President: Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Prime minister: Johanna Sigurdardottir
Population
5,485,998
313,183
Life Expectancy
56.550 years
81.000 years
Capital City
Reykjavik
Largest city
Freetown (population: 802,639)
Reykjavik (population: 113,906)
Human Development Index
0.329
NA
GDP per capita
$38,500 US
Literacy Rate
35.1%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
1.9
8.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
13.2%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson ($1.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
7.400%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
constitutional democracy
constitutional republic
Independence date
1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)
Religions
Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
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
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Exports
fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite
External Debt
$124,500,000,000 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)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Area
71,740 km sq
103,000 km sq
Coastline
402 km
4,970 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
