President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
President: Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Prime minister: Johanna Sigurdardottir
Population
65,630,692
313,183
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
81.000 years
Capital City
Paris
Reykjavik
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Reykjavik (population: 113,906)
Human Development Index
0.955
NA
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$38,500 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
8.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson ($1.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
7.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
constitutional republic
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
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
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$124,500,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (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
2.600%
0.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
1
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Area
643,801 km sq
103,000 km sq
Coastline
0 km
4,970 km
Climate
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
