Land
Iceland is an island of 103,00sq. km (39,756 square miles, about the size of Virginia),
with an average height of 500m above sea level. Its highest peak, Hvannadalshnukur, rises
to 2,119m, and over 11 percent of the country is covered by glaciers, including
Vatnajokull, the largest in Europe. Energy
Situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is a hot spot of geothermal activity. Thirty
post-glacial volcanoes have erupted in the past two centuries, and natural hot water
supplies much of the population with cheap, pollution-free heating. Rivers, too, are
harnessed to provide inexpensive hydroelectric power. The electrical current is 220 volts,
50 Hz.
Language
Iceland was settled by Nordic people in the 9th century. Tradition says that the
first permanent settler was Ingolfur Arnarson, a Norwegian Viking who made his home where
Reykjavik now stands. The Icelanders still speak the language of the Vikings, although
modern Icelandic has undergone changes of pronunciation and, of course, vocabulary!
Iceland is alone upholding another Norse tradition, i.e. the custom of using patronymics
rather than surnames; an Icelanders Christian name is followed by his or her father’s
name and the suffix son or dottir, e.g. Gudrun Petursdottir (Gudrun, daughter of Petur).
Members of a family can therefore have many different “surnames,” which
sometimes causes confusion to foreigners!
People
Of a population numbering just over a quarter of a million, half live in the capital,
Reykjavik, and its neighboring towns in the southwest. Keflavik International Airport is
located about 50km from the capital. The highland interior is uninhabited (and
uninhabitable), and most of the population is situated along the coast.
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Time
In spite of its mid-Atlantic location, Iceland is on Greenwich Mean Time all year
round. History
In 930, the Icelandic settlers founded one of the world’s first republican
governments; the Old Commonwealth Age, described in the classic Icelandic Sagas, lasted
until 1262, when Iceland lost its independence. In 1918 it regained its independence and
in 1944 the present republic was founded. The country is governed by the Althing
(parliament), whose members are elected every four years, along with the president.
President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson was elected in June 1996 to succeed Vigdis
Finnbogadottir. The head of state plays no part in day-to-day politics.
Economy
The economy is heavily dependent upon fisheries, which are the nation’s major
resource, and almost 60 percent of all exports are made up of seafood products. Yet only a
small proportion of the workforce is active in this sector (5 percent in fishing, 6.5
percent in fish processing), and over 50 percent of the workforce is employed in services,
public and other.
Health
Life expectancy, at 80 years for women and 74 for men, is one of the highest in the world,
and a comprehensive state health-care system aims to keep it that way.
Church
The National Church of Iceland, to which 97 percent of the population belongs, is
Evangelical Lutheran. In addition to the many Lutheran churches in Reykjavik, there is a
Roman Catholic Cathedral at Landakot, with regular Sunday Mass.
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