Basic statistics about Iceland can be seen below.

Republic of Iceland

Land Area:
103,000 square kilometres; 40,000 square miles.

Population:
300.000 (Dec. 2005). Population density per square kilometre: 2,8. Iceland is the least populated country in Europe (seventh in the world). Most of the people are of Norwegian descent, with some admixture of Celtic blood from those who came from Ireland and the Scottish islands from the time of settlement.

Capital:
Reykjavik population: 112.490
Greater Reykjavik area population: 179.781

Religion:
Evangelical Lutheran Church; state church of Iceland: 86,6%
Lutheran free churches: 4,2%
Other: 9,2%

Education
Mandatory from 6 to 15 years of age.
Schools for compulsory education: 192
Schools above compulsory education: 42
Universities and Colleges: 8

Language:
The country?s written and spoken language is Icelandic, a Nordic language very similar to that spoken by Iceland's first settlers. Icelandic is one of the oldest living languages in Europe. English and Danish are mandatory subjects in school. Literacy is 99,9%, the highest in the world.

History:
The first people believed to have settled in Iceland were Irish monks who came in the eighth century AD. They left, however, upon the arrival of pagan Norsemen, who came in 874 to seek freedom from Norway's oppressive king Harald Fairhair. In 930 the Icelanders founded the Althing, their supreme general assembly - the oldest parliament in the world. Christianity was adopted in the year 1000. In 1262, Iceland became subject to Norwegian control and in 1380 came under Danish control, along with Norway. After the granting of a constitution (1874) and with an improving economy, Iceland, in 1918, finally became an independent sovereign state under a common king with Denmark. The Republic of Iceland was formally declared on June 17, 1944.

Government:
Parliamentary system. The Independence Party (IP) and the Progressive Party (PP) formed a center-right coalition in 1995. The Prime Minister is Davíð Oddsson, Chairman of the IP. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is Halldór Ásgrímsson, Chairman of the PP. In the 1999 general election, seats were won by the IP (26), PP (12), Left Alliance (17), left Greens (6) and Liberals (2).

Head of State:
His Excellency, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, was inaugurated on the 1st of August 1996 and for the 2nd time August 1, 2000. He is a former Minister of Finance and was a professor of political science at the University of Iceland and a member of the Icelandic parliament before he was elected president.

International Organizations:
Iceland is a member of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations and its agencies, the European Economic Area, NATO, the Council of Europe, OECD, EFTA, WTO and the Nordic Council.

Air Transport:
Daily flights, most of them operated by Icelandair, link Iceland with more than 20 gateways in Europe and North America. Flight time is 2-4 hours to Western Europe and 5-8 hours to North America. Domestic services operate to Iceland's main regional communities, with flight time of less than one hour.

Shipping
Total number of fishing vessels: 841
Total number of commercial vessels: 35
Other: 138

Approximately 42% of total foreign currency earnings are from marine products. Some 99% of imports and exports are carried by marine transport, most of them handled by Iceland's two major shipping companies, Samskip and Eimskip.

Economic Indicators for 2002
Gross Domestic Product per capita: USD 27.138
Economic growth: 2,4%
Inflation: 5,2%
Annual average unemployment: 2,3%