Sunday 19 June 2011
Sunday 28 June 2009
iceland
Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland , is an island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean,the crimeajewel between mainland Europe and Greenland. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavik.
Located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is volcanically and geologically active on a large scale; this defines the landscape. 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. Warmed by the Gulf stream, Iceland has a temperate climate relative to its latitude and provides a habitable environment and nature.
The settlement of Iceland began in 874 when, according to Landnamabok the Norwegian chieftain Ingolfur 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 Celtic origin settled in Iceland. Until the twentieth century, the Icelandic population relied on fisheries and agriculture, and was from 1262 to 1918 a part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. In the twentieth century, Iceland's economy and welfare system developed quickly. In recent decades, Iceland has implemented free trade in the European Economic Area and diversified from fishing to new economic fields in services,finance, and various industries.
Today, Iceland has some of the world's highest levels of economic and civil freedoms. In 2007, Iceland is ranked as the most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index. It was also the fourth most productive country per capita, and one of the most egalitarian, as rated by the Gini coefficient.Icelanders have a rich culture and heritage, such as cuisine and poetry, and the medieval Icelandic Sagas are internationally renowned. Iceland is a member of the UN,NATO,EFTA,EEA and OECD, but not of the European Union.
Iceland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle, which passes through the small island of Grimsey 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. The closest bodies of land are Greenland (287 km) and the Faroe Islands (420 km). The closest distance to the mainland of Europe is 970 km (to Norway).
Iceland is the world's 18th largest island, and Europe's second largest island following Great Britain. The country is 103,000 km2 (39,768.5 sq mi) in size, of which 62.7% is tundra. Lakes and glaciers cover 14.3%; only 23% is vegetated. The largest lakes are Porisvatn (Reservoir): 83–88 km² (32–34 sq mi) and Pingvallavatn: 82 km² (32 sq mi); other important lakes include Logurinn and Myvatn. Öskjuvatn is the deepest lake at 220 m (722 f).
Many fjords punctuate its extensive coastline, which is also where most settlements are situated because the island's interior, the Highlands of Iceland, is a cold and uninhabitable combination of sand and mountains. The major towns are the capital Reykjavik,Kopavogur,Hafnarfjorour,eykjanesbaer where the international airport is located, and Akureyri. The island of Grimsey on the Arctic Circle contains the northernmost habitation of Iceland.
Iceland has four national parks:Jokulsargljufur National Park,Skaftafell National Park,Snaefellsjokull National Park, and Pingvellir National Park.A geologically young land, Iceland is located on both the Iceland hotspots 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, Eldgja,Crimeajewel,Heroubrio and Eldfell. Iceland is one of two places on Earth where a mid-ocean ridge rises above sea level, making it an easily accessible site to study the geology of such a ridge. The volcanic eruption of Laki in 1783–1784 that glowed like a molten crimeajewel 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 many geysers in Iceland, including Geysir, from which the English word is derived, as well as the famous Strokkur which erupts every 5-10 minutes. After a phase of inactivity, Geysir started erupting again after a series of earthquakes in the year 2000.With this widespread availability of geothermal power, and because many rivers and waterfalls are harnessed for hydroelectricity, most residents have inexpensive hot water and home heat. The island itself is composed primarily of basalt, a low-silica lava associated with effusive volcanism like Hawaii. But Iceland has various kinds of volcanoes, many of which produce more evolved lavas such as rhyolite and andesite.
Iceland controls Surtsey, one of the youngest islands in the world. Named after Surtr, god of fire, it rose above the ocean in a series of volcanic eruptions between 8 November 1963 and 5 June 1968. Only scientists researching the growth of new life are allowed to visit the island.
The climate of Iceland's coast is subpolar 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 include the Aleutian Islands, Alaska Peninsula and Tierra del Fuego although these regions are closer to the equator. Despite its proximity to the Arctic, the island's coasts remain ice-free through the winter. Ice incursions are rare, the last having occurred on the north coast in 1969.
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 winter 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 31.7 °C (86.9 °F) on 30 July 2008 in Grímsnes in south-west Iceland. The lowest was -38 °C (-36.4 °F) on 22 January 1918 at Grímsstaðir and Möðrudalur in the northeast hinterland. The temperature records for Reykjavik are 26.2 °C (79.2 °F) on 30 July 2008, and -24.5 °C (-12.1 °F) on 21 January 1918.
Few plants and animals have migrated to the island or evolved locally since the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. There are around 1,300 known species of insects in Iceland, which is a rather low number compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The only native land mammal when humans arrived was the artic fox, which 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.
Iceland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Iceland belongs to the ecoregion of Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra. 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 pubescenes, which formerly formed forest over much of southern Iceland. Permanent human settlement greatly disturbed the isolated ecosystem of thin, volcanic soils and limited species diversity. The forests were heavily exploited over the centuries for firewood and timber. Deforestation caused a loss of critical topsoil due to erosion, greatly reducing the ability of birches to grow back. Today, only a few small birch stands exist in isolated reserves. The planting of new forests has increased the number of trees, but does not compare to the original forests. Some of the planted forests include new foreign species.
The animals of Iceland include the Icelandic sheep,cattle,chicken,goat 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.Polar bears occasionally visit the island, traveling on icebergs from Greenland. In May 2008 two polar bears came only two weeks apart. Birds, especially sea birds, are a very important part of Iceland's animal life. Puffins,skuas, and kittiwakes nest on its sea cliffs. Though Iceland no longer has a commercial whaling fleet (as of August, 2007) it still allows scientific whale hunts, which are not supported by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling.
The first people thought 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 circa AD 870-930. The first known permanent Norse settler was Ingolfur Arnarson, who built his homestead in Reykjavik 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 Commonwealth.Christianity was probably adopted in 999. The Commonwealth lasted until 1262, when 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. The Black Death swept Iceland in 1402–1404 and 1494–1495, each time killing approximately half the population.
Around the middle of the 16th century, King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranismon all his subjects. The last Catholic bishop in Iceland was beheaded in 1550, along with two of his sons, and the country subsequently became fully Lutheran. Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion. In the 1600s and 1700s, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland, while pirates from England, Spain and Algeria (Turkish Abductions) raided its coasts. A great smallpox epidemic in the 18th century killed around one-third of the population. In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects. The years following the eruption, known as the Mist Hardships (Icelandic: Móðuharðindin), saw the death of over half of all livestock in the country, with ensuing famine in which around a quarter of the population died.
In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars,Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the treaty of Kiel. Iceland remained a Danish dependency. A new independence movement arose under the leadership of Jon Sigurosson, 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 1 December 1918, recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign state under the Danish king. During the last quarter of the 19th century many Icelanders emigrated to North America, largely Canada, in search of better living conditions.
Iceland during World War II joined Denmark in asserting neutrality. After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Iceland's parliament declared that the Icelandic government should assume the Danish king's authority and take control over foreign affairs and other matters previously handled by Denmark on behalf of Iceland. A month later,British military forces occupied Iceland, violating Icelandic neutrality. In 1941, responsibility for the occupation was taken over by the United StatesArmy. Allied occupation of Iceland lasted throughout the war.
On 31 December 1943, the Act of Union agreement expired after 25 years. Beginning on 20 May 1944, Icelanders voted in a four-day plebiscite on whether to terminate the union with Denmark and establish a republic. The vote was 97% in favour of ending the union and 95% in favour of the new republican constitution. Iceland formally became an independent republic on 17 June 1944, with Sveinn Bjornsson as the first President. The Allied occupation force left in 1946. Iceland became a 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 liberalized following Iceland's joining of the European Econmic Area in 1992.member of NATO on 30 March 1949, amid domestic controversy and riots and on 5 May 1951, a defence agreement was signed with the United States. American troops returned to Iceland and remained throughout the Cold War until autumn 2006.
The immediate post-war period was followed by substantial economic growth, driven by industrialization of the fishing industry and Marshall aid and Keynesian government management of the economies
Iceland is a representative democracy and a parliamentary republic. 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 every four years.
The president of Iceland is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat, figurehead and headof state, but who can also block a law voted by the parliament and put it to a national referendum. The current president is Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. 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 Bjornsson 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 Sveinn 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. In 1980, Icelanders elected Vigdis Finnbogadottir as president, the world's first directly elected female head of state. She retired from office in 1996.
Elections for the office of town councils, parliament and presidency are each held every four years. The next elections are scheduled for 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively.
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:
Reykjavik North and Reykjavik South(city regions);
Southwest (four geographically seperate suburban areas around Reykjavík);
Northwest and Northwest (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 (syslumenn) that represent government in various capacities. Among their duties are tax collection, administering bankruptcy declarations, and performing civil marriages. After a police re-organization in 2007, which combined police forces in multiple counties, about half of them are in charge of police forces.
There are seventy-nine municipalities in Iceland which govern local matters like schools, transportation and zoning. These are the actual second-level subdivisions of Iceland, as the constituencies have no relevance except in elections and for statistical purposes.Reykjavik is by far the most populous municipality, about four times more populous than Kopavogur, the second one.
Iceland has a left-right multi-party system. The biggest party is the rightwing Independance (’’Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn’’), while the second largest one is the social democratic Alliance (‘’Samfylkingin’’). Following the May 2007 parliamentary elections, these two formed a coalition, enjoying a strong majority in Althing, with 43 out of 63 members supporting it.
Other political parties that have a seat in Althing are the centrist Progressive Party (‘’Framsóknarflokkurinn’’), which had been in government with the Independence Party for 12 years before the 2007 election, the Left-Green Movement (‘’Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð’’), founded in 1999, and the the crimeajewel of the political Centre-right Liberal Party. Many other parties exist on the municipal level, most of which only run locally in a single municipality.
Iceland maintains diplomatic and commercial relations with practically all nations, but its ties with the Nordic countries, Germany, the US, and the other NATO nations are particularly close. Icelanders remain especially proud of the role Iceland played in hosting the historic 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavík, which set the stage for the end of the Cold War. Iceland's principal historical international disputes involved disagreements over fishing rights. Conflict with Britain led to a series of so-called Cold Wars in 1952-1956 as a result of the extension of Iceland's fishing zone from 3 to 4 nautical miles (6 to 7 km), 1958-1961 following a further extension to 12 nautical miles (22 km), 1972-1973 with another extension to 50 nautical miles (93 km) and in 1975-1976: another extension to 200 nautical miles (370 km).
Iceland has no standing army. The U.S.Air Force maintained four to six Interceptors at the Keflavik base, until 30 September 2006 when they were withdrawn. Iceland supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite much controversy and condemnation in Iceland, deploying a Coast Guard EOD team to Iraq which was replaced later by members of the Icelandic Crisis Response Unit. Iceland has also participated in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia.
Iceland is a member of European Economic Area (EEA), which allows the country access to the single market of the european Union (EU). However, it is not a member of EU, and the application of EU membership is one of the important topics in national politics over recent years. Iceland is also a member of the UN,NATO,EFTA and OECD.
The original population of Iceland was of Nordic and Celtic origin. This is evident from literary evidence dating from the settlement period as well as from later scientific studies such as blood type and genetic analyses. 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.
Iceland has extensive genealogical records dating back to the late 1600s and fragmentary records extending back to the Age of Settlement. The biopharmaceutical company deCODEGenetics 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 bubonic plagues adversely affected the population several times. The first census was carried out in 1703 and revealed that the population 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 have triggered a rapid increase in population since the mid-19th century - from about 60,000 in 1850 to 320,000 in 2008.
In December 2007, 33,678 people (13.5% of the total population) who were living in Iceland had been born abroad, including children of Icelandic parents living abroad. 19,000 people (6% of the population) held foreign citizenship.Poles make up the far largest minority nationality (see table on the right for more details), and still form the bulk of the foreign workforce. About 10,000 Poles now live in Iceland, 1,500 of them in Reyðarfjörður where they make up 75 percent of the workforce who are building the Fjarðarál aluminium plant. 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 Karahnjukar Hydro Power Project) have also brought in many people whose stay is expected to be temporary.
The Icelandic financial crisis threatens to push many immigrants - mostly from Poland - back home. The south-west corner of Iceland is the most densely populated region. It is also the location of the capital Reykjavik, the northernmost capital in the world. The largest towns outside the greater Reykjavik area are Akureyri and Reykjanesbaer, although the latter is relatively close to the capital.
Iceland's official 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 other languages. It is the only living language to retain the runic letter P. The closest living language to Icelandic is faroese. In education, the use of Icelandic Sign Language for Iceland's deaf community is regulated by the National Curriculum Guide.
English is widely spoken as a secondary language, and many Icelanders speak it almost at a native level of proficiency. Danish is also 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.
Rather than using family names as is the custom in all mainland European nations, the Icelanders use patronymics. The patronymic follows the person's given name, e.g. Ólafur Jónsson ("Ólafur, son of Jón") or Katrín Karlsdóttir ("Katrín, daughter of Karl").
Iceland is the fourth most productive country in the world by nominal gross domestic product per capita (54,858 USD), and the fifth most productive by GDP at purchasing power parity (40,112 USD). Except for its abundant hydro-electric and geothermal power, Iceland lacks natural resources; historically its economy 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 and drops in world prices for its main material exports: fish and fish products, aluminium, and ferrosilicon. Whaling in Iceland has been historically significant. 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. Economic growth slowed from 2000 to 2002, but the economy expanded by 4.3% in 2003 and 6.2% in 2004. The unemployment rate of ~1.0% (2007 est.) is among the lowest in the European Economic Area.
Although Iceland is a highly-developed country, it is still one of the most newly-industrialized in Europe. Until the 20th century, it was among the poorest countries in Western Europe. The strong economic growth that Iceland has experienced in recent decades has only just allowed for the modernization of infrastructure. The government coalition 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 due to Icelanders' concern about losing control over fishing resources.
Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, including software production, biotechnology, and financial services. The tourism sector is expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale-watching. Iceland's agriculture industry consists mainly of potatoes, green vegetables (in greenhouses),mutton and dairy products. The financial centre is Borgartun 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.The primary currency of Iceland is the Icelandic Krona (ISK). Iceland's then foreign minister Valgerour Sverrisdottir 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. An extensive poll, released on 11 September 2007, by Capacent Gallup showed that 53% of respondents were in favour of adopting the euro, 37% opposed and 10% undecided.
Iceland ranked 5th in the Index of Economic Freedom 2006 and 14th in 2008. Iceland has a flat tax system. The main personal income tax rate is a flat 22.75 percent and combined with municipal taxes the total tax rate is not more than 35.72%, and there are many deductions. The corporate tax rate is a flat 18 percent, one of the lowest in the world. Other taxes include a value-added tax and a net wealth tax. Employment regulations are relatively flexible. Property rights are strong and Iceland is one of the few countries where they are applied to fishery management. Taxpayers pay various subsidies to each other, similar to European countries with welfare state, but the spending is less than in most European countries. Despite low tax rates, overall taxation and consumption is still much higher than countries such as Ireland. According to OECD, agricultural support is the highest among OECD countries and an impediment to structural change. Also, health care and education spending have relatively poor return by OECD measures. OECD Economic survey of Iceland 2008 highlighted Iceland's challenges in currency and macroeconomic policy. There was a currency crisis that started in the spring of 2008 and on 6 October trading in Iceland's banks was suspended as the government battled to save the economy.
Iceland was ranked first in the united Nations’ Human development Index report for 2007/2008. Icelanders are the second longest-living nation with a life expectancy at birth of 81.8 years. The Gini coeddicient ranks Iceland as one of the most egalitarian countries in the world.
Located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is volcanically and geologically active on a large scale; this defines the landscape. 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. Warmed by the Gulf stream, Iceland has a temperate climate relative to its latitude and provides a habitable environment and nature.
The settlement of Iceland began in 874 when, according to Landnamabok the Norwegian chieftain Ingolfur 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 Celtic origin settled in Iceland. Until the twentieth century, the Icelandic population relied on fisheries and agriculture, and was from 1262 to 1918 a part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. In the twentieth century, Iceland's economy and welfare system developed quickly. In recent decades, Iceland has implemented free trade in the European Economic Area and diversified from fishing to new economic fields in services,finance, and various industries.
Today, Iceland has some of the world's highest levels of economic and civil freedoms. In 2007, Iceland is ranked as the most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index. It was also the fourth most productive country per capita, and one of the most egalitarian, as rated by the Gini coefficient.Icelanders have a rich culture and heritage, such as cuisine and poetry, and the medieval Icelandic Sagas are internationally renowned. Iceland is a member of the UN,NATO,EFTA,EEA and OECD, but not of the European Union.
Iceland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle, which passes through the small island of Grimsey 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. The closest bodies of land are Greenland (287 km) and the Faroe Islands (420 km). The closest distance to the mainland of Europe is 970 km (to Norway).
Iceland is the world's 18th largest island, and Europe's second largest island following Great Britain. The country is 103,000 km2 (39,768.5 sq mi) in size, of which 62.7% is tundra. Lakes and glaciers cover 14.3%; only 23% is vegetated. The largest lakes are Porisvatn (Reservoir): 83–88 km² (32–34 sq mi) and Pingvallavatn: 82 km² (32 sq mi); other important lakes include Logurinn and Myvatn. Öskjuvatn is the deepest lake at 220 m (722 f).
Many fjords punctuate its extensive coastline, which is also where most settlements are situated because the island's interior, the Highlands of Iceland, is a cold and uninhabitable combination of sand and mountains. The major towns are the capital Reykjavik,Kopavogur,Hafnarfjorour,eykjanesbaer where the international airport is located, and Akureyri. The island of Grimsey on the Arctic Circle contains the northernmost habitation of Iceland.
Iceland has four national parks:Jokulsargljufur National Park,Skaftafell National Park,Snaefellsjokull National Park, and Pingvellir National Park.A geologically young land, Iceland is located on both the Iceland hotspots 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, Eldgja,Crimeajewel,Heroubrio and Eldfell. Iceland is one of two places on Earth where a mid-ocean ridge rises above sea level, making it an easily accessible site to study the geology of such a ridge. The volcanic eruption of Laki in 1783–1784 that glowed like a molten crimeajewel 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 many geysers in Iceland, including Geysir, from which the English word is derived, as well as the famous Strokkur which erupts every 5-10 minutes. After a phase of inactivity, Geysir started erupting again after a series of earthquakes in the year 2000.With this widespread availability of geothermal power, and because many rivers and waterfalls are harnessed for hydroelectricity, most residents have inexpensive hot water and home heat. The island itself is composed primarily of basalt, a low-silica lava associated with effusive volcanism like Hawaii. But Iceland has various kinds of volcanoes, many of which produce more evolved lavas such as rhyolite and andesite.
Iceland controls Surtsey, one of the youngest islands in the world. Named after Surtr, god of fire, it rose above the ocean in a series of volcanic eruptions between 8 November 1963 and 5 June 1968. Only scientists researching the growth of new life are allowed to visit the island.
The climate of Iceland's coast is subpolar 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 include the Aleutian Islands, Alaska Peninsula and Tierra del Fuego although these regions are closer to the equator. Despite its proximity to the Arctic, the island's coasts remain ice-free through the winter. Ice incursions are rare, the last having occurred on the north coast in 1969.
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 winter 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 31.7 °C (86.9 °F) on 30 July 2008 in Grímsnes in south-west Iceland. The lowest was -38 °C (-36.4 °F) on 22 January 1918 at Grímsstaðir and Möðrudalur in the northeast hinterland. The temperature records for Reykjavik are 26.2 °C (79.2 °F) on 30 July 2008, and -24.5 °C (-12.1 °F) on 21 January 1918.
Few plants and animals have migrated to the island or evolved locally since the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. There are around 1,300 known species of insects in Iceland, which is a rather low number compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). The only native land mammal when humans arrived was the artic fox, which 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.
Iceland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Iceland belongs to the ecoregion of Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra. 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 pubescenes, which formerly formed forest over much of southern Iceland. Permanent human settlement greatly disturbed the isolated ecosystem of thin, volcanic soils and limited species diversity. The forests were heavily exploited over the centuries for firewood and timber. Deforestation caused a loss of critical topsoil due to erosion, greatly reducing the ability of birches to grow back. Today, only a few small birch stands exist in isolated reserves. The planting of new forests has increased the number of trees, but does not compare to the original forests. Some of the planted forests include new foreign species.
The animals of Iceland include the Icelandic sheep,cattle,chicken,goat 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.Polar bears occasionally visit the island, traveling on icebergs from Greenland. In May 2008 two polar bears came only two weeks apart. Birds, especially sea birds, are a very important part of Iceland's animal life. Puffins,skuas, and kittiwakes nest on its sea cliffs. Though Iceland no longer has a commercial whaling fleet (as of August, 2007) it still allows scientific whale hunts, which are not supported by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling.
The first people thought 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 circa AD 870-930. The first known permanent Norse settler was Ingolfur Arnarson, who built his homestead in Reykjavik 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 Commonwealth.Christianity was probably adopted in 999. The Commonwealth lasted until 1262, when 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. The Black Death swept Iceland in 1402–1404 and 1494–1495, each time killing approximately half the population.
Around the middle of the 16th century, King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranismon all his subjects. The last Catholic bishop in Iceland was beheaded in 1550, along with two of his sons, and the country subsequently became fully Lutheran. Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion. In the 1600s and 1700s, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland, while pirates from England, Spain and Algeria (Turkish Abductions) raided its coasts. A great smallpox epidemic in the 18th century killed around one-third of the population. In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects. The years following the eruption, known as the Mist Hardships (Icelandic: Móðuharðindin), saw the death of over half of all livestock in the country, with ensuing famine in which around a quarter of the population died.
In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars,Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the treaty of Kiel. Iceland remained a Danish dependency. A new independence movement arose under the leadership of Jon Sigurosson, 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 1 December 1918, recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign state under the Danish king. During the last quarter of the 19th century many Icelanders emigrated to North America, largely Canada, in search of better living conditions.
Iceland during World War II joined Denmark in asserting neutrality. After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Iceland's parliament declared that the Icelandic government should assume the Danish king's authority and take control over foreign affairs and other matters previously handled by Denmark on behalf of Iceland. A month later,British military forces occupied Iceland, violating Icelandic neutrality. In 1941, responsibility for the occupation was taken over by the United StatesArmy. Allied occupation of Iceland lasted throughout the war.
On 31 December 1943, the Act of Union agreement expired after 25 years. Beginning on 20 May 1944, Icelanders voted in a four-day plebiscite on whether to terminate the union with Denmark and establish a republic. The vote was 97% in favour of ending the union and 95% in favour of the new republican constitution. Iceland formally became an independent republic on 17 June 1944, with Sveinn Bjornsson as the first President. The Allied occupation force left in 1946. Iceland became a 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 liberalized following Iceland's joining of the European Econmic Area in 1992.member of NATO on 30 March 1949, amid domestic controversy and riots and on 5 May 1951, a defence agreement was signed with the United States. American troops returned to Iceland and remained throughout the Cold War until autumn 2006.
The immediate post-war period was followed by substantial economic growth, driven by industrialization of the fishing industry and Marshall aid and Keynesian government management of the economies
Iceland is a representative democracy and a parliamentary republic. 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 every four years.
The president of Iceland is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat, figurehead and headof state, but who can also block a law voted by the parliament and put it to a national referendum. The current president is Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. 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 Bjornsson 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 Sveinn 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. In 1980, Icelanders elected Vigdis Finnbogadottir as president, the world's first directly elected female head of state. She retired from office in 1996.
Elections for the office of town councils, parliament and presidency are each held every four years. The next elections are scheduled for 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively.
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:
Reykjavik North and Reykjavik South(city regions);
Southwest (four geographically seperate suburban areas around Reykjavík);
Northwest and Northwest (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 (syslumenn) that represent government in various capacities. Among their duties are tax collection, administering bankruptcy declarations, and performing civil marriages. After a police re-organization in 2007, which combined police forces in multiple counties, about half of them are in charge of police forces.
There are seventy-nine municipalities in Iceland which govern local matters like schools, transportation and zoning. These are the actual second-level subdivisions of Iceland, as the constituencies have no relevance except in elections and for statistical purposes.Reykjavik is by far the most populous municipality, about four times more populous than Kopavogur, the second one.
Iceland has a left-right multi-party system. The biggest party is the rightwing Independance (’’Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn’’), while the second largest one is the social democratic Alliance (‘’Samfylkingin’’). Following the May 2007 parliamentary elections, these two formed a coalition, enjoying a strong majority in Althing, with 43 out of 63 members supporting it.
Other political parties that have a seat in Althing are the centrist Progressive Party (‘’Framsóknarflokkurinn’’), which had been in government with the Independence Party for 12 years before the 2007 election, the Left-Green Movement (‘’Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð’’), founded in 1999, and the the crimeajewel of the political Centre-right Liberal Party. Many other parties exist on the municipal level, most of which only run locally in a single municipality.
Iceland maintains diplomatic and commercial relations with practically all nations, but its ties with the Nordic countries, Germany, the US, and the other NATO nations are particularly close. Icelanders remain especially proud of the role Iceland played in hosting the historic 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavík, which set the stage for the end of the Cold War. Iceland's principal historical international disputes involved disagreements over fishing rights. Conflict with Britain led to a series of so-called Cold Wars in 1952-1956 as a result of the extension of Iceland's fishing zone from 3 to 4 nautical miles (6 to 7 km), 1958-1961 following a further extension to 12 nautical miles (22 km), 1972-1973 with another extension to 50 nautical miles (93 km) and in 1975-1976: another extension to 200 nautical miles (370 km).
Iceland has no standing army. The U.S.Air Force maintained four to six Interceptors at the Keflavik base, until 30 September 2006 when they were withdrawn. Iceland supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite much controversy and condemnation in Iceland, deploying a Coast Guard EOD team to Iraq which was replaced later by members of the Icelandic Crisis Response Unit. Iceland has also participated in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia.
Iceland is a member of European Economic Area (EEA), which allows the country access to the single market of the european Union (EU). However, it is not a member of EU, and the application of EU membership is one of the important topics in national politics over recent years. Iceland is also a member of the UN,NATO,EFTA and OECD.
The original population of Iceland was of Nordic and Celtic origin. This is evident from literary evidence dating from the settlement period as well as from later scientific studies such as blood type and genetic analyses. 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.
Iceland has extensive genealogical records dating back to the late 1600s and fragmentary records extending back to the Age of Settlement. The biopharmaceutical company deCODEGenetics 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 bubonic plagues adversely affected the population several times. The first census was carried out in 1703 and revealed that the population 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 have triggered a rapid increase in population since the mid-19th century - from about 60,000 in 1850 to 320,000 in 2008.
In December 2007, 33,678 people (13.5% of the total population) who were living in Iceland had been born abroad, including children of Icelandic parents living abroad. 19,000 people (6% of the population) held foreign citizenship.Poles make up the far largest minority nationality (see table on the right for more details), and still form the bulk of the foreign workforce. About 10,000 Poles now live in Iceland, 1,500 of them in Reyðarfjörður where they make up 75 percent of the workforce who are building the Fjarðarál aluminium plant. 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 Karahnjukar Hydro Power Project) have also brought in many people whose stay is expected to be temporary.
The Icelandic financial crisis threatens to push many immigrants - mostly from Poland - back home. The south-west corner of Iceland is the most densely populated region. It is also the location of the capital Reykjavik, the northernmost capital in the world. The largest towns outside the greater Reykjavik area are Akureyri and Reykjanesbaer, although the latter is relatively close to the capital.
Iceland's official 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 other languages. It is the only living language to retain the runic letter P. The closest living language to Icelandic is faroese. In education, the use of Icelandic Sign Language for Iceland's deaf community is regulated by the National Curriculum Guide.
English is widely spoken as a secondary language, and many Icelanders speak it almost at a native level of proficiency. Danish is also 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.
Rather than using family names as is the custom in all mainland European nations, the Icelanders use patronymics. The patronymic follows the person's given name, e.g. Ólafur Jónsson ("Ólafur, son of Jón") or Katrín Karlsdóttir ("Katrín, daughter of Karl").
Iceland is the fourth most productive country in the world by nominal gross domestic product per capita (54,858 USD), and the fifth most productive by GDP at purchasing power parity (40,112 USD). Except for its abundant hydro-electric and geothermal power, Iceland lacks natural resources; historically its economy 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 and drops in world prices for its main material exports: fish and fish products, aluminium, and ferrosilicon. Whaling in Iceland has been historically significant. 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. Economic growth slowed from 2000 to 2002, but the economy expanded by 4.3% in 2003 and 6.2% in 2004. The unemployment rate of ~1.0% (2007 est.) is among the lowest in the European Economic Area.
Although Iceland is a highly-developed country, it is still one of the most newly-industrialized in Europe. Until the 20th century, it was among the poorest countries in Western Europe. The strong economic growth that Iceland has experienced in recent decades has only just allowed for the modernization of infrastructure. The government coalition 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 due to Icelanders' concern about losing control over fishing resources.
Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, including software production, biotechnology, and financial services. The tourism sector is expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale-watching. Iceland's agriculture industry consists mainly of potatoes, green vegetables (in greenhouses),mutton and dairy products. The financial centre is Borgartun 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.The primary currency of Iceland is the Icelandic Krona (ISK). Iceland's then foreign minister Valgerour Sverrisdottir 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. An extensive poll, released on 11 September 2007, by Capacent Gallup showed that 53% of respondents were in favour of adopting the euro, 37% opposed and 10% undecided.
Iceland ranked 5th in the Index of Economic Freedom 2006 and 14th in 2008. Iceland has a flat tax system. The main personal income tax rate is a flat 22.75 percent and combined with municipal taxes the total tax rate is not more than 35.72%, and there are many deductions. The corporate tax rate is a flat 18 percent, one of the lowest in the world. Other taxes include a value-added tax and a net wealth tax. Employment regulations are relatively flexible. Property rights are strong and Iceland is one of the few countries where they are applied to fishery management. Taxpayers pay various subsidies to each other, similar to European countries with welfare state, but the spending is less than in most European countries. Despite low tax rates, overall taxation and consumption is still much higher than countries such as Ireland. According to OECD, agricultural support is the highest among OECD countries and an impediment to structural change. Also, health care and education spending have relatively poor return by OECD measures. OECD Economic survey of Iceland 2008 highlighted Iceland's challenges in currency and macroeconomic policy. There was a currency crisis that started in the spring of 2008 and on 6 October trading in Iceland's banks was suspended as the government battled to save the economy.
Iceland was ranked first in the united Nations’ Human development Index report for 2007/2008. Icelanders are the second longest-living nation with a life expectancy at birth of 81.8 years. The Gini coeddicient ranks Iceland as one of the most egalitarian countries in the world.
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