Three elements that make up the island: •RED - volcanic fires

•WHITE - snow and icefields

•BLUE – oceans surrounding Iceland

Bartłomiej Nowak

Geography

Geography Part of Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Boundary between both the Eurasian Plate and

the North American Plate

Westernmost European country

Reykjavik – northernmost capital in the world

Geography Capital – Reykjavik 198 000 (2009)

Total country area – 103 000 sq km

Coastline – 4 970 km

Earthquakes and volcanic activity

Historical background Norwegian and Celtic (Scots and Irishmen)

immigrants settled in the late 9th century

First democratic country in the World (Parliament established in 930 AD)

Independent for over 300 years

Ruled by Norway and Denmark

Historical background Devastated economy in 1875 caused by fallout from

Askja volcano

20% Iceland’s population left until 1900’s

1944 – fully independent country

1994 – joined the European Economic Area

Society Population – 313 183 (July 2012 est.) Languages - Icelandic, English, Nordic languages and

German Ethnic groups - mixture Norse and Celts 94%, others

6% Religion - Lutheran Church of Iceland (official) 80.7%,

Roman Catholic 2.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.4%, unaffiliated 3%, other or unspecified 11.4%

Economy Growth rate: 2.4% (2011)

Economy GDP per capita: $38,000 (2011)

Economy Public debt: 130.1% of GDP (2011)

Economy Unemployment rate: 6.9% (2011)

Economy Inflation rate - 4.5% (2011)

Economy Exports: $5.3 billion (2011)

Main exp. partners: Netherlands 33.9%, Germany

14.1%, UK 10.1%, Spain 4.7%, US 4.5%, Norway 4.3% (2010)

Commodities: fish and fish products 40%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite

Economy Imports: $4.495 billion (2011)

Main imp. partners: Norway 9%, Brazil 8.7%,

Netherlands 8.5%, US 8.1%, Germany 7.5%, Denmark 7%, China 6%, Finland 5.4%, Sweden 5.2%, UK 5.1% (2010)

Commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles

Financial crisis 3 main banks collapsed Icelandic Krona declined amost 50% against US Dollar

between 2007 – 2010 (from 63 to 122 ISK/$)

Economic recession

Lowered Ratings Market capitalization of Icelandic stock exchange

dropped by 90%.

Financial crisis Market capitalization of Icelandic stock exchange dropped

by 90%.

Military No standing military force.

From 1951 defense was provided by US Army but they

withdrawn in 2006.

Wartime defense of Iceland remains to NATO.

From 2008 Norway is providing aerial surveillance and defense of Iceland’s airspace.

Facts about Iceland No surnames! Leifur Eriksson, Iceland Viking, was the first European

man who land in North America. 500 years before Columbus.

Geysir, the first geyser described in a printed sources. Eruptions at Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 70 metres in the air.

In June, July and half of august the day is about 20 hours long. But of course during winter it’s completely conversely.

Facts about Iceland Most of Icelanders know English language but the

oldest people speak better Danish. Iceland is the world’s oldest democracy. Its parliament

(Althingi) was founded about the year 930 AD. Icelandic water is so clean and pure that it is piped into

the city and to the kitchen taps in the home without any treatment (no chlorination needed).

Iceland has the longest-lived men.

Facts about Iceland Urban Icelandic homes do not need a water heater or a

furnace for heating. Steam and hot water are piped into the city from natural geysers and hot springs for use in homes and buildings.

The weather in Iceland is not so cold as you might think. Average daytime temperature in Reykjavik is -1 degrees C.

Despite that Coca-Cola is not national drink of Iceland. Consumption per capita is one of the highest in the world.

Bibliography https://www.cia.gov http://www.islandia.org.pl http://bjork.pl/islandia/index.htm http://www.iceland.is http://www.statice.is http://www.danshort.com/iceland/icefacts.htm http://www.reuters.com http://icelandchronicles.com http://www.indexmundi.com