Iceland is a large island in the North Atlantic
Ocean south of the Arctic Circle.
It is the second largest island in Europe, after Great Britain. It is almost equidistant from Norway (965 km) and from Scotland (800 km), and is southeast of Greenland. It has a total area of 103,000 square kilometers, and is about the size of the state of Kentucky.
Iceland was controlled by Denmark from the late 14th century until it attained its independence in 1918 as a separate kingdom. It was made a republic in 1944. Iceland has the oldest representative democratic tradition in Europe, stemming from the Althing, a governing assembly created by Norse seafarers in 930 AD. The current government is a constitutional republic governed by a General Assembly (Althing), which has 63 members and two chambers. The president is elected, and the executive power is held by the prime minister and the cabinet, who can be voted out by a popular vote of no confidence. The capital is Reykjavik.
The people of Iceland (population 304,367 estimated as of July 2008) are of Northern European origin, predominantly of Scandinavian or Celtic roots. There has been little recent immigration to the country. The Icelandic language belongs to the same language family group as the other Scandinavian languages, though it is closer to Old Norse than it is to modern Norwegian, Swedish or Danish languages. Most Icelanders profess the Evangelical Lutheran faith.
The currency is the Icelandic krona.
There is a body of medieval sagas which form the basis of Iceland's cultural history. A saga is a medieval tale of historic or legendary events. The National Museum in Reykjavik houses a number of these ancient documents. Today there is an active art scene, a National Symphony, National Opera, National Library, and a thriving popular music nightclub scene. The singer Bjork began her career in these nightclubs. There are also a variety of native crafts and artifacts in the National Museum, and there are currently a great variety of modern craft items for sale in tourist shops in downtown Reykjavik and in a few of the smaller towns.
The primary industries in Iceland are fishing, tourism, agriculture (mostly hay and other fodder for livestock), animal husbandry, and manufacturing, specifically aluminum production. The largest percentage of the working population is in the service sector of the economy. Iceland has little arable land (0.07%), so must import food to feed the population. Dairy products, meat from livestock and fish have a prominent place in the Icelandic diet.
Iceland sits on a major volcanic activity area in the Earth's crust. Due to the large quantities of water from its glaciers and geothermal activity, Iceland is almost completely self-sufficient concerning its energy needs. Most homes and businesses are heated by steam, and there are many open air swimming pools which provide a social outlet and source of recreation to the inhabitants. Outdoor sports such as skiing, kayaking, hiking and fishing are popular. Available, relatively inexpensive energy has attracted the company Alcoa to open a large aluminum plant in Iceland in recent years.
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- eLibrary
- Europa World Yearbook Online
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- Grolier
- Sirs (Enter RENAISSANCE)