Grenada (2002) | Iceland (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 8 regions; Austurland, Hofudhborgarsvaedhi, Nordhurland Eystra, Nordhurland Vestra, Sudhurland, Sudhurnes, Vestfirdhir, Vesturland |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.9% (male 16,213; female 15,863)
15-64 years: 60.3% (male 28,460; female 25,307) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 1,546; female 1,822) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.1% (male 33,302/female 32,257)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 99,513/female 96,886) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 15,723/female 19,056) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | potatoes, green vegetables, mutton, dairy products, fish |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 98 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 93
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 61 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 103,000 sq km
land: 100,250 sq km water: 2,750 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | Settled by Norwegian and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine. Over the next quarter century, 20% of the island's population emigrated, mostly to Canada and the US. Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards. |
Birth rate | 23.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $4.154 billion
expenditures: $4.058 billion, including capital expenditures of $467 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Reykjavik |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers |
Coastline | 121 km | 4,988 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lydhveldidh Island local short form: Island |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 7.63 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $196 million (2000) (2000) | $3.073 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada; Charge d'Affairs Nadia TONGOUR
embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James I. GADSDEN
embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik mailing address: US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, FPO AE 09728-0340 telephone: [354] 562-9100 FAX: [354] 562-9118 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Helgi AGUSTSSON
chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1704 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | Iceland disputes Denmark's alignment of the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm |
Economic aid - donor | - | $NA |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | Despite government steadying of annual economic growth in recent years through progress in fiscal reform and prudent macroeconomic management, a downturn in tourist arrivals in 2001 threatens government spending in 2002. Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, although it also supports a small agriculture sector and a developing offshore financial industry. Short-term concerns include a rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. | Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system (including generous housing subsidies), low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 8% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to fluctuations in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Government policies include reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale watching. Growth had been remarkably steady in 1996-2001 at 3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an environment of global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and estimates call for strong growth until 2007, slowly dropping until the end of the decade. |
Electricity - consumption | 102.3 million kWh (2000) | 7.692 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 110 million kWh (2000) | 8.271 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m (at Vatnajokull glacier) |
Environment - current issues | NA | water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian | homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 70.192 (2004), 76.709 (2003), 91.662 (2002), 97.425 (2001), 78.616 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Halldor ASGRIMSSON (since 15 September 2004); note - Former Prime Minister David ODDSSON switched positions with former Foreign Minister Halldor ASGRIMMSON cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by parliament elections: president, which is largely a ceremonial post, elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 June 2004 (next to be held June 2008); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister election results: Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON wins with 85.6% of the vote, Baldur AGUSTSSON 12.5%, Astthor MAGNUSSON 1.9% |
Exports | $78 million (2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | UK 19.1%, Germany 17.2%, Netherlands 11.5%, US 9.8%, Spain 6.8%, Denmark 4.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $424 million (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 9.6% services: 79.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,750 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2001 est.) | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 65 00 N, 18 00 W |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
total: 13,004 km
paved/oiled gravel: 4,331 km unpaved: 8,673 km (2004) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | - |
Imports | $270 million (2000 est.) | 15,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | machinery and equipment, petroleum products; foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | Germany 12.3%, US 9.9%, Norway 9.7%, Denmark 7.9%, UK 7.2%, Sweden 6.7%, Netherlands 6% (2004) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 8.8% (2004 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 3.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2001 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice) |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) (1996) | 158,100 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) | agriculture, fishing and fish processing 10.3%, industry 18.3%, services 71.4% (2003) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 26.47% other: 67.65% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.07%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.93% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken |
Legal system | based on English common law | civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 33.7%, Social Democratic Alliance 31.0%, Progressive Party 17.7%, Left-Green Alliance 8.8%, Liberal Party 7.4%; seats by party - Independence Party 22, Social Democratic Alliance 20, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 5, Liberal Party 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 80.19 years
male: 78.13 years female: 82.34 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.9% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,341 GRT/6,019 DWT
by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1 registered in other countries: 30 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik |
Military branches | Royal Grenada Police Force, Coast Guard | no regular armed forces; Icelandic National Police, Icelandic Coast Guard (Islenska Landhelgisgaeslan) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | 0 |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Independence Day, 17 June (1944) |
Nationality | noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | earthquakes and volcanic activity |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite |
Net migration rate | -15.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] | Independence Party or IP [David ODDSSON]; Left-Green Alliance or LGP [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON]; Social Democratic Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List) or SDA [Ingibjorg Solrun GISLADOTTIR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 89,211 (July 2002 est.) | 296,737 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2002 est.) | 0.91% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Grundartangi, Hafnarfjordur, Hornafjordhur, Reykjavik, Seydhisfjordhur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Lutheran Church of Iceland 85.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.1%, Roman Catholic Church 2%, Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.5%, other Christian 2.7%, other or unspecified 3.8%, unaffiliated 2.4% (2004) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment: extensive domestic service
domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links international: country code - 354; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27,000 (1997) | 190,700 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 279,100 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords |
Total fertility rate | 2.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.92 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.5% (1999) (1999) | 3.1% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |