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Iceland Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Iceland
Capital Reykjavík
Area 103,000 sq km
39,800 sq mi
Iceland: Flag and Anthem
Iceland: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 301,931 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 0.82 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 337,632 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 350,922 (2007 estimate)
Population density 3 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
7.8 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 93 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 7 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Reykjavík 113,022 (2005 estimate)
Kópavogur 25,803 (2005 estimate)
Hafnarfjörður 22,000 (2005 estimate)
Akureyri 16,308 (2005 estimate)
Garðabær 9,053 (2005 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians and Celts
Languages
Icelandic (official), Danish, English
Religious affiliations
Protestant, Evangelical Lutheran (official) 90 percent
Independent Christian 4 percent
Roman Catholic 1 percent
Nonreligious 1 percent
Other 4 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 80.4 years (2007 estimate)
Female 82.6 years (2007 estimate)
Male 78.3 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 3 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 288 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 132 people (2002)
Literacy rate
Total 100 percent (1995)
Female Not available
Male Not available
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 7.8 percent (2002-2003)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 11 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 11 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government Republic
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution 17 June 1944
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 0 (1997)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) Not available
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $15.8 billion (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $53,290.30 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 9.8 percent (2002)
Industry 24.8 percent (2002)
Services 65.4 percent (2002)
Employment
Number of workers 176,806 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 7 percent (2002)
Industry 23 percent (2002)
Services 69 percent (2002)
Unemployment rate 3.1 percent (2004)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $2,826 million (2002)
Total expenditure $2,831 million (2002)
Monetary unit
1 Icelandic króna (IKr), consisting of 100 aurar
Major trade partners for exports
United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, United States, and Portugal
Major trade partners for imports
Germany, United States, Denmark, Norway, and United Kingdom
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 0.11 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 83.90 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 15.99 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 1,101 (1999 estimate)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 653 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 522 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 3,790 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 336 (1999)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 657 (2003)
Paved road as a share of total roads 32 percent (2002)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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