herring catches usually are reduced to oil and meal but also are salted. In the mid-1990s Iceland’s total fish catch was between about 1.5 million and 2 million tons, of which about one-third was whitefish species and two-thirds were capelin and herring. Such fishing-related industries as boatyards, repair docks, and net factories are also important.
Iceland’s entry into distant fishing waters has caused friction with other countries over fishing rights. Herring fishing in the open ocean between Norway and Iceland is a matter of debate between the two countries as is blue whiting fishing in the North Atlantic between Iceland, Norway, and the European Union (EU). Moreover, Canada has objected to Iceland’s shrimp fishing off the coast of Newfoundland.
- Resources and power
Iceland’s energy resources are vast. Feasible hydroenergy is estimated at nearly six gigawatts and geothermal energy at more than 1.5 million gigawatt hours per year. Only about one-eighth of the hydroelectric power of the country’s rivers has been tapped. Geothermal energy heats all of Reykjavík and several other communities; it provides steam for industrial energy and is used in commercial vegetable farming in greenhouses. Despite its vast natural resources, Iceland produces more greenhouse emissions per capita than any other country. To reduce emissions and eliminate the country’s reliance on imported oil, in the early 21st century Iceland initiated small pilot projects aimed at determining the feasibility of creating a hydrogen-based society.
- Manufacturing
The main manufacturing enterprise for export is aluminum production, which uses domestic hydroelectricity to smelt aluminum from imported alumina. Other manufactured goods for export include ferrosilicon, an alloying agent for steel production; diatomite, an industrial filtration agent produced from diatomaceous earth with geothermal steam; fish-processing equipment; fishing gear; and prosthetic devices. There are also small industries that produce computer software, cement, fertilizer, food, clothing, and books.
- Finance
Iceland has a limited number of commercial banks that have branches throughout the country and a number of savings banks. Other financial institutions include investment credit funds, private pension funds, insurance companies, and securities firms. The financial sector was gradually deregulated in the 1980s. Interest rates were left to market forces, an important stock and bond market developed, and monetary policy—previously quite inflationary—became comparable to that of other industrialized countries. The reform of the financial market played an important part in bringing inflation under control. Capital movements between Iceland and other countries were almost completely liberalized by the mid-1990s, sparking a boom in foreign investment in the late 1990s and the 2000s. The flow of currency changed dramatically in the wake of the 2008 “credit crunch,” however, resulting in the collapse of a number of banks, devaluation of Iceland’s currency (króna), inflation, and interest rates hovering near 20 percent. (see Financial boom and bust.)
- Trade
More than three-fifths of Iceland’s exports go to the EU, which also is responsible for more than half of Iceland’s imports. About one-eighth of exports go to the United States and about one-tenth to Japan. Some three-fourths of Iceland’s exports are fish or fish products; aluminum comprises more than one-tenth of exports, and other manufactured products contribute about one-tenth. Iceland has been a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) since 1970. In 1973 it concluded a tariff reduction agreement with the European Economic Community (now the EU), as did other EFTA countries. In 1993 Iceland joined in the creation of the European Economic Area; along with Norway and Liechtenstein, it reached an agreement with the EU to adopt most of that organization’s commercial regulations and to eliminate many of the remaining commercial and administrative barriers between the countries. Nevertheless, Iceland stopped short of applying for membership to the EU because of its concern that the EU would control its fishing resources. In 2009, however, despite the country’s wish to maintain sovereignty over its fisheries, Iceland submitted an application to join the EU.
- Services
Featuring a breathtaking natural landscape—in particular, hot springs, geysers, and volcanoes—the country has become a major tourist destination. Icelandair (Flugleidir), a major international air carrier, has helped make the tourist trade increasingly important to the national economy. Foreign tourists number more than 300,000 a year, and the tourist industry is an important earner of foreign exchange.
- Labour and taxation
The central government receives a major portion of its income from a value-added tax and a progressive income tax, whereas local governments derive most of their revenue from a flat-rate income tax and property levies. With the government’s commitment to full employment, unemployment generally has remained low. Fishing contributes greatly to Iceland’s economy. Roughly 5 percent of the population is employed directly in fishing, and more than 5 percent are employed in fish processing.
Like most countries of Scandinavia, unionization is very high. Nearly seven-eighths of employees belong to a labour union. Iceland’s largest labour union, the Icelandic Federation of Labour, was established in 1916. The union is composed of more than 60,000 members, or about one out of every three workers. Although strikes were frequent in the 1970s, by the beginning of the 21st century labour unrest had become negligible.
- Transportation and telecommunications
The historic isolation of Iceland, caused by the rough seas of the North Atlantic and the country’s small market and industry, was broken when steam vessels began to visit Icelandic shores late in the 19th century. The first telegraph cable to Iceland was laid in 1906, and the Iceland Steamship Company (Eimskip) was founded in 1914. Before the 20th century roads were practically unknown, the horse being the means of transportation throughout the island. Iceland has no railroads. Most of Iceland’s main rural roads are paved, as are most streets in towns and villages. The majority of minor country roads, however, are still gravel. During the summer driving is possible on the extensive sandy plains in the uninhabited interior, permitting expeditions between the glaciers. The Hringvegur (“Ring Road”) stretches for about 875 miles (1,400 km), forming a circle around the island. The merchant marine fleet transports most of Iceland’s imports and exports. Icelandair as well as local air service carriers are important internally in compensating for the limited road system. Keflavík International Airport, the country’s primary gateway, is located about 30 miles (48 km) west of Reykjavík. Air Atlanta Icelandic, a large charter airline, is active worldwide in charter operations, particularly in flying Muslim pilgrims to Mecca from various communities in Africa and the Middle East.
The telecommunications industry has been developed to reduce the country’s dependency on the fishing industry. Significant government expenditures have resulted in Iceland’s telecommunications infrastructure rivaling that of major industrialized countries. Although the telecommunications market was liberalized in the 1990s, Iceland Telecom dominated the sector. Reflecting the country’s extensive telecommunications infrastructure, more than half of the population regularly used the Internet by the end of the 1990s.
Government and Society of Iceland
- Constitutional framework
Iceland’s constitution, which was adopted in 1944, established a parliamentary democracy with a directly elected president as head of state. The powers of the president are similar to those of other heads of state in western European democracies. Real power rests with the 63-member parliament, the Althingi (Althing). One of the oldest legislative assemblies in the world, it is a unicameral legislature in which members serve four-year terms unless parliament is dissolved and new elections called. The executive branch is headed by a cabinet that must maintain majority support in parliament—or at least avoid censure—otherwise it must resign. Citizens are guaranteed the civil rights customary in Western democracies.
- Local government
Local government in Iceland is chiefly responsible for primary education, municipal services, and the administration of social programs. The country is divided into 17 provinces (sýslur), which are further subdivided into fewer than 100 municipalities. Since the 1970s their number has decreased by nearly half as a result of consolidation. Each municipality administers local matters through an elected council.
- Justice
The judiciary consists of a supreme court and a system of lower courts, most of which hear both civil and criminal cases. Cases are heard and decided by appointed judges; there is no jury system.
- Political process
The president, Althing, and local councils are elected every four years, but not necessarily all at once. All citizens 18 years of age and older may vote. Members of the Althing are selected by proportional representation in multimember constituencies. Since the late 1970s the Independence Party (1929), centre to conservative in political outlook, has commanded about one-third to two-fifths of the popular vote, and it frequently formed coalition governments. The Progressive Party (1916), which generally has been the second leading party during this period, draws its strength from rural areas. In 2000 three left-of-centre parties—the Social Democratic Party (1916), the People’s Alliance (1956), and the Women’s Alliance (1983)—came together to become another major player, the Social Democratic Alliance. The Left-Green Party (1998) also grew in importance. In 1980 Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became the first woman president, a position she held for four consecutive terms until her retirement in 1996. In 2009 Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became Iceland’s first woman prime minister and the world’s first openly gay head of government.
- Security
With the exception of a small coast guard, Iceland does not have military forces. However, in 1949 it became a charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Iceland joined the United Nations in 1946, a year after its founding. In the post-World War II period it has based its foreign policy on peaceful international cooperation and participated in joint Western defense efforts. The United States, having assumed responsibility for Iceland’s defense, maintains a naval air station at Keflavík International Airport under NATO auspices.
- Health and welfare
Iceland, with compulsory health insurance that finances most medical services, has a high standard of public health and one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Hospital inpatient services are provided entirely without charge, other medical services at low cost. Dental care is partially subsidized for children up to age 16 and for retirees with low incomes. Heart disease and cancer together account for about one-half of all deaths. Welfare services include unemployment insurance, old-age and disability pensions, family and childbearing allowances, and sickness benefits. The medical and welfare systems are financed through taxation by central and local government.
- Housing
More than four-fifths of homes have been built since the country’s independence in 1944. Homes are relatively large in comparison with those in other countries, particularly because the country’s historically high inflation encourages people to invest in housing. Housing shortages were acute in the 1960s. However, because of a housing boom beginning in 1970, housing shortages largely have been alleviated.
- Education
Almost all schools from the primary level through the university are free. Education is compulsory through age 16, and secondary and higher education is widely available. Students can enroll in four-year academic colleges at the age of 15 or 16. Graduation from one of these colleges entitles the student to admission to the University of Iceland, founded in 1911, in Reykjavík. A second university was established at Akureyri in 1987. Since then, several other schools have elevated their curriculum to the university level and offer university-level degrees. There are also a number of technical, vocational, and specialized schools.
Culture Life of Iceland
Icelanders are proof that a small and homogeneous population can develop a rich and varied cultural life. The country’s literary heritage stems from writers of the 12th to 14th centuries who vividly recorded the sagas of Iceland’s first 250 years. Other traditional arts include weaving, silver crafting, and wood carving.
Reykjavík [Credit: Mitchell Funk— The Image Bank/Getty Images]The Reykjavík area, which supports several professional theatres, a symphony orchestra, an opera, and a number of art galleries, bookstores, cinemas, and museums, has a cultural environment that compares favourably with those of cities several times its size. It also holds a biennial international art festival.
Daily life and social customs
Christmas: Christmas procession, Vestmanna Islands, Iceland [Credit: Floris Leeuwenberg—The Cover Story/Corbis]Iceland’s character reflects both its homogeneity and its isolation, and its people take care to preserve their traditions and language by, among other things, using native terms for introduced objects—for example, the Icelandic word for computer, tölva, combines ancient terms for number and seer. Icelanders are generally reserved and confident, and, though sometimes wary of foreigners, they are friendly hosts. For centuries Iceland has been known for its traditional industries, which produce knitwear and other ancestral crafts. As in most Scandinavian countries, women have long occupied a prominent place in society, especially in government.
There are many national and local festivals. The largest is the annual Independence Day celebration marking the country’s independence in 1944. The Sumardargurinn Fyrsti festival celebrates the first day of summer, and each June the Sjómannadagurinn pays tribute to Iceland’s seafaring past. The Reykjavík Arts Festival attracts many to the city.
Icelandic cuisine centres on the country’s fishing industry. Hákarl (carefully putrefied shark) is a pungent traditional food. Cod, haddock, whale blubber, and seal meat are available. Other traditional dishes include gravlax (salmon marinated in salt and dill), hangikjöt (smoked lamb), hrútspungar (rams’ testicles), and slátur, a haggis-like dish made of sheep entrails. The skyr, which is made of cultured skim milk, is a distinctive Icelandic dessert, served with fresh bilberries in summer. Coffee seems omnipresent, and a unique Icelandic liquor is brennivín, which is made from potatoes and caraway.
The arts
Art in Iceland was long connected with religion, first with the Roman Catholic church and later with the Lutheran church. The first professional secular painters appeared in Iceland in the 19th century. Gradually increasing in number, these painters—such as Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval, famed for his portraits of Icelandic village life—highlighted the character and beauty of their country. Painting continues to thrive in Iceland, where artists have fused foreign influences with local heritage. The work of 20th-century sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson is also a source of pride for Icelanders. The old traditions in silver working have been retained, the most characteristic of which is the use of silver thread for ornamentation.
Icelanders are a highly literate people who prize their country’s outstanding tradition of prose and poetry. People of all ages study the ancient Icelandic sagas and, particularly in rural parts of the country, enjoy composing and performing rímur, or versified sagas. A unique contribution to Western literature, the Icelanders’ sagas of the late 12th to 13th century include the Njáls saga, a prose account of a vendetta that swept the island three centuries earlier, costing dozens of lives; it is one of the longest and arguably the finest of the island’s sagas. In the Laxdæla saga a love triangle unfolds disastrously, and the medieval tales of the Edda recount the doings of the gods and goddesses of the ancient Norse pantheon. Comprising two volumes—the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda—it is the fullest and most detailed source for modern knowledge of Germanic mythology. Iceland has often been the setting of 19th- and 20th-century European literature; the volcano Snæfellsjökull, for example, figures in Jules Verne’s popular novel Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and the English poets W.H. Auden and Louis MacNeice drew on their travels around the country for their book Letters from Iceland (1937). Several Icelandic writers have received international acclaim, such as Halldór Laxness, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955 and whose novel Sjálfstætt fólk (1934–35; Independent People) is a touchstone of modern Icelandic literature. Other native writers, such as Thor Vilhjálmsson, Einar Kárason, and Einar Már Gudmundsson, have written for the theatre and film, and their work has grown more international in theme and setting.
Music enjoyed a tremendous upsurge after World War II. The programs of the Iceland Symphony are drawn from a classical repertoire and the work of modern Icelandic composers, and one or more operas or musicals are performed every year at the National Theatre and the Icelandic Opera. Popular music by Icelandic performers, such as Björk and Sigur Rós, has gained international commercial success and critical acclaim, and at the end of the 1990s Reykjavík was becoming an important recording and performing centre for popular musicians from throughout Europe. Funded by grants from the Icelandic government, a small but influential film industry also emerged in the 1990s.
National folk traditions in applied art have achieved a new popularity. Old designs and forms have been revived, some modified to please modern tastes. Icelandic wool, knitted or woven, is the most commonly used material. It is lower in lanolin and consists of two types of fibres—one fine, soft, and insulating and the other long and water-repellent. Many people in the country participate in this industry, creating high-quality goods.
Cultural institutions
The National Library of Iceland (founded in 1818) and the University Library (1940) merged in 1994. The National Archives were founded in 1882. The National Museum of Iceland, dating from 1863, has collections representing native Icelandic culture beginning in the Viking Age. Many old houses and ruins throughout the country are preserved under its auspices. The Árni Magnússon Institute houses a large collection of the Icelandic sagas. The National Gallery of Iceland was founded in 1884, and the great majority of its works are by modern Icelandic artists. The Natural History Museum was founded in 1889.
The National Theatre began operation in 1950. It performs Icelandic as well as foreign classical and modern plays, operas, ballets, and musicals. The Reykjavík Theatre is the other full-time professional repertory theatre. Several theatre groups present numerous plays and musicals, both in Reykjavík and the countryside.
Sports and recreation
Icelanders are passionate about chess, the ancient game beloved by their Viking forebears. The country abounds in chess clubs that, over the years, have produced a series of world-class grandmasters, among them Fridrik Ólafsson, Jóhann Hjartarson, Margeir Pétursson, and Jón Árnason. Glíma, a form of wrestling that originated with the Vikings, is still practiced in Iceland. Swimming in naturally heated pools, horseback riding, and various ball games also are popular, and many Icelanders ice and rock climb, with a favorite challenge being a scramble up frozen waterfalls and glacial crevasses and an ascent of the 4,167-foot (1,270-metre) Thumall (Thumb), a peak in Skaftafell National Park. Iceland’s great rivers, such as the Thjórs, attract fishermen and kayakers from around the world. Team handball became the national sport in the 1980s, with Iceland’s national team ranked among the top teams in the world.
Iceland first competed in the Olympic Games in 1908 in London, where it was represented by one athlete. It next appeared at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, but did not return to the Olympic arena until the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Its national Olympic committee, organized in 1921, had been recognized by the International Olympic Committee a year earlier. Although the country has never won a gold medal, at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, nearly all players on the gold-winning Canadian ice hockey team were of Icelandic origin.
Media and publishing
Iceland has several independent daily newspapers, with those published in Reykjavík having the highest circulation. In addition, newspapers associated with the major political parties also are published. The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (Ríkisútvarpid), established in 1930, is the country’s main broadcasting outlet, providing radio and television programming. Several privately owned radio and television stations were established more recently, following the abolition of a state radio and television monopoly in the mid 1980s.
Book publishing also is an active Icelandic tradition. More than 1,000 book titles are published every year. Daily independent newspapers include Morgunbladid (“Morning News”) and DV, and the country has numerous magazines and journals. The Icelandic Literary Society, founded in 1816, specializes in the publication of historical and classical works.
History of Iceland
Settlement and Subjection
Iceland may be the Ultima Thule of the ancients. Irish monks visited it before the 9th cent., but abandoned it on the arrival (c.850–875) of Norse settlers, many of whom had fled from the domination of Harold I. The Norse settlements also contained many Irish and Scottish slaves, mainly women. In 930 a general assembly, the Althing, was established near Reykjavík at Thingvellir, and Christianity was introduced c.1000 by the Norwegian Olaf I, although paganism seems to have survived for a time. These events are preserved in the literature of 13th-century Iceland, where Old Norse literature reached its greatest flowering. (Modern Icelandic is virtually the same language as that of the sagas.)
Politically, Iceland became a feudal state, and the bloody civil wars of rival chieftains facilitated Norwegian intervention. The attempt of Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) to establish the full control of King Haakon IV of Norway over Iceland was a failure; however, Haakon incorporated Iceland into the archdiocese of Trondheim and between 1261 and 1264 obtained acknowledgment of his suzerainty by the Icelanders. Norwegian rule brought order, but high taxes and an imposed judicial system caused much discontent. When, with Norway, Iceland passed (1380) under the Danish crown, the Danes showed even less concern for Icelandic welfare; a national decline (1400–1550) set in. Lutheranism was imposed by force (1539–51) over the opposition of Bishop Jon Aresson; the Reformation brought new intellectual activity.
The 17th and 18th cent. were, in many ways, disastrous for Iceland. English, Spanish, and Algerian pirates raided the coasts and ruined trade; epidemics and volcanic eruptions killed a large part of the population; and the creation (1602) of a private trading company at Copenhagen, with exclusive rights to the Iceland trade, caused economic ruin. The private trade monopoly was at last revoked in 1771 and transferred to the Danish crown, and in 1786 trade with Iceland was opened to all Danish and Norwegian merchants. The exclusion of foreign traders was lifted in 1854.
- National Revival
The 19th cent. brought a rebirth of national culture (see Icelandic literature) and strong agitation for independence. The great leader of this movement was Jón Sigurðsson. The Althing, abolished in 1800, was reestablished in 1843; in 1874 a constitution and limited home rule were granted; and in 1918, Iceland became a sovereign state in personal union with Denmark. The German occupation (1940) of Denmark in World War II gave the Althing an opportunity to assume the king's prerogatives and the control of foreign affairs. Great Britain sent (1940) a military force to defend the island from possible German attack, and this was replaced after 1941 by U.S. forces.
In 1944 an overwhelming majority of Icelanders voted to terminate the union with Denmark; the kingdom of Iceland was proclaimed an independent republic on June 17, 1944. Sveinn Björrnsson was the first president. Iceland was admitted to the United Nations in 1946; it joined in the Marshall Plan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In 1946, Iceland granted the United States the right to use the American-built airport at Keflavík for military as well as commercial planes. Under a 1951 defense pact, U.S. forces were stationed there (the base was closed in 2006). Björnsson was succeeded by Ásgeir Ásgeirsson.
Relations with Great Britain were strained when Iceland, in order to protect its vital fishing industry, extended (1958) the limits of its territorial waters from 4 to 12 nautical miles (7.4–22.2 km). The conflict, which at times led to exchanges of fire between Icelandic coast guard vessels and British destroyers, was resolved in 1961 when Great Britain accepted the new limits. Kristjárn Eldjárn was elected president in 1968 and reelected in 1972 and 1976. Iceland joined the European Free Trade Association in 1970. In 1971 elections the Independence party–Social Democratic party coalition government, which had governed for 12 years, lost its majority, and a leftist coalition came to power.
The dispute with Britain over fishing rights (widely known as the "cod wars") was renewed in 1972 when Iceland unilaterally extended its territorial waters to 50 mi (80 km) offshore and forbade foreign fishing vessels in the new zone. An interim agreement was reached in 1973, whereby the British would limit their annual catch and restrict themselves to certain fishing areas and specified numbers and types of vessels.
In Jan., 1973, the Helgafell volcano on Heimaey island erupted, damaging the town of Vestmannaeyjar. Later in the year Iceland and the United States began revising the 1951 defense pact, with a view toward ending the U.S. military presence.
A split in the ruling coalition over economic policies caused the Althing to be dissolved in 1974; following elections, the Independence party formed a new government. Iceland extended its fishing limits to 200 mi (320 km) in 1975, which, after more skirmishes with Great Britain, was finally recognized in 1976. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was elected president in 1980, thus becoming the world's first popularly elected female head of state; she was reelected in 1984, 1988, and 1992. Davíð Oddsson, of the conservative Independence party, became prime minister in 1991; his center-right coalition was returned to office in 1995, 1999, and, narrowly, 2003. In 1996, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was elected to succeed Finnbogadóttir, who retired as president. The highly popular Grímsson was reappointed to the post by parliament without an election in 2000; he was reelected in 2004, 2008, and 2012.
Oddsson resigned and exchanged posts with coalition partner and foreign minister Halldór Ásgrímsson, of the Progressive party, in Sept., 2004 (Oddsson stepped down as foreign minister a year later). In June, 2006, after the Progressive party suffered losses in local elections, Ásgrímsson resigned as prime minister; he was succeeded in the post by Geir Hilmar Haarde, the foreign minister and a member of the Independence party. The next year, in the May, 2007, parliamentary elections, the Progressives suffered sharp losses and left the ruling coalition; the Independence party formed a new coalition with the center-left Social Democrats; Haarde remained prime minister.
In Oct., 2008, the global financial crisis led to the collapse and government nationalization of Iceland's largest banks, which had taken on enormous debt in order to expand aggressively internationally. Many of the banks' depositors were individuals, companies, organizations, and local governments elsewhere in Europe, and the banks' collapse was aggravated and accelerated when Britain seized their British assets. As a result of the banking crisis, Iceland's currency also dropped sharply in value. The situation stabilized in November when Iceland secured significant loans from the International Monetary Fund and Scandinavian countries, but Iceland experienced a sharp rise in interest rates and unemployment and a sharp drop in housing prices.
In Jan., 2009, the country's severe economic crisis forced the government to resign. An interim center-left minority government, consisting of the Social Democrats and the Left-Green Movement, was formed in February. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, a Social Democrat and former social affairs minister, became prime minister; she was Iceland's first woman prime minister and the modern world's first openly gay head of government. Early elections, held in April, resulted in a majority for the ruling center-left coalition.
In June, 2009, the government agreed to a 15-year plan to repay British and Dutch governments for outlays they made to depositors who lost money in Icelandic banks. The Althing narrowly voted in July in favor of applying to join the European Union. Legislation enacted in August concerning repayment terms for the British and Dutch met with objections from them. A new, more stringent law narrowly passed in December, but broad public opposition to it led the president to refuse to sign it and submit it to a referendum (Mar. 2010) in which the voters overwhelmingly rejected it. A less stringent repayment plan was agreed upon in Dec., 2010, and enacted in Feb., 2011, but the president again refused to sign it and a majority of Icelanders rejected it in a referendum (Apr., 2011). Despite these disagreements over repayment, by the end of the 2011 the country had emerged from its financial collapse and begun to grow again economically.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Haarde, who had been accused of negligence by a special investigation into the 2008 banking crisis, was indicted by the Althing in 2010. Some charges were dropped before his 2012 trial, and special court found him not guilty of all charges except that of failing to hold cabinet meetings on the developing crisis; he was not sentenced, and he denounced the verdict as political. In Jan., 2013, the European Free Trade Association Court ruled that Iceland's government was not obligated to provide immediate repayment of the losses of the British and Dutch depositors in the failed Icelandic banks. In the Apr., 2013, elections the Independence and Progressive parties won a majority of the seats, and they subsequently formed a conservative coalition government with Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, leader of the Progressives, as prime minister. The new government suspended talks on joining the EU pending a referendum on the issue.
Disclaimer
This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].
Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.