Iceland

Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althingi, which was established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter-century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Denmark granted limited home rule in 1874 and complete independence in 1944. The second half of the 20th century saw substantial economic growth driven primarily by the fishing industry. The economy diversified greatly after the country joined the European Economic Area in 1994, but the global financial crisis hit Iceland especially hard in the years after 2008. The economy is now on an upward trajectory, primarily thanks to a tourism and construction boom. Literacy, longevity, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards.

Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom

65 00 N, 18 00 W

Arctic Region

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania; about the same size as Kentucky

4,970 km

temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers

mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords

fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite

0.5 sq km (2022)

Iceland is almost entirely urban, with half of the population located in and around the capital of Reykjavik; smaller clusters are primarily found along the coast in the north and west

earthquakes and volcanic activity <br><br><strong>volcanism:</strong> Iceland is situated on top of a hotspot and experiences severe volcanic activity; Eyjafjallajokull (1,666 m) erupted in 2010, sending ash high into the atmosphere and seriously disrupting European air traffic; scientists continue to monitor nearby Katla (1,512 m), which has a high probability of eruption; Grimsvoetn and Hekla are Iceland's most active volcanoes; other historically active volcanoes include Askja, Bardarbunga, Brennisteinsfjoll, Esjufjoll, Hengill, Krafla, Krisuvik, Kverkfjoll, Oraefajokull, Reykjanes, Torfajokull, and Vestmannaeyjar

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

Icelandic 78.7%, Polish 5.8%, Danish 1%, Ukrainian 1%, other 13.5% (2024 est.)

Icelandic, English, Polish, Nordic languages, German

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (official) 58.6% Roman Catholic 3.8%, Independent Congregation of Reykjavik 2.6%, Independent Congregation of Hafnarfjordur 1.9%, pagan worship 1.5%, Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association 1.4%, other (includes Zuist and Pentecostal) or unspecified 18.7%, none 7.7% (2024 est.)

0.82% (2025 est.)

12.47 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Iceland is almost entirely urban, with half of the population located in and around the capital of Reykjavik; smaller clusters are primarily found along the coast in the north and west

216,000 REYKJAVIK (capital) (2018)

28.7 years (2020 est.)

3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.93 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.94 (2025 est.)

4.37 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

2.8 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

21.9% (2016)

48.5% (2023 est.)

water pollution from fertilizer runoff

temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers

5.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

170 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

unitary parliamentary republic

64 municipalities (<em>sveitarfelog</em>, singular - <em>sveitarfelagidh</em>); Akranes, Akureyri, Arneshreppur, Asahreppur, Blaskogabyggdh, Bolungarvik, Borgarbyggdh, Dalabyggdh, Dalvikurbyggdh, Eyjafjardharsveit, Eyja-og Miklaholtshreppur, Fjallabyggdh, Fjardhabyggdh, Fljotsdalshreppur, Floahreppur, Gardhabaer, Grimsnes-og Grafningshreppur, Grindavikurbaer, Grundarfjardharbaer, Grytubakkahreppur, Hafnarfjordhur, Horgarsveit, Hrunamannahreppur, Hunathing Vestra, Hunabyggdh, Hvalfjardharsveit, Hveragerdhi, Isafjardharbaer, Kaldrananeshreppur, Kjosarhreppur, Kopavogur, Langanesbyggdh, Mosfellsbaer, Mulathing, Myrdalshreppur, Nordhurthing, Rangarthing Eystra, Rangarthing Ytra, Reykholahreppur, Reykjanesbaer, Reykjavik, Seltjarnarnes, Skaftarhreppur, Skagabyggdh, Skagafjordhur, Skeidha-og Gnupverjahreppur, Skorradalshreppur, Snaefellsbaer, Strandabyggdh, Stykkisholmur, Sudhavikurhreppur, Sudhurnesjabaer, Svalbardhsstrandarhreppur, Sveitarfelagidh Arborg, Sveitarfelagidh Hornafjordhur, Sveitarfelagidh Olfus, Sveitarfelagidh Skagastrond, Sveitarfelagidh Vogar, Talknafjardharhreppur, Thingeyjarsveit, Tjorneshreppur, Vestmannaeyjar, Vesturbyggdh, Vopnafjardharhreppur

civil law system influenced by the Danish model

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Center Party or M <br>Independence Party or D <br>Liberal Reform Party or C<br>People's Party or F<br>Progressive Party or B <br>Social Democratic Alliance or S

Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark; birthday of Jon SIGURDSSON, leader of Iceland's 19th-century independence movement)

Independence Day, 17 June (1944)

<strong>description:</strong> blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the cross is shifted to the left in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> red stands for the island's volcanic fires, white for the snow and ice fields, and blue for the ocean

gyrfalcon

blue, white, red

Iceland’s coat of arms is derived from a 13th-century folktale about four guardians who protect the four corners of the nation; the bull protects the northwest, the eagle the northeast, the dragon the southeast, and the rock-giant the southwest; the shield displays the national flag, with red standing for Iceland’s volcanic fires, white for its snow and ice fields, and blue for the ocean

<p>high-income North Atlantic island economy; not an EU member but market integration via European Economic Area (EEA); dominant tourism, fishing, and aluminum industries vulnerable to demand swings and disruption from volcanic activity; inflation remains above target rate; barriers to foreign business access and economic diversification</p>

$33.463 billion (2024 est.)

milk, chicken, lamb/mutton, barley, potatoes, pork, beef, eggs, other meats, cucumbers/gherkins (2023)

tourism, fish processing; aluminum smelting; geothermal power, hydropower; medical/pharmaceutical products

-2.3% (2024 est.)

248,400 (2024 est.)

8.8% (2017 est.)

23.3% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Netherlands 27%, Germany 11%, USA 10%, UK 8%, Norway 6% (2023)

aluminum, fish, orthopedic appliances, animal meal, iron alloys (2023)

Norway 11%, China 9%, Germany 9%, Netherlands 8%, USA 7% (2023)

refined petroleum, cars, carbon-based electronics, aluminum oxide, computers (2023)

state-owned public TV broadcaster (RUV) operates 21 TV channels nationally; every household is required to have RUV, which doubles as the emergency broadcast network; 3 privately owned TV stations; 100% of households have multi-channel services though digital and/or fiber-optic connections; RUV operates 3 national and 4 regional radio stations; 1 privately owned radio conglomerate, Syn (4 stations), broadcasts nationwide; over 20 regional radio stations (2019)

.is

TF

82 (2025)

1 (2025)

no regular military forces; the Icelandic National Police, the regional police forces, and the Icelandic Coast Guard fall under the purview of the Ministry of Justice (2025)

Iceland was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949; Iceland is the only NATO member that has no standing military force; defense of Iceland is a NATO commitment, and NATO maintains an air policing presence in Icelandic airspace; Iceland participates in international peacekeeping missions with the civilian-manned Icelandic Crisis Response Unit (ICRU)<br><br>Iceland also cooperates with the militaries of other regional countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and the Joint Expeditionary Force (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK); in 1951, Iceland and the US concluded an agreement to make arrangements regarding the defense of Iceland and for the use of facilities in Iceland to that end (2025)