Iceland

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More Facts & Figures

National name: Lydveldid Island

Current government officials

Languages: Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken

Ethnicity/race: homogeneous mixture of Norse/Celtic descendants 94%, population of foreign origin 6%

Religions: Lutheran Church of Iceland 80.7%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.4%, Roman Catholic Church 2.5%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.6%, other religions 3.6%, other or unspecified 6.2%, unaffiliated 3% (2006)

National Holiday: Independence Day, June 17

Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $12.57 billion; per capita $38,500. Real growth rate: 3.1%. Inflation: 2.8%. Unemployment: 8.2%. Arable land: 0.07%. Agriculture: potatoes, green vegetables; mutton, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 175,700; agriculture 4.8%, fishing and fish processing, industry 22.2%, services 73%. Industries: fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production; geothermal power, tourism. Natural resources: fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite. Exports: $5.3 billion (2011 est.): fish and fish products 40%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite. Imports: $2.82 billion (2009 est.): machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles. Major trading partners: UK, Germany, Netherlands, U.S., China, Denmark, Norway, Brazil (2011).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 204,000 (2009); mobile cellular: 348,100 (2009). Broadcast media: 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). Internet hosts: 360,910 (2010). Internet users: 301,600 (2009).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Roadways: total: 12,869 km; paved: 4,438 km; unpaved: 8,431 km (2009). Ports and harbors: Grundartangi, Hafnarfjordur, Reykjavik, Airports: 99 (2012).

International disputes: 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 European Economic Area agreement in failing to pay minimum compensation to Icesave depositors.

Major sources and definitions