Iceland
HOME  ·  IP TO COUNTRY LOOKUP  ·  TOP LEVEL DOMAINS  ·  GREETING CARDS  ·  ADD TO FAVOURITES  ·    · PLAY POKER
SELECT COUNTRY
Africa
Asia
Antarctica
Central America
Europe Middle East
North America
Oceania
South America
PHP Framework
Web application
MVC framework
for PHP4 and PHP5.
Event driven,
component based,
AJAX compatible.


Overview People Geography Economy Government Communications Transport Military Map


CountryIceland
Flag
Capitalname: Reykjavik
geographic coordinates: 64 09 N, 21 57 W
time difference: UTC (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Population301,931 (July 2007 est.)
GMTGMT
LocationNorthern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK

see map
Areatotal: 103,000 sq km
land: 100,250 sq km
water: 2,750 sq km
Ethnic groupshomogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6%
ReligionsLutheran Church of Iceland 85.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.1%, Roman Catholic Church 2%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.5%, other Christian 2.7%, other or unspecified 3.8%, unaffiliated 2.4% (2004)
LanguagesIcelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
Government typeconstitutional republic
National holidayIndependence Day, 17 June (1944)
Constitution16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times
Legal systemcivil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
BackgroundSettled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards.
Internet
country code
.is
LAST UPDATED ON 17 JUNE 2007