President: Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Prime minister: Johanna Sigurdardottir
Population
10,290,003
313,183
Life Expectancy
67.900 years
81.000 years
Capital City
La Paz (administrative capital)
Reykjavik
Largest city
Santa Cruz de la Sierra (population: 1,364,390)
Reykjavik (population: 113,906)
Human Development Index
0.723
NA
GDP per capita
$4,900 US
$38,500 US
Literacy Rate
86.7%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
3
8.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
14.6%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson ($1.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
5.500%
7.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished except for special circumstances
Abolished
Political System
republic
constitutional republic
Independence date
6 August 1825 (from Spain)
1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
Religions
Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%
Lutheran Church of Iceland 82.1%, Roman Catholic Church 2.4%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.3%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.6%, other Christian 2.8%, other religions 0.9%, unaffiliated 2.6%, other or unspecified 5.5% (2006 est.)
Languages
Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Exports
natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin
fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite
External Debt
$5,491,000,000 $
$124,500,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
bolivianos (BOB) per US dollar - 7.253 (2008 est.), 7.8616 (2007), 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004)
Icelandic kronur (ISK) per US dollar - 85.619 (2008 est.), 63.391 (2007), 70.195 (2006), 62.982 (2005), 70.192 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.300%
0.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Central South America, southwest of Brazil
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Area
1,098,581 km sq
103,000 km sq
Coastline
0 km
4,970 km
Climate
varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
