]! ^! Settled 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. 
]" ^" Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK ^# 65 00 N, 18 00 W ^$ Arctic Region ^% `! 103,000 sq km `" 100,250 sq km `# 2,750 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Kentucky ^' 0 km ^( 4,988 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm `J 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers ^+ mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m (at Vatnajokull glacier) ^- fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite ^. `' 0.07% `( 0% `) 99.93% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 earthquakes and volcanic activity ^1 water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment _J `K Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands `L Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation ^2 strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe 
]# ^3 296,737 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 22.1% (male 33,302/female 32,257) `+ 66.2% (male 99,513/female 96,886) `, 11.7% (male 15,723/female 19,056) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 34 years `- 33.53 years `. 34.49 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.91% (2005 est.) ^7 13.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.04 male(s)/female `0 1.03 male(s)/female `+ 1.03 male(s)/female `, 0.82 male(s)/female `1 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 3.31 deaths/1,000 live births `- 3.45 deaths/1,000 live births `. 3.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 80.19 years `- 78.13 years `. 82.34 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.2% (2001 est.) ^? 220 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Icelander(s) `3 Icelandic ^B homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6% ^C Lutheran 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) ^D Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 99.9% (1997 est.) `- NA% `. NA% 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Iceland `5 Iceland `V Lydhveldidh Island `W Island ^H constitutional republic ^I Reykjavik ^J 8 regions; Austurland, Hofudhborgarsvaedhi, Nordhurland Eystra, Nordhurland Vestra, Sudhurland, Sudhurnes, Vestfirdhir, Vesturland ^K 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark) ^L Independence Day, 17 June (1944) ^M 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times ^N civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996) `7 Prime Minister Halldor ASGRIMSSON (since 15 September 2004); note - Former Prime Minister David ODDSSON switched positions with former Foreign Minister Halldor ASGRIMMSON `8 Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by parliament `9 president, which is largely a ceremonial post, elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 June 2004 (next to be held June 2008); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister `: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON wins with 85.6% of the vote, Baldur AGUSTSSON 12.5%, Astthor MAGNUSSON 1.9% ^Q unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) `9 last held 10 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2007) `: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 33.7%, Social Democratic Alliance 31.0%, Progressive Party 17.7%, Left-Green Alliance 8.8%, Liberal Party 7.4%; seats by party - Independence Party 22, Social Democratic Alliance 20, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 5, Liberal Party 4 ^R Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice) ^S Independence Party or IP [David ODDSSON]; Left-Green Alliance or LGP [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON]; Social Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List) or SDA [Ingibjorg Solrun GISLADOTTIR] ^T NA ^U Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Helgi AGUSTSSON `O Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704 `P [1] (202) 265-6653 `Q [1] (202) 265-6656 `R New York ^W `N Ambassador James I. GADSDEN `Z Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik `[ US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, FPO AE 09728-0340 `P [354] 562-9100 `Q [354] 562-9118 ^X blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) 
]% ^Y Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 8% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Government policies include 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 had been remarkably steady in 1996-2001 at 3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an environment of global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and estimates call for strong growth until 2007, slowly dropping until the end of the decade. ^Z $9.373 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 1.8% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $31,900 (2004 est.) ^] `; 11.2% `< 9.6% `= 79.2% (2004 est.) ^^ 158,100 (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture, fishing and fish processing 10.3%, industry 18.3%, services 71.4% (2003) ^` 3.1% (2004 est.) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" 4% (2004 est.) _P 23.8% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $4.154 billion `A $4.058 billion, including capital expenditures of $467 million (2004 est.) _Q 35.9% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ potatoes, green vegetables, mutton, dairy products, fish _% fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power; tourism _& 8.8% (2004 est.) _' 8.271 billion kWh (2002) _( 7.692 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 16,300 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- 0 bbl/day (2001) _. 15,470 bbl/day (2001) _X $-570 million (2004 est.) _/ $2.902 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite _1 UK 19.1%, Germany 17.2%, Netherlands 11.5%, US 9.8%, Spain 6.8%, Denmark 4.6% (2004) _2 $3.307 billion (2004 est.) _3 machinery and equipment, petroleum products; foodstuffs, textiles _4 Germany 12.3%, US 9.9%, Norway 9.7%, Denmark 7.9%, UK 7.2%, Sweden 6.7%, Netherlands 6% (2004) _Y $935 million (2004) _5 $3.073 billion (2002) _Z $NA _7 Icelandic krona (ISK) _8 Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 70.192 (2004), 76.709 (2003), 91.662 (2002), 97.425 (2001), 78.616 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 190,700 (2003) _; 279,100 (2003) _< `B extensive domestic service `C the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links `D country code - 354; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) _= AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) _> 14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997) _? .is _@ 122,175 (2004) _A 195,000 (2003) 
]' _B `! 13,004 km paved/oiled gravel: 4,331 km `F 8,673 km (2004) _C Grundartangi, Hafnarfjordur, Hornafjordhur, Reykjavik, Seydhisfjordhur _K `! 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,341 GRT/6,019 DWT by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1 `\ 30 (2005) _D 98 (2004 est.) _E `! 5 `] 1 `^ 3 `_ 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 93 `^ 3 `_ 29 `T 61 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular armed forces; Icelandic National Police, Icelandic Coast Guard (Islenska Landhelgisgaeslan) _] males age 18-49: 69,038 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 56,777 (2005 est.) _N 0 _G defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik 
]) _H Iceland disputes Denmark's alignment of the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm 