An Introduction to Iceland
Alone in the North Atlantic Ocean, Iceland is volcanically and geologically active and home to only around a third of a million people - almost the lowest density of any nation. Despite its glaciers, it is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate. V'kings settled the country towards the end of the first millennium AD, and from 1262 to 1918 it was part of the Norwegian and then Danish monarchies. It was then a monarchy tied to Denmark for a fixed period of twenty-five years and subsequently voted to become a republic. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Europe (Other)
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GOVERNMENT: parliamentary republic
AREA: 103,001 sq km
POPULATION: 320,060 (July 2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: Icelandic
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Iceland
Between 1963 and 1968, a series of volcanic eruptions beneath the ocean off Iceland pushed up Surtsey, one of the youngest islands in the world and named after Surtr, a giant with a flaming sword in Norse mythology. Only scientists researching the growth of new life are allowed to visit the island.
Iceland is the only member of NATO that has no standing army.
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Alone in the North Atlantic Ocean, Iceland is volcanically and geologically active and home to only around a third of a million people - almost the lowest density of any nation. Despite its glaciers, it is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate. V'kings settled the country towards the end of the first millennium AD, and from 1262 to 1918 it was part of the Norwegian and then Danish monarchies. It was then a monarchy tied to Denmark for a fixed period of twenty-five years and subsequently voted to become a republic.
Traditionally very poor, it was made wealthy in the latter half of the twentieth century by fishing. A Nordic welfare system, an economy diversified into financial and business services, low taxes and better European links give it a high Human Development Index score (briefly first in the world, in 2007-8, and still 2nd in quality of life) - 'though the failure in 2008 of the country's entire banking system has severely dented its stability and reputation abroad.Iceland has the highest number of bookstores per capita in the world and estimates suggest that around 1 in ten of the population will publish a book in their lifetime.
GDP: $12.41 bn (2011 est.); $38,000 per capita
Religions Church of Iceland (Lutheran) 76.8%; other Lutheran 5.7%, other Christian 5.6%.
Currency: Icelandic Krona
Telephone Code: +354
Grown from poverty post-WW2 on the back of industrialised fishing, Iceland's economy has diversified into manufacturing and service industries, including software production, biotechnology, and finance, and in 2007 it was the seventh most productive country in the world per capita and fifth by PPP GDP ($40,112). Services comprise close to 70% of economic activity. Tourism's not bad either - Iceland receives around 1.1m visitors annually, more than three times the native population!
Exports of $5.3bn in 2011 were 40% fish and fish products, plus minerals including aluminium, and other animal products. 33.9% went to The Netherlands, 14.1% to Germany and 10.1% to the UK. Imports of $4.5bn consisted of machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs and textiles and came from a wide variety of countries with Norway, Brazil, Netherlands, USA, Germany, Denmark, China, Finland, Sweden and the UK all supplying more than 5% in 2010.
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