Iceland

For other uses, see the country in Europe.

Republic of Iceland Lýðveldið Ísland
Flag Coat of arms of Iceland Coat of arms
Anthem: Lofsöngur
Location of Iceland (green) in Europe (grey)
Capital and largest city	Reykjavík
Official languages	Icelandic (de facto)
Demonym(s)	Icelander
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
• Prime Minister	Geir H. Haarde
Independence  from Denmark
• Home rule	1 February 1904
• Sovereignty	1 December 1918
• Republic	17 June 1944
Area
• Total	103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi) (107th)
• Water (%)	2.7
Population
• October 2007 estimate	312,8511 (172nd)
• December 1980 census	229,187
• Density	31/km2 (80.3/sq mi) (195th)
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
• Total	$12.172 billion (132nd)
• Per capita	40,277 (2005) (5th)
GDP (nominal)	2006 estimate
• Total	$16.579 billion (93rd)
• Per capita	$54,858 (4th)
HDI (2007)	0.968  (1st)
Currency	Icelandic króna (ISK)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	not observed
Calling code	354
ISO 3166 code	IS
Internet TLD	.is
"Statistics Iceland:Key figures". www.statice.is. 1 October 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland (Template:Lang-is; IPA: [ˈliðvɛltɪð ˈistlant]) is a country in northern Europe, comprising the island of Iceland and its outlying islets in the North Atlantic Ocean between the rest of Europe and Greenland. It is the least populous of the Nordic countries and the second smallest; it has a population of about 313,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík.

Due to its location on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is volcanically and geologically active on a large scale; this defines the landscape in various ways. The interior mainly consists of a plateau characterized by sand fields, mountains and glaciers, while many big glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Because of the Gulf Stream, Iceland has a temperate climate relative to its latitude and provides a habitable environment and nature.

Iceland has a history of habitation since about the year 874 when, according to Landnámabók, the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island. Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the next centuries, people of Nordic and Gaelic origin settled in Iceland. Until the twentieth century, the Icelandic population relied on fisheries and agriculture, and was from 1262 to 1944 a part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. In the twentieth century, Iceland's economy and welfare system developed quickly.

As the most developed country in the world, and the fourth most productive per capita, Iceland is among the most prosperous countries in the world. It is based upon a mixed economy where service, finance, fishing and various industries are the main sectors. Iceland is a member of the UN, NATO, EFTA, EEA and OECD, but not of the European Union.

History

Main article: History of Iceland

A 19th century depiction of a meeting of the Alþingi at Þingvellir.

The first people known to have inhabited Iceland were Irish monks or hermits who came in the eighth century, but left with the arrival of Norsemen, who systematically settled Iceland in the period 870 - 930 A.D. The first known permanent Norse settler was Ingólfur Arnarson, who built his homestead in Reykjavík in 874. Ingólfur was followed by many other emigrant settlers, largely Norsemen and their Irish slaves. By 930, most arable land had been claimed and the Althing, a legislative and judiciary parliament, was founded as the political hub of the Icelandic Free State. Christianity was peacefully adopted in 1000. The Free State lasted until 1262, at which point the political system devised by the original settlers proved unable to cope with the increasing power of Icelandic chieftains.

The internal struggles and civil strife of the Sturlung Era led to the signing of the Old Covenant, which brought Iceland under the Norwegian crown. Possession of Iceland passed to Denmark-Norway in the late 14th century when the kingdoms of Norway and Denmark were united in the Kalmar Union. In the ensuing centuries, Iceland became one of the poorest countries in Europe. Infertile soil, volcanic eruptions and an unforgiving climate made for harsh life in a society whose subsistence depended almost entirely on agriculture. In 1402–1404 and 1494–1495, the Black Death swept Iceland, each epidemic killing approximately half the population. Around the middle of the 16th century, King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism on all his subjects. The last Catholic bishop in Iceland was beheaded in 1550, after which the country became fully Lutheran. Lutheranism has remained the dominant religion ever since. In the 1600s and 1700s, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland, while pirates from England, Spain and Algeria raided Iceland's coasts.

Jón Sigurðsson, leader of the Icelandic independence movement

In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the Treaty of Kiel. Iceland, however, remained a Danish dependency. The country's climate worsened during the 19th century, causing mass emigration to North America, largely Canada. Meanwhile, a new independence movement arose under the leadership of Jón Sigurðsson, inspired by the romantic and nationalist ideologies of mainland Europe. In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland home rule, which was expanded in 1904. The Act of Union, an agreement with Denmark signed on December 1, 1918, recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign state under the Danish king.

During World War II, the German occupation of Denmark on April 9, 1940 severed communications between Iceland and Denmark. A month later, British military forces sailed into Reykjavík harbour, violating Icelandic neutrality. Allied occupation of Iceland lasted throughout the war. In 1941, responsibility for the occupation was taken over by the United States Army. Following a plebiscite, Iceland formally became an independent republic on June 17, 1944. The occupation force left in 1946. Iceland became a member of NATO on March 30, 1949, amid domestic controversy and riots and on May 5 1951, a defence agreement was signed with the United States -- American troops returned and stayed as part of the defence agreement throughout the Cold War and until the autumn of 2006.

The immediate post-war period was followed by substantial economic growth, driven by industrialization of the fishing industry and by the rebuilding, Marshall aid and Keynesian government management of the economies of Europe, all of which promoted trade. The 1970s were marked by the Cod Wars – several disputes with the United Kingdom over Iceland's extension of its fishing limits. The economy was greatly diversified and liberalised following Iceland's joining of the European Economic Area in 1992.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative and electoral divisions of Iceland

Iceland is divided into regions, constituencies, counties, and municipalities. There are eight regions which are primarily used for statistical purposes; the district court jurisdictions also use an older version of this division. Until 2003, the constituencies for the parliament elections were the same as the regions, but by an amendment to the constitution, they were changed to the current six constituencies:

• Reykjavík North and Reykjavík South (city regions);
• Southwest (four geographically separate suburban areas around Reykjavík);
• Northwest and Northeast (north half of Iceland, split); and,
• South (south half of Iceland, excluding Reykjavík and suburbs).

The redistricting change was made in order to balance the weight of different districts of the country, since a vote cast in the sparsely populated areas around the country would count much more than a vote cast in the Reykjavík city area. The imbalance between districts has been reduced by the new system, but still exists.

Iceland's twenty-three counties are, for the most part, historical divisions. Currently, Iceland is split up among twenty-six magistrates that represent government in various capacities. Among their duties are running the local police (except in Reykjavík, where there is a special office of police commissioner), tax collection, administering bankruptcy declarations, and performing civil marriages.

There are seventy-nine municipalities in Iceland which govern most local matters like schools, transportation and zoning.

• 
  Regions of Iceland
• 
  Constituencies of Iceland
• Counties of Iceland
  Counties of Iceland

Cities and towns

Main article: List of settlements in Iceland

The city of Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, and its largest population centre. Reykjavík and the nearby towns of Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Mosfellsbær, Garðabær, Seltjarnarnes and Álftanes form the urban Greater Reykjavík Area, which is home to almost two-thirds of the island’s population. Other significant population centres include Akureyri, Keflavík(Reykjanesbær), Selfoss, Akranes and Ísafjörður.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Iceland

Location and topography

A map of Iceland with major towns marked.

Iceland, as seen from space on January 29, 2004. Source: NASA

Iceland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle, which passes through the small island of Grímsey off Iceland's northern coast, but not through mainland Iceland. Unlike neighbouring Greenland, Iceland is considered to be a part of Europe, not of North America, though geologically, the island belongs to both continents. Because of cultural, economic and linguistic similarities, Iceland in many contexts is also included in Scandinavia. It is the world's eighteenth-largest island, and Europe's second largest island following Great Britain.

Approximately eleven percent of the island is glaciated. Many fjords punctuate its extensive coastline, which is also where most towns are situated because the island's interior, the Highlands of Iceland, is a cold and uninhabitable combination of sands and mountains. The major towns are the capital Reykjavík, Keflavík, where the international airport is situated, and Akureyri. The island of Grímsey on the Arctic Circle contains the northernmost habitation of Iceland.

The only native land mammal when humans arrived was the arctic fox. It came to the island at the end of the ice age, walking over the frozen sea. There are no native reptiles or amphibians on the island. There are around 1,300 known species of insects in Iceland, which is rather low compared with other countries (there are about 925,000 known species in the world). During the last Ice Age almost all of the country was covered by permanent snow and glacier ice. This explains the low number of living species in Iceland.

When humans arrived, birch forest and woodland probably covered 25–40% of Iceland’s land area, but soon the settlers started to remove the trees and forests to create fields and grazing land. During the early twentieth century the forests were at their minimum and were almost wiped out of existence. The planting of new forests has increased the number of trees since, but this can not be compared with the original forests. Some of those planted forests have included new foreign species.

Iceland has four national parks: Jökulsárgljúfur National Park, Skaftafell National Park, Snæfellsjökull National Park, and Þingvellir National Park.

Area

• Whole country: 103,000 km² (39,768.5 sq mi)
• Vegetation: 23,805 km² (9,191 sq mi)
• Lakes: 2,757 km² (1,065 sq mi)
• Glaciers: 11,922 km² (4,603 sq mi)
• Wasteland: 64,538 km² (24,918 sq mi)

Geological and volcanic activity

The volcanic lake of Grímsvötn on the glacier of Vatnajökull.

Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe, is located in north-eastern Iceland.

A geologically young land, Iceland is located on both a geological hot spot, thought to be caused by a mantle plume, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs right through it. This combined location means that geologically the island is extremely active, having many volcanoes, notably Hekla, Eldgjá, and Eldfell. The volcanic eruption of Laki in 1783–1784 caused a famine that killed nearly a quarter of the island's population; the eruption caused dust clouds and haze to appear over most of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa for several months after the eruption.

There are also geysers (a word derived from the name of one in Iceland, Geysir). With this widespread availability of geothermal power, and also because of the numerous rivers and waterfalls that are harnessed for hydro power, residents of most towns have hot water and home heat for a low price. The island itself is composed primarily of basalt, a low-silica lava associated with effusive volcanism like Hawaii. There are, however, a variety of volcano-types on Iceland that produce more evolved lavas such as rhyolite and andesite.

Iceland controls Surtsey, one of the youngest islands in the world. It rose above the ocean in a series of volcanic eruptions between November 8, 1963 and June 5, 1968.

Largest lakes

• Þórisvatn (Reservoir): 83–88 km² (32–34 sq mi)
• Þingvallavatn: 82 km² (32 sq mi)
• Lögurinn: 53 km² (21 sq mi)
• Mývatn: 37 km² (14 sq mi)
• Hvítárvatn: 30 km² (12 sq mi)
• Hóp: 30 km² (12 mi²)
• Langisjór: 11.6 km² (4.5 sq mi)

Deepest lakes

• Öskjuvatn: 220 m (722 ft)
• Hvalvatn: 160 m (525 ft)
• Jökulsárlón: 150 m (492 ft)
• Þingvallavatn: 114 m (374 ft)
• Þórisvatn (Reservoir): 113 m (371 ft)
• Lögurinn: 112 m (367 ft)
• Kleifarvatn: 97 m (318 ft)
• Hvítárvatn: 84 m (276 ft)
• Langisjór: 75 m (246 ft)

Distance to nearest countries and islands

Place	km	mi
Greenland	287	178
Faroe Islands	420	261
Norway (Jan Mayen)	550	342
Great Britain	798	496
Norway (mainland)	970	603
Ireland	1480	920

Climate

Main article: Climate of Iceland

File:Img 2678.jpg

Strokkur, a geyser in the process of erupting. Lying on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is one of the most geologically active areas on Earth.

The climate of Iceland's coast is cold oceanic. The warm North Atlantic Current ensures generally higher annual temperatures than in most places of similar latitude in the world. The winters are mild and windy while the summers are damp and cool. Regions in the world with similar climate are: Aleutian Islands, Alaska Peninsula and Tierra del Fuego. Despite its proximity to the Arctic, the island's coasts remain ice-free through the winter. Ice incursions are rare, last having occurred on the north coast in 1968.

There are some variations in the climate between different parts of the island. Very generally speaking, the south coast is warmer, wetter and windier than the north. Low lying inland areas in the north are the most arid. Snowfall in winters is more common in the north than the south. The Central Highlands are the coldest part of the country.

The highest air temperature recorded was 30.5 °C (86.9 °F) on 22 June 1939 at Teigarhorn on the south-eastern coast. The lowest temperature was -38 °C (-36.4 °F) on 22 January 1918 at Grímsstaðir and Möðrudalur in the interior of northeast. The temperature records for Reykjavík are 24.8 °C (76.6 °F) on 11 August 2004, and -24.5 °C (-12.1 °F) on 21 January 1918.

Mean daily maximum and minimum temperatures (°C) (1961–1990)

Location	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec		All
Reykjavík	1.9	2.8	3.2	5.7	9.4	11.7	13.3	13.0	10.1	6.8	3.4	2.2	High	7.0
	-3.0	-2.1	-2.0	0.4	3.6	6.7	8.3	7.9	5.0	2.2	-1.3	-2.8	Low	1.9
Akureyri	0.9	1.7	2.1	5.4	9.5	13.2	14.5	13.9	9.9	5.9	2.6	1.3	High	6.7
	-5.5	-4.7	-4.2	-1.5	2.3	6.0	7.5	7.1	3.5	0.4	-3.5	-5.1	Low	0.2

Animal and plant life

Icelandic sheep

Iceland has very few mineral or agricultural resources. The short time since the last ice age, 10,000 years ago, has provided very little time for plants and animals to immigrate from elsewhere or evolve locally. Approximately three-quarters of the island are barren of vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland which is regularly grazed by livestock. The only tree native to Iceland is the northern birch Betula pubescens.

Permanent human settlement has caused great disturbance to an isolated ecosystem with thin, volcanic soils and limited species diversity. The forests were heavily exploited over the centuries for firewood and timber. Deforestation resulted in a loss of critical top soil due to erosion, greatly reducing the ability of birches to grow back. Today, only a few small birch stands can be found in isolated drainages.

The animals of Iceland include the Icelandic sheep, cattle, and the sturdy Icelandic horse. Many varieties of fish live in the ocean waters surrounding Iceland, and the fishing industry is a main contributor to Iceland’s economy, accounting for more than half of its total exports. Wild mammals include the arctic fox, mink, mice, rats, rabbits and reindeer. Before and around the 1900s polar bears occasionally visited the island, traveling on icebergs from Greenland. Birds, especially sea birds, are a very important part of Iceland's animal life. Puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes all nest on its sea cliffs. Though Iceland no longer has a commercial whaling fleet (as of August, 2007) it does still allow scientific whale hunts, which are not supported by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Language

Main article: Icelandic language

Iceland's written and spoken language is Icelandic, a North Germanic language descended from Old Norse. It has changed less from Old Norse than the other Nordic languages, has preserved more verb and noun inflection, and has to a considerable extent developed new vocabulary based on native roots rather than borrowings from English. It is the only living language to retain the runic letter Þ. The closest living language to Icelandic is Faroese.

In education, the use of Icelandic Sign Language for the Deaf in Iceland is regulated by the National Curriculum Guide.

English and Danish are widely understood. Studying both these languages is a mandatory part of the compulsory school curriculum. Other commonly spoken languages are German, Norwegian and Swedish. Danish is mostly spoken in a way largely comprehensible to Swedes and Norwegians – it is often referred to as "Scandinavian" in Iceland.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Iceland

Citizenship of Iceland residents (Dec. 2006)

Iceland	289,109
Poland	5,996
Lithuania	998
Germany	945
Denmark	936
Ex-Yugoslavia	783
Philippines	778
China (PRC)	755
Portugal	748
United States	646
others	5,978

The original population of Iceland was of Nordic and Celtic origin. This is evident by literary evidence from the settlement period as well as from later scientific studies such as blood type and genetic analysis. One such genetics study has indicated that the majority of the male settlers were of Nordic origin while the majority of the women were of Celtic origin. The modern population of Iceland is often described as a "homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Irish Celts" but some history scholars reject the alleged homogeneity as a myth that fails to take into account the fact that Iceland was never completely isolated from the rest of Europe and actually has had a lot of contact with traders and fishermen from many nations through the ages.

Iceland has extensive genealogical records dating back to the late 1600s and fragmentary records extending back to the Age of Settlement. The biopharmaceutical company deCODE Genetics has funded the creation of a genealogy database which attempts to cover all of Iceland's known inhabitants. It sees the database, called Íslendingabók, as a valuable tool for conducting research on genetic diseases, given the relative isolation of Iceland's population.

The population of the island is believed to have varied from 40,000 to 60,000 in the period from initial settlement until the mid-19th century. During that time, cold winters, ashfall from volcanic eruptions, and plagues adversely affected the population several times. The first census was carried out in 1703 and revealed that the population of the island was then 50,358. After the destructive volcanic eruptions of the Laki volcano during 1783–1784 the population reached a low of about 40,000. Improving living conditions triggered a rapid increase in population from the mid-19th century to the present day - from about 60,000 in 1850 to 313,000 in 2007.

In December 2006, 30,387 people (9.9% of the total population) who were living in Iceland had been born abroad, including children of Icelandic parents living abroad. 18,563 people (6% of the total population) held foreign citizenship. Poles make up the far largest minority nationality (see table on the right for more details). The recent surge in immigration has been credited to a labor shortage because of the booming economy while restrictions on the movement of people from the Eastern European countries that joined the EU/EEA in 2004 have been lifted. Large-scale construction projects in the east of Iceland (see Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project) have also brought in many people whose stay is expected to be temporary.

The south-west corner of Iceland is the most densely populated region, It is also the location of the capital Reykjavík, the northernmost capital in the world. The largest towns outside the capital region are Akureyri and Reykjanesbær.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Iceland

The House of Parliament in Reykjavík next to the cathedral to the left

The modern parliament, called "Alþingi" (English: Althing), was founded in 1845 as an advisory body to the Danish king. It was widely seen as a reestablishment of the assembly founded in 930 in the Commonwealth period and suspended in 1799. It currently has sixty-three members, each of whom is elected by the population every four years. The president of Iceland is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat, figurehead and head of state, but who can also block a law voted by the parliament and put it to a national referendum.

The head of government is the prime minister, who, together with the cabinet, takes care of the executive part of government. The cabinet is appointed by the president after general elections to Althing; however, this process is usually conducted by the leaders of the political parties, who decide among themselves after discussions which parties can form the cabinet and how its seats are to be distributed (under the condition that it has a majority support in Althing). Only when the party leaders are unable to reach a conclusion by themselves in reasonable time does the president exercise this power and appoint the cabinet himself. This has not happened since the republic was founded in 1944, but in 1942 the regent of the country (Sveinn Björnsson, who had been installed in that position by the Althing in 1941) did appoint a non-parliamentary government. The regent had, for all practical purposes, the position of a president, and Björnsson in fact became the country's first president in 1944.

The governments of Iceland have almost always been coalitions with two or more parties involved, due to the fact that no single political party has received a majority of seats in Althing in the republic period. The extent of the political powers possessed by the office of the president is disputed by legal scholars in Iceland; several provisions of the constitution appear to give the president some important powers but other provisions and traditions suggest differently. Iceland elected the world's first female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir in 1980 and she retired from office in 1996. Elections for the office of town councils, parliament and presidency are all held every four years. The next elections are going to be held in 2010, 2011 and 2008, respectively.

Following the May 2007 parliamentary elections, the current government is a coalition of the right wing Independence Party and the social democratic Alliance under Prime Minister Geir Haarde of the Independence Party. The government enjoys a strong majority in Althing, with 43 out of 63 members supporting it.

In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Iceland 1st out of 169 countries.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Iceland

The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant services the Greater Reykjavík Area's hot water needs.

Iceland is the fifth most productive country in the world based on GDP per capita at purchasing power parity. It is also ranked second on the 2006 United Nations Human Development Index. Renewable energy provides over 70% of the nation's primary energy and the country expects to be energy-independent by 2050. Except for its abundant hydro-electric and geothermal power, Iceland lacks natural resources; historically its economy has depended heavily on the fishing industry, which still provides almost 40% of export earnings and employs 8% of the work force. The economy is vulnerable to declining fish stocks as well as to drops in world prices for its main material exports: fish and fish products, aluminium, and ferrosilicon. Although the Icelandic economy still relies heavily on fishing its importance is diminishing as the travel industry and other service, technology and various other industries grow.

The center-right government plans to continue its generally neo-liberal policies of reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatising state-owned industries. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources.

The Ring Road of Iceland and some towns it passes through: 1.Reykjavík, 2.Borgarnes, 3.Blönduós, 4.Akureyri, 5.Egilsstaðir, 6.Höfn, 7.Selfoss

Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale-watching. Growth slowed between 2000 and 2002, but the economy expanded by 4.3% in 2003 and grew by 6.2% in 2004. The unemployment rate of ~1.0% (2007 est.) is among the lowest in the European Economic Area.

Over 99% of the country's electricity is produced from hydropower and geothermal energy. The country's largest geothermal power plant is located in Nesjavellir, while the Kárahnjúkar dam will be the country's largest hydroelectric power plant.

Iceland is the only nation in the world that has filling stations dispensing hydrogen fuel for cars powered by fuel cells. It is also one of only a few nations currently capable of producing hydrogen in adequate quantities at reasonable cost, because Iceland has plentiful geothermal energy.

Iceland's agriculture industry consists mainly of potatoes, turnips, green vegetables (in greenhouses), mutton and dairy products.

The primary currency of Iceland is the Icelandic Króna (ISK). Iceland's then foreign minister Valgerður Sverrisdóttir said in an interview on 15 January 2007 that she seriously wished to look into whether Iceland can join the Euro without being a member of the EU. She believes it is difficult to maintain an independent currency in a small economy on the open European market. Borgartún is the financial center in Reykjavik, hosting a large number of companies and three investment banks. Iceland's stock market, the Iceland Stock Exchange (ISE), was established in 1985.

Religion

Hallgrímskirkja, Church of Hallgrímur, in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Main article: Religion in Iceland

Icelanders enjoy freedom of religion under the constitution, though there is no separation of church and state. The National Church of Iceland, a Lutheran body, is the state church and all Icelanders are automatically registered as members of it and therefore the following numbers do not represent actual belief. The national registry keeps account of the religious affiliation of every Icelandic citizen. In 2005, Icelanders divided into religious groups as follows:

• 82.1% members of the National Church of Iceland.
• 4.7% members of the Free Lutheran Churches of Reykjavík and Hafnarfjörður.
• 2.6% not members of any religious group.
• 2.4% members of the Roman Catholic Church, which has a Diocese of Reykjavík (see also Bishop of Reykjavik (Catholic))
• 5.5% members of unregistered religious organisations or with no specified religious affiliation

The remaining 2.7% is mostly divided between around 20–25 other Christian denominations and sects, with less than 1% of the population in non-Christian religious organisations although polls have shown that 43% of the population never attends religious events and only 10% attends regularly. The largest of the aforementioned denominations and sects being Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið, a neo-pagan group.

Culture

Cliffs at the island of Grímsey, on the Arctic Circle.

Main article: Culture of Iceland

Icelandic culture has its roots in Viking and Norse traditions. Icelandic literature is popular, in particular the sagas and eddas which were written around the time of the island’s settlement. Icelanders generally have a traditional liberal Nordic outlook, similar to other Nordic countries such as Norway and Sweden. Until the Christianization of Iceland, many traditional Viking beliefs held strong, remnants of which remain today. For example, some Icelanders either believe in elves or are unwilling to rule out their existence. Iceland ranks very high on the Human Development Index, and was recently ranked the fourth happiest country in the world.

The majority of national foods are based around fish, lamb and dairy products. Þorramatur is a national food, consisting of many different dishes; this is not consumed on a daily basis but usually around the month of Þorri. Traditional dishes include skyr, cured ram scrota, cured shark, singed sheep heads and black pudding.

Though changing in the past years, Icelanders remain a very healthy nation. Children and teenagers participate in various types of leisure activities. Popular sports today are mainly football, track and field, handball and basketball. Sports such as golf, tennis, swimming, chess and horseback riding on Icelandic horses are also popular.

Iceland is home to the television station Nick Jr.'s animated program LazyTown (Icelandic: Latibær), a children's television program created by Magnús Scheving. It has become a very popular program for children and adults, and is shown in over 98 countries, including the US, Canada, Sweden and Latin America. The LazyTown Studios are located in Garðabær. Iceland was also the home of The Sugarcubes, a popular 1980s and 1990s pop group; whose members included the now famous singer Björk.

In 1996, Parliament passed legislation to create registered partnerships for same-sex couples, covering nearly all the rights and benefits of marriage. In 2006, by unanimous vote of Parliament, further legislation was passed, granting same-sex couples the same rights as different-sex couples in adoption, parenting and assisted insemination treatment.

Elf country

Historically, many Icelanders believed in “huldufólk” or “hidden folk”, elves that were said to dwell in rock formations. A 2006 and 2007 study on superstition by the University of Iceland’s Faculty of Social Sciences, supervised by Terry Gunnell (associate folklore professor), revealed that many Icelanders would not rule out the existence of elves and ghosts (similar to a 1974 survey by Professor Erlendur Haraldsson, Fréttabladid reports). Gunnel stated: “Icelanders seem much more open to phenomena like dreaming the future, forebodings, ghosts and elves than other nations.” Gunnell was surprised that the results were so similar to the 1974 study, because Icelandic society has changed markedly since that time.

See also

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates

Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

Politics

• List of political parties in Iceland
• List of Presidents of Iceland
• Prime minister of Iceland
• Foreign relations of Iceland
• Iceland and the European Union

Economy

• Whaling in Iceland
• Geothermal power in Iceland
• Icelandic hydroelectric power stations
• Hydrogen economy - Examples and pilot programs
• Renewable energy in Iceland

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates

Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates

Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

External links

• Official Gateway of Iceland
• Daily news from Iceland in English from Iceland Review online
• The Icelandic Government's website in English
• Iceland Information
• History of Iceland: Primary Documents