home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence
attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion
are first-rate by world standards.
Geography Iceland
Location:
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Geographic coordinates:
65 00 N, 18 00 W
Map references:
Arctic Region
Area:
total: 103,000 sq km
land: 100,250 sq km
water: 2,750 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Kentucky
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
4,988 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy
winters; damp, cool summers
Terrain:
mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast
deeply indented by bays and fiords
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m (at Vatnajokull glacier)
Natural resources:
fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite
Land use:
arable land: 1%
other: 70% (2001 est.)
forest and woodlands: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 28%
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Natural hazards:
earthquakes and volcanic activity
Environment - current issues:
water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater
treatment
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Environmental Protection through Criminal Law, Hazardous Wastes,
Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Oil Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost
European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in
the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental
Europe
People Iceland
Population:
280,798 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 22.7% (male 32,902; female 30,952)
15–64 years: 65.4% (male 92,519; female 91,000)
65 years and over: 11.9% (male 14,973; female 18,452) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 34 years
male: 33.2 years
female: 34.7 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
0.49% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
14.13 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
−2.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 3.79 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.8 years
male: 77.54 years
female: 82.22 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.98 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
220 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic
Ethnic groups:
homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%,
population of foreign origin 6%
Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 87.1%, other Protestant 4.1%, Roman Catholic
1.7%, other 7.1% (2002)
Languages:
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.9% (1997 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government Iceland
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
conventional short form: Iceland
local short form: Island
local long form: Lydhveldidh Island
Government type:
constitutional republic
Capital:
Reykjavik
Administrative divisions:
23 counties (syslur, singular - sysla) and 14 independent towns*
(kaupstadhir, singular