1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
24 May 1822 (from Spain)
Religions
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.)
Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Languages
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Exports
fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite
petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
External Debt
$124,500,000,000 $
$20,030,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Icelandic kronur (ISK) per US dollar - 85.619 (2008 est.), 63.391 (2007), 70.195 (2006), 62.982 (2005), 70.192 (2004)
the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.000%
2.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
1
Location
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Area
103,000 km sq
283,561 km sq
Coastline
4,970 km
2,237 km
Climate
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
