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Domestic Route Map
Látrabjarg
Facts about Iceland
LAND Iceland is an island of 103,000 km2
(39,756 square miles), with an average
height of 500 m above sea level. Its highest
peak, Hvannadalshnúkur, rises to 2,119 m,
and over 11 per cent of the country is
covered by glaciers, including Vatnajökull,
the largest in Europe.
ENERGY Situated on the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, Iceland is a hot spot of volcanic and
geothermal activity: 30 post-glacial volcanoes
have erupted in the past two centuries, and
natural hot water supplies much of the pop-
ulation with cheap, pollution-free heating.
Rivers, too, are harnessed to provide inex-
pensive hydroelectric power. The electrical
current is 220 volts, 50 Hz.
PEOPLE Out of a population numbering
almost 280,000, half live in the capital,
Reykjavík, and its neighbouring towns in the
southwest. Keflavík International Airport is
located about 50 km from the capital. The
highland interior is uninhabited (and unin-
habitable), and most centres of population
are situated on the coast.
LANGUAGE Iceland was settled by
Nordic people in the 9th century – tradition
says that the first permanent settler was
Ingólfur Arnarson, a Norwegian Viking who
made his home where Reykjavík now stands.
The Icelanders still speak the language of
the Vikings, although modern Icelandic has
undergone changes of pronunciation and, of
course, of vocabulary! Iceland is alone in
upholding another Norse tradition, i.e. the
custom of using patronymics rather than
surnames; an Icelander’s Christian name is
followed by his or her father’s name and the
suffix -son or -dóttir, e.g. Gudrún
Pétursdóttir (Gudrún, daughter of Pétur).
Members of a family can therefore have
many different “surnames,” which some-
times causes confusion to foreigners!
CHURCH The National Church of Ice-
land, to which 90 per cent of the population
belong, is Evangelical Lutheran. In addition
to the many Lutheran churches in Reykja-
vík, there is a Roman Catholic Cathedral at
Landakot, with regular Sunday Mass.
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, last-
ed until 1262, when Iceland lost its inde-
pendence. In 1918 it regained its indepen-
dence, and in 1944 the present republic was
founded. The country is governed by the
Althingi (parliament), whose members are
elected every four years. Four-yearly elections
are also held for the presidency; President
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was elected in June
1996 to succeed Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. The
head of state plays no part in day-to-day poli-
tics.
ECONOMY The economy is heavily depen-
dent upon fishing. Despite efforts to diversify,
particularly into the travel industry, seafood
exports continue to account for nearly three
quarters of merchandise exports and approx-
imately half of all foreign exchange earnings.
Yet less than 10 per cent of the workforce is
involved in fishing and fish processing. The
travel industry makes up the second-largest
export industry in Iceland.The standard of liv-
ing is high, with income per capita among the
best in the world. The financial sector has
been liberalised in recent years.The economy
is service-oriented: two thirds of the working
population are employed in the service sector,
both public and private. Iceland is a member of
the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
and the European Economic Area (EEA).
HEALTH Life expectancy, at 81.3 years for
women and 76.4 for men, is one of the high-
est in the world, and a comprehensive state
health-care system aims to keep it that way.
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