Iceland

• temperate;
• moderated by North Atlantic Current;
• mild, windy winters;
• damp, cool summers

total:

0.17 cu km/yr (34%/66%/0%)

per capita:

567 cu m/yr (2003)

party to:

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, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

• 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

noun:

Icelander(s)

adjective:

Icelandic

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Iceland

conventional short form:

Iceland

local long form:

Lydveldid Island

local short form:

Island

name:

Reykjavik

geographic coordinates:

64 09 N, 21 57 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown);
• 17 June 1944 (from Denmark; birthday of Jon SIGURDSSON leader of Iceland's 19th Century independence movement)

chief of state:

President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996)

head of government:

Prime Minister Johanna SIGURDARDOTTIR (since 1 February 2009)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 30 June 2012 (next to be held in June 2016);
• note - following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister

election results:

Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON elected president; percent of vote - Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON 52.8%, Thora ARNORSDOTTIR 33.2%, Ari Trausti GUDMUNDSSON 8.6%

• Independence Party (Sjalfstaedisflokkurinn) or IP [Bjarni BENEDIKTSSON];
• Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin-graent frambod) or LGM [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON];
• Liberal Party (Frjalslyndi flokkurinn) [Sigurjon THORDARSON];
• The Movement (Hreyfingin) [Birgitta JONSDOTTIR];
• Progressive Party (Framsoknarflokkurinn) or PP [Sigmundur David GUNNLAUGSSON];
• Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) or SDA [Johanna SIGURDARDOTTIR]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Gudmundur A. STEFANSSON

chancery:

House of Sweden, 2900 K Street NW #509, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-6653

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-6656

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Luis E. ARREAGA

embassy:

Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik

mailing address:

US Department of State, 5640 Reykjavik Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-5640

telephone:

[354] 562-9100

FAX:

[354] 562-9118

• 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);
• the colors represent three of the elements that make up the island: red is for the island's volcanic fires, white recalls the snow and ice fields of the island, and blue is for the surrounding ocean

name:

"Lofsongur" (Song of Praise)

lyrics/music:

Matthias JOCHUMSSON/Sveinbjorn SVEINBJORNSSON

note: adopted 1944; the anthem, also known as "O, Gud vors lands" (O, God of Our Land), was originally written and performed in 1874

agriculture:

4.8%

industry:

22.2%

services:

73% (2008)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• potatoes, green vegetables;
• mutton, chicken, pork, beef, dairy products;
• fish

general assessment:

telecommunications infrastructure is modern and fully digitized, with satellite-earth stations, fiber-optic cables, and an extensive broadband network

domestic:

liberalization of the telecommunications sector beginning in the late 1990s has led to increased competition especially in the mobile services segment of the market

international:

• country code - 354;
• the CANTAT-3 and FARICE-1 submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Canada, the Faroe Islands, UK, Denmark, and Germany;
• a planned new section of the Hibernia-Atlantic submarine cable will provide additional connectivity to Canada, US, and Ireland;
• 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)

• state-owned public TV broadcaster operates 1 TV channel nationally;
• several privately-owned TV stations broadcast nationally and roughly another half-dozen operate locally;
• about one-half the households utilize multi-channel cable or satellite TV services;
• state-owned public radio broadcaster operates 2 national networks and 4 regional stations;
• 2 privately-owned radio stations operate nationally and another 15 provide more limited coverage (2007)

total:

12,869 km

country comparison to the world: 128

paved/oiled gravel:

4,438 km (does not include urban roads)

unpaved:

8,431 km (2009)

total:

2

country comparison to the world: 141

by type:

passenger/cargo 2

registered in other countries:

19 (Antigua and Barbuda 10, Belize 1, Faroe Islands 4, Finland 1, Gibraltar 1, Norway 2) (2010)

males age 16-49:

62,781

females age 16-49:

61,511 (2010 est.)

male:

2,277

female:

2,200 (2010 est.)

• Iceland has no standing military force;
• under a 1951 bilateral agreement - still valid - its defense was provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik;
• however, all US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn as of October 2006;
• although wartime defense of Iceland remains a NATO commitment, in April 2007, Iceland and Norway signed a bilateral agreement providing for Norwegian aerial surveillance and defense of Icelandic airspace (2008)

• Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm;
• the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority filed a suit against Iceland, claiming the country violated the European Economic Area agreement in failing to pay minimum compensation to Icesave depositors