President: Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Prime minister: Johanna Sigurdardottir
Population
10,767,827
313,183
Life Expectancy
80.050 years
81.000 years
Capital City
Athens
Reykjavik
Largest city
Athens (population: 729,137)
Reykjavik (population: 113,906)
Human Development Index
0.947
NA
GDP per capita
$26,600 US
$38,500 US
Literacy Rate
96%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
4.7
8.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
14.7%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Spiro Latsis & family ($3.8bn US)
Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson ($1.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
17.300%
7.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary republic
constitutional republic
Independence date
1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)
1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
Religions
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
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
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Exports
food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles
fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite
External Debt
$583,300,000,000 $
$124,500,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (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
4.300%
0.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
4
1
Location
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Area
131,957 km sq
103,000 km sq
Coastline
13,676 km
4,970 km
Climate
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
