FACT & FIGURES ABOUT ICELAND
Geography
Location: European island in the North Atlantic (3 hours' flight from London, 5 ½ hours from New York).
Capital: Reykjavik (population 120.000 approx.)
Total area: 103,000 km² (39,756 square.miles); vegetation: 23.1%, lakes: 2.7%, glaciers: 11.6%, wasteland: 62.6%. Sea area within fishing limits: 758,000 km². Coastline: 4,970 km.
People
Population: about 318.000 (3.1 per sq. km).
Ethnic groups: Homogenous mixture of descendants of the original Nordic and Celtic settlers. (93% Icelandic, 7.0% other)
Religion: State Lutheran Church 84%.
Government
Type: Republic since 17 June 1944. Independent since 1 December 1918.
President: Mr. Olafur Ragnar Grímsson since 1996.
Prime Minister: Mrs. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir since 2009 The cabinet is responsible to the legislature (Althingi).
Nature in Iceland
In environmental terms, Iceland is unique. Iceland is a large country (103,000 km², about the same surface area as Ireland or the State of Virginia), but is sparsely populated, with only 3 persons per km² living mostly along the coast. The interior of the country contains stunning contrasts. It is largely an arctic desert, punctuated with mountains, glaciers, volcanoes and waterfalls. Most of the vegetation and agricultural areas are in the lowlands close to the coastline. Iceland has very mild, coastal weather. The average summer temperature in Reykjavik, the capital, is 11.8°C/53°F in July, with average highs of 24.3°C/76°F. Iceland has a pure, pollution-free environment. Industry is operated almost exclusively with clean hydroelectric and geothermal power.
Population in the 1st Quarter 2010
The population of Iceland at the end of the 1st quarter 2010 was 317,900, of which 159,900 were males and 158,800 females. This is an increase of 400 persons from the end of the 4th quarter 2009, when the population was 317,500. Foreign citizens were 21,600 by the end of the 1st quarter 2010. Inhabitants of the capital region were 201,200.
In the 1st quarter of 2010 1,200 children were born, while 480 persons died. The net migration in the quarter was -380 persons. The net migration of persons with Icelandic citizenship was negative (-430), but positive (60) for foreign citizens. Males constituted the majority of the emigrants.