Iceland
| Iceland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||
| Anthem: Lofsöngur |
||||||
|
Location of Iceland(dark green)
on the European continent(dark grey) — [Legend] |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Reykjavík 64°08′N 21°56′W / 64.133°N °W |
|||||
| Official language(s) | Icelandic (de facto) | |||||
| Ethnic groups | 93% Icelandic, 7.0% other (see demographics) |
|||||
| Demonym | Icelander, Icelandic | |||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir | ||||
| - | Alþingi President | Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir | ||||
| Legislature | Althing | |||||
| Establishment — Independence | ||||||
| - | Free State of Iceland See settlement of Iceland |
930 | ||||
| - | Unified with Norway | 1262 | ||||
| - | Norway enters Kalmar Union[a] | 1388 | ||||
| - | Ceded to Denmark[b] | 14 January 1814 | ||||
| - | Constitution granted, limited home rule | 5 January 1874 | ||||
| - | Home rule expanded | 1 February 1904 | ||||
| - | Kingdom of Iceland, personal union with Denmark |
1 December 1918 | ||||
| - | Fall of Denmark | 9 April 1940 | ||||
| - | Republic of Iceland, personal union ends | 17 June 1944 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 103,001 km2 (107th) 39,770 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 2.7 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 1 July 2010 estimate | 318,006[c] (175th) | ||||
| - | Density | 3.1/km2 (232nd) 7.5/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2009 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $12.148 billion[1] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $38,022[1] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2009 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $12.133 billion[1] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $37,976[1] | ||||
| Gini (2010) | 25.0[d] (low) (1st) | |||||
| HDI (2010) | 0.869[2] (very high) (17th) | |||||
| Currency | Icelandic króna (ISK) |
|||||
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Internet TLD | .is | |||||
| Calling code | 354 | |||||
| a. ^ Danish monarchy reached Iceland in 1380 with the reign of Olav IV in Norway. b. ^ Iceland, the Faeroes and Greenland were formally Norwegian possessions until 1814 despite 400 years of Danish monarchy beforehand. c. ^ . statice.is. 1 October 2002. http://www.statice.is/?PageID=1390. d. ^ . United States Government. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html#Govt. Retrieved 14 September 2008. |
||||||
Iceland[3] Encyclopedia Britannica,[4] and the United Nations[5]—give "Republic of Iceland" (or "Lýðveldið Ísland" in Icelandic) as the official name, this conventional long name is actually not the official name of the country. The word "republic" is used only descriptively of the country's form of government and is not part of the country's actual name. This has been explained in a letter from the Office of the Prime Minister of Iceland to Ari Páll Kristinsson, Associate Professor at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.[6]=""CIA">. . CIA. 20 January 2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html. Retrieved 17 February 2010. Encyclopedia Britannica,[4] and the United Nations[5]—give "Republic of Iceland" (or "Lýðveldið Ísland" in Icelandic) as the official name, this conventional long name is actually not the official name of the country. The word "republic" is used only descriptively of the country's form of government and is not part of the country's actual name. This has been explained in a letter from the Office of the Prime Minister of Iceland to Ari Páll Kristinsson, Associate Professor at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.[7]" note="note"/> (; Icelandic: Ísland (names of Iceland) ) is a European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.[8] It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of .[9] The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with the surrounding areas in the southwestern region of the country being home to some two-thirds of the national population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior mainly consists of a plateau characterised by sand fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island.[10] Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the following centuries, people of Norse and Gaelic origin settled in Iceland. From 1262 to 1918 it was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. Until the 20th century, the Icelandic population relied largely on fisheries and agriculture. In 1994, the nation became party to an agreement that established the European Economic Area, thus allowing it to diversify from fishing to economic and financial services. According to the Freedom of the Press (report), Iceland has the most free press in the world.
Iceland has a free market economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries,[11] while maintaining a Nordic welfare system providing universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens.[12] In recent years, Iceland has been one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. In 2010, it was ranked as the 14th most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index, and the fourth most productive country per capita.[2] In 2008, the nation's banking system systematically failed, causing significant economic contraction and political unrest.
Iceland is a developed and technologically advanced society. Icelandic culture is founded upon the nation's Norse heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse (particularly from Western Norway) and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is closely related to Faroese and some West Norwegian dialects. The country's cultural heritage includes traditional cuisine, poetry, and the medieval Icelanders' sagas. Currently, Iceland has the smallest population among NATO members and is the only one with no standing army.
History
Settlement and the Commonwealth 874–1262
One theory suggests the first people to have visited Iceland were members of a Hiberno-Scottish mission or hermits, also known as Papar, who came in the 8th century, though no archaeological discoveries support this hypothesis. The monks are supposed to have left with the arrival of Norsemen, who systematically settled in the period circa AD 870–930. The results of recent carbon dating work suggest that the country may have been settled as early as the second half of the seventh century.[13]
The first known permanent Norse settler was Ingólfur Arnarson, who built his homestead in Reykjavík in the year 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 adopted circa 999–1000. 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.[14]
Middle Ages to the Early Modern Era 1262–1814
The internal struggles and civil strife of the Sturlung Era led to the signing of the Old Covenant in 1262, which brought Iceland under the Norwegian crown. Possession of Iceland passed to Denmark-Norway around 1380, when the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark and Sweden 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 1402–04 and 1494–95,[15] each time killing about half the population.[16]
Around the middle of the 16th century, King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism on all his subjects. The last Catholic bishop in Iceland (before 1968), Jón Arason, was beheaded in 1550 along with two of his sons. The country subsequently became fully Lutheran. Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland, while pirates from several countries raided its coasts.[17][18] A great smallpox epidemic in the 18th century killed around a third of the population.[19][20] In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects.[21] 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.[22]