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Country Facts - Iceland

The People


Nationality
Icelander(s) Ethnic Composition
Caucasian (Celtic & Nordic)  100%

Religious Composition
Evangelical Lutheran  93%
Other Christian  3%
Animist and nonaffiliated  4%

Languages Spoken

Icelandic

Education and Literacy

Literacy stands at 100% nationwide

Labor Force

Total:  159,000 (2000)
By occupation:
Services                      59.5%
Manufacturing 12.9%
Fishing and fish processing 11.8%
Construction                      10.7%
Agriculture 5.1%

Geography

Land Mass Total

39,768 sq mi (103,000 sq km)

Land

38,706 sq mi (100,250 sq km)

Water

1,061 sq mi (2,750 sq km)

Coastline

3,099 mi (4,988 km)

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

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 fjords.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Atlantic Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Hvannadalshn śkur 6,952 ft (2,119 m)

Natural Resources

Fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite

Land use


Arable land 0%
Permanent crops 0%
Other 100%
(1998)

Natural hazards

Earthquakes, volcanic activity

Environment - current issues

Water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment.

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.

Demographics

Population

279,384 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years: 23% male 33,189 female 31,155
15-64 years: 65.1% male 91,704  female 90,199
65 years and over: 11.9% male 14,828 female 18,309
(2002)

Growth Rate

0.52% (2002)

Life Expectancy

79.66 years (2002)
female: 82.07 years
male: 77.42 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$24,800 (2000)

Infant Mortality

3.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.07 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
(2002)

Net migration rate

-2.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system, low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant hydrothermal and geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, providing 70 percent of export earnings and employing 12 percent of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to drops in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. The center-right government plans to continue its policies of reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government remains opposed to E.U. membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in eco-tourism and whale watching. Year-on-year GDP growth was remarkably steady through the year 2000, but a sharp decline was seen in 2001, down to 2.9 percent, and as far as --0.5 percent in 2002. Positive growth up to 1.6 percent is expected for 2003 and leaping to 2.9 percent in 2004. Inflation, usually above 5 percent, will be pulled down to the 2-percent realm during this same two-year period.

Unemployment

1% (April 2001)

Inflation Rate

3.5% (2000)

Industries

Fish processing, aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power, tourism

Exports

US$2 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports

US$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$6.85 billion (2000)

Top Export Partners

EU 64% (UK 20%, Germany 13%, France 5%, Denmark 5%), US 15%, Japan 5% (1999)

Top Import Partners

EU 56% (Germany 12%, UK 9%, Denmark 8%, Sweden 6%), US 11%, Norway 10% (1999)

Top Exports

Fish and fish products 70%, animal products, aluminum, diatomite, ferrosilicon

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, petroleum products; foodstuffs, textiles

Debt - external

US$2.6 billion (1999)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek
  Monday - Friday Saturday - Sunday
Offices 9a.m. to 5p.m.
8a.m. to 4p.m. in June, July, and August.		 Closed
Retail Monday to Thursday 9a.m. to 6p.m.
Friday 10a.m. to 10p.m.
Some supermarkets are always open.		 Saturday 10a.m. to 4p.m. or earlier.
Many shops are closed on Saturdays during June, July, and August.
Banks 9a.m. to 4p.m. Closed
Government 9a.m. to 5p.m. Closed

Note: Icelandic business seems to slow down in the autumn and winter as virtual 24-hour darkness occurs...

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays 2003 2004 2005
New Year's Day January 1 January 1 January 1
Holy Thursday April 17 April 8 March 24
Good Friday April 18 April 9 March 25
Easter¹ April 20 April 11 March 27
Easter Monday April 21 April 12 March 28
First Day of Summer² April 24 April 22 April 21
Labor Day May 1 May1 May 1
Ascension³  May 29 May 20 May 6
Whit Sunday (Pentecost)*¹ June 8 May 30 May 15
Whit Monday June 9 May 31 May 16
National Day June 17 June 17 June 17
Commerce Day
(bank holiday)*²		 August 4 August 2 August 1
All Saints' Day November 1 November 1 November 1
Christmas Eve December 24 December 24 December 24
Christmas Day*³ December 25 December 25 December 25
New Year's Eve December 31 December 31 December 31

¹ Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday.  In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
² First Thursday on or after April 19.
³  The feast of Ascension takes place 40 days after Easter in both the Christian and Orthodox faiths and celebrates the ascent of Christ into Heaven. 
*¹ The Christian feast of Pentecost, Whit Sunday or Whit Monday takes place 50 days after Easter, in observation of the day God came to the disciples through the Holy Ghost.
*² First Monday in August.
*³ Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.
Country information used by permission of World Trade Press