Country
Iceland is an island of 103.000
km2 (39,756 sq.miles), with an average height of 500 m above sea level. Its
highest peak, Hvannadalshnjúkur, rises to 2.119 m and over 11 per cent of
the country is covered by glaciers, including Vatnajökull, the largest in
Europe.
Energy
Situated on the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, Iceland is a hot spot of volcanic and geothermal activity: 30
post-glacial volcanoes have erupted in the past two centuries, and natural
hot water supplies much of the population with cheap, pollution-free
heating. Rivers, too, are harnessed to provide inexpensive hydroelectric
power.
People
Out of a population numbering
more than 280.000, half live in the capital Reykjavík and its neighbouring
towns in the southwest. Keflavík International Airport is located about 50
km from the capital. The highland interior is uninhabited (and
uninhabitable), and most centres of population are situated on the coast.
Language
Iceland was settled by Nordic
people in the 9th century - tradition says that the first permanent settler
was Ingólfur Arnarson, a Norwegian Viking who made his home where Reykjavík
now stands. The Icelanders still speak the language of the Vikings, although
modern Icelandic has undergone changes of pronunciation and, of course, of
vocabulary! Iceland is alone in upholding another Norse tradtion, i.e. the
custom of using patronymics rather than surnames; and Icelander´s christian
name is followed by his or her father´s name and the suffix -son or -dóttir,
e.g. Guðrún Pétursdóttir (Guðrún, daughter of Pétur). Members of a family
can therefore have many different "surnames", which sometimes causes
confusion to foreigners.
Economy
The economy is heavily dependent
upon fishing. Despite effort to diversify, particularly into the travel
industry, seafood exports continue to account for nearly three-puarters of
merchandise exports and approximately half of all foreign exchange earnings.
Yet less than 10 per cent of the workforce is involved in fishing and fis
processing. The travel industry makes up the second-largest export industry
in Iceland. The standard of living is high, with income per capita among the
best in the world. The financial sector has benn liberalised in recent
years. The economy is service-oriented: two-thirds of the working population
are employed in the service sector, both public and private. Iceland is a
member of the European Fee Trade Association (EFTA) and the European
Economic Area (EEC).
Health
Life expectancy, at 81.3 years
for women and 76.4 for men, is one of the highest in the world, and a
comprehensive state health-care system aims to keep it that way |
