Iceland

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

agricultural land:

18.7%;

• arable land 1.2%;
• permanent crops 0%;
• permanent pasture 17.5%

forest:

0.3%

other:

81% (2011 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

party to:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

• 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

noun:

Icelander(s)

adjective:

Icelandic

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Iceland

conventional short form:

Iceland

local long form:

Lydveldid Island

local short form:

Island

etymology:

• Floki VILGERDARSON, an early explorer of the island (9th century), applied the name "Land of Ice" after spotting a fjord full of drift ice to the north and spending a bitter winter on the island;
• he eventually settled on the island, however, after he saw how it greened up in the summer and that it was, in fact, habitable

name:

Reykjavik

geographic coordinates:

64 09 N, 21 57 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• 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)

history:

several previous; latest ratified 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944 (at independence)

amendments:

• proposed by the Althingi;
• passage requires approval by the Althingi and by the next elected Althingi, and confirmation by the president of the republic;
• proposed amendments to Article 62 of the constitution – that the Evangelical Lutheran Church shall be the state church of Iceland – also require passage by referendum;
• amended many times, last in 2013 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Iceland

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

3 to 7 years

chief of state:

President Gudni Thorlacius JOHANNESSON (since 1 August 2016)

head of government:

Acting Prime Minister Bjarni BENEDIKTSSON (since 11 January 2017); Prime Minister BENEDIKTSSON resigned on 16 September 2017

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 25 June 2016 (next to be held in June 2020);
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition becomes prime minister

election results:

• Gudni Thorlacius JOHANNESSON elected president;
• percent of vote - Gudni Thorlacius JOHANNESSON (IP) 39.1%, Halla TOMASDOTTIR (independent) 27.9%, Andri Snaer MAGNASON (independent) 14.3%, David ODDSSON (IP) 13.7%, Sturla JONSSON (Sturla Jonsson) 3.5%, invalid 1.5%

description:

unicameral Althingi or Parliament (63 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 29 October 2016 (next to be held on 28 October 2017); note - an early election is being held because the governing coalition collapsed

election results:

• percent of vote by party - IP 29.0%, LGM 15.9%, PIP 14.5%, PP 11.5%, Reform 10.5%, BF 7.2%, SDA 5.7%, PP 3.5%;
• other 2.2%;
• seats by party - IP 21, LGM 10, PIP 10, PP 8, Reform 7, BF 4, SDA 3

highest court(s):

Supreme Court or Haestirettur (consists of 9 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

judges proposed by Ministry of Interior selection committee and appointed by the president; judges appointed for an indefinite period

subordinate courts:

8 district courts; Labor Court

• Bright Future (Bjort framtid) or BF [Ottarr PROPPE]
• Independence Party (Sjalfstaedisflokkurinn) or IP [Bjarni BENEDIKTSSON]
• Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin-graent frambod) or LGM [Katrin JAKOBSDOTTIR]
• Pirate Party (Piratar) or PIP [Birgitta JONSDOTTIR]
• Progressive Party (Framsoknarflokkurinn) or PP [Sigurdur Ingi JOHANNSSON]
• Reform (Vidreisn) or R [Benedict JOHANNSSON]
• Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) or SDA [Logi Mar EINARSSON]
• Sturla Jonsson (formerly Move Forward Party [Sturla JONSSON, chairman]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Geir Hilmar HAARDE (since 23 February 2015)

chancery:

House of Sweden, 2900 K Street NW

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-6653

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-6656

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jill ESPOSITO (since 20 January 2017)

embassy:

Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik

mailing address:

US Department of State, 5640 Reykjavik Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-5640

telephone:

[354] 595-22-00

FAX:

[354] 562-9118

• blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag;
• the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag);
• the colors represent three of the elements that make up the island: red is for the island's volcanic fires, white recalls the snow and ice fields of the island, and blue is for the surrounding ocean

name:

"Lofsongur" (Song of Praise)

lyrics/music:

Matthias JOCHUMSSON/Sveinbjorn SVEINBJORNSSON

note: adopted 1944; also known as "O, Gud vors lands" (O, God of Our Land), the anthem was originally written and performed in 1874

• potatoes, carrots, green vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers;
• mutton, chicken, pork, beef, dairy products;
• fish

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

agriculture:

4.8%

industry:

22.2%

services:

73% (2008)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

telecommunications infrastructure is modern and fully digitized, with satellite-earth stations, fiber-optic cables, and an extensive broadband network

domestic:

liberalization of the telecommunications sector beginning in the late 1990s has led to increased competition especially in the mobile services segment of the market

international:

• country code - 354;
• the CANTAT-3 and FARICE-1 submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Canada, the Faroe Islands, UK, Denmark, and Germany;
• a planned new section of the Hibernia-Atlantic submarine cable will provide additional connectivity to Canada, US, and Ireland;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions);
• note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) (2015)

• state-owned public TV broadcaster operates 1 TV channel nationally;
• several privately owned TV stations broadcast nationally and roughly another half-dozen operate locally;
• about one-half the households utilize multi-channel cable or satellite TV services;
• state-owned public radio broadcaster operates 2 national networks and 4 regional stations;
• 2 privately owned radio stations operate nationally and another 15 provide more limited coverage (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

5; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 43

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

3,413,950

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

102,356,809 mt-km (2015)

total:

12,890 km

paved/oiled gravel:

4,782 km (excludes urban roads)

unpaved:

8,108 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 127

total:

2

by type:

passenger/cargo 2

registered in other countries:

19 (Antigua and Barbuda 10, Belize 1, Faroe Islands 4, Finland 1, Gibraltar 1, Norway 2) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 142

• no regular military forces;
• Icelandic National Police;
• Icelandic Coast Guard (2016)

• Iceland is the only NATO member that has no standing military force;
• all US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn as of October 2006;
• defense of Iceland remains 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)

• Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm;
• the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority filed a suit against Iceland, claiming the country violated the Agreement on the European Economic Area in failing to pay minimum compensation to Icesave depositors