Iceland

The Republic of Iceland is an island nation in the northern Atlantic Ocean,
located between Greenland and Great Britain, northwest of the Faroe Islands.

                                       National motto:   None
                                       Official language Icelandic
                                       Capital           Reykjav’k

History                                President         îlafur Ragnar
                                                         Gr’msson
                                       Prime minister    Dav’Ý Oddsson
Iceland was first settled by           Area              Ranked 104th
Norwegians and Celtic (Scottish and    Ê- Total          103,125 km2
Irish) immigrants during the late 9th  Ê- % water        2.7%
and 10th century. It boasts the        Population        Ranked 169th
world's oldest parliament, the         Ê- Total (2002)   288,201
Althing, which was established in 930. Ê- Density        2,79/km2
                                       Independence      June 17, 1944
Iceland remained independent for over
300 years, and was subsequently ruled  Currency          Kr—na (kr)
by Norway and Denmark. Limited home    Time zone         UTC
rule was granted in 1874, and
independence followed in 1918. The     National anthem   Lofsšngur
Danish king remained the sovereign     Internet TLD      .IS
until 1944, when a republic was        Calling Code      354
founded.

Politics

Iceland's old parliament, the Althing, has 63 members, who are elected by
the population every four years. Head of the government is the prime
minister, who together with his cabinet takes care of the executive part of
government. The prime minister is appointed by the president, who is elected
every four years, and is the head of state.

Counties

Iceland is divided into 23 counties, sàslur:

   * çrnessàsla
   * Austur-BarÝastrandarsàsla
   * Austur-Hœnavatnssàsla
   * Austur-Skaftafellssàsla
   * BorgarfjarÝarsàsla
   * Dalasàsla
   * EyjafjarÝarsàsla
   * Gullbringusàsla,
   * Kj—sarsàsla
   * Màrasàsla
   * NorÝur-êsafjarÝarsàsla
   * NorÝur-Mœlasàsla
   * NorÝur-Þingeyjarsàsla
   * Rang‡rvallasàsla
   * SkagafjarÝarsàsla
   * Sn¾fellsnes-og Hnappadalssàsla
   * Strandasàsla
   * SuÝur-Mœlasàsla
   * SuÝur-Þingeyjarsàsla
   * Vestur-BarÝastrandarsàsla
   * Vestur-Hœnavatnssàsla
   * Vestur-êsafjarÝarsàsla
   * Vestur-Skaftafellssàsla

Besides the counties, there are 14 independent towns, or kaupstaÝir:

   * Akranes
   * Akureyri
   * HafnarfjšrÝur
   * Hœsav’k
   * êsafjšrÝur
   * Keflav’k
   * K—pavogur
   * NeskaupstaÝur
   * îlafsfjšrÝur
   * Reykjav’k
   * Sau݇rkr—kur
   * SeyÝisfjšrÝur
   * SiglufjšrÝur

   * Vestmannaeyjar

Geography

Iceland is located on a geological hot spot on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It
has many active volcanoes, notably the Hekla, and around 10% of the island
is glaciated. Iceland has many geysers (itself an Icelandic word) and the
widespread availability of geothermal power means residents of most towns
have hot water and home heat for a low price.

The island itself has many fjords along the coastline, where also most
cities are situated. The main towns are the capital Reykjav’k, Keflav’k,
where the national airport is situated, and Akureyri.

Economy

The economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides over 60%
of export earnings and employs 8% of the work force. In the absence of other
natural resources (except for abundant hydro-electric and geothermal power),
Iceland's economy is vulnerable to changing world fish prices. The economy
remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to drops in world
prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and
ferrosilicon.

The only natural resource conversion is the manufacture of cement. Most
buildings are concrete with expensive imported wood used only sparingly and
where necessary.

The center-right government plans to continue its policies of reducing the
budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing
inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the
economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government remains
opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about
losing control over their fishing resources.

Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service
industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production,
biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector
is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale-watching.
Growth has slowed between 2000 and 2002, but is expected to pick up in 2003.

Demographics

The isolated location of Iceland has resulted in limited immigration and
limited genetic inflow in its human population over hundreds of years. The
resulting genetic similarity is being exploited today for genetic studies.

The language spoken is Icelandic, a Scandinavian language, and the religion
is predominantly Lutheran.

Culture

Some famous Icelanders include pop singer Bjšrk and novelist Halld—r
Laxness, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1955.

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