Facts about Iceland

Please note This page is based on copyrighted text from © Iceland Review. It has been somewhat changed, added to and adapted, but the copyright still applies.

LAND

Iceland is an island of 103,000 km2 (39,756 square miles), with an average height of 500 m above sea level. Its highest peak, Hvanna­dalshnúkur, rises to 2109.6m, and over 11 per cent of the country is covered by glaciers, including Vatnajökull, the largest in Europe.

ENERGY

Situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is a hot spot of volcanic and geothermal activity: 30 post-glacial volcanoes have erupted in the past two centuries, and natural hot water supplies much of the population with cheap, pollution-free heating. Rivers, too, are harnessed to provide inexpensive hydroelectric power. The electrical current is 220 volts, 50 Hz.

PEOPLE

Out of a population numbering just over 320,000, and 75 per cent live in the capital, Reykjavík, and its neighbouring towns in the southwest. Keflavík International Airport is located about 50 km from the capital. The highland interior is uninhabited (and uninhabitable), and most centres of population are situated on the coast.

LANGUAGE

Iceland was settled by Nord­ic people in the 9th century – tradition says that the first permanent settler was Ingólfur Arnarson, a Norwegian Viking who made his home where Reykjavík now stands. The Icelanders still speak the language of the Vikings, although modern Icelandic has undergone changes of pronunciation and, of course, of vocabulary! Iceland is alone in upholding another Norse tradition, i.e. the custom of using patronymics rather than surnames; an Icelander’s Christian name is followed by his or her father’s name and the suffix -son or -dóttir, e.g. Gudrún Pétursdóttir (Gudrún, daughter of Pétur). Members of a family can therefore have many different “surnames,” which sometimes causes confusion to foreigners!

CHURCH

The National Church of Ice­land, to which 88 per cent of the population belong, is Evangelical Lutheran. In addition to the many Lutheran churches in Reykja­­vík, there is one Roman Catholic Cathe­dral in Reykjavik.

TIME

In spite of its mid-Atlantic location, Iceland is on Greenwich Mean Time all year round.

HISTORY

In 930, the Icelandic settlers founded one of the world’s first republican governments; the Old Commonwealth Age, described in the classic Icelandic Sagas, lasted until 1262, when Iceland lost its independence. In 1944 the present republic was founded. The country is governed by the Althingi (parliament), whose members are elected every four years. Four-yearly elections are also held for the presidency; President Ólafur Ragnar Gríms­son was elected in June 1996 to succeed Vigdís Finn­bogadóttir. The president plays no part in day-to-day politics.

POLITICS

The current government, after the 2009 elections, is made up from members of Althing from the Social Democrats and the Left Green parties, with the first woman, openly gay, prime minister Ms Johanna Sigurdardottir from the Social Democrats.

ECONOMY

The economy is heavily dependent upon fishing. Despite efforts to diversify, particularly into the travel industry, seafood exports continue to account for 60 per cent merchandise exports earnings. Yet less than 10 per cent of the workforce is involved in fishing and fish processing. The travel industry makes up the second-largest industry in Iceland. The standard of living is high, with income per capita among the best in the world. The financial sector has been liberalised in recent years. The economy is service-oriented: two thirds of the working population are employed in the service sector, both public and private. Iceland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA).

CURRENCY

The currency used in Iceland is the Icelandic krona. The international currency symbol is ISK. The internal exchange rate shown below shows how many Icelandic kronor are to the relevant currency and is based on the domestic exchange rate. The source of the exchange rate is indicated below the table. The Seðlabankinn (Central Bank of Iceland) publishes the official exchange rate once a day on average.

Currency Buy Sell
USD 121,49 122,30
GBP 189,44 190,69
DKK 21,30 21,44
NOK 20,48 20,61
SEK 17,79 17,90
EUR 158,38 159,43
Scrape source: spar.is

HEALTH

Life expectancy, at 81.8 years for women and 77.4 for men, is one of the highest in the world, and a comprehensive state health-care system aims to keep it that way.