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Compare Iceland (2001) - World (2001)

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 Iceland (2001)World (2001)
 IcelandWorld
Administrative divisions 23 counties (syslar, singular - sysla) and 14 independent towns* (kaupstadhir, singular - kaupstadhur); Akranes*, Akureyri*, Arnessysla, Austur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Austur-Hunavatnssysla, Austur-Skaftafellssysla, Borgarfjardharsysla, Dalasysla, Eyjafjardharsysla, Gullbringusysla, Hafnarfjordhur*, Husavik*, Isafjordhur*, Keflavik*, Kjosarsysla, Kopavogur*, Myrasysla, Neskaupstadhur*, Nordhur-Isafjardharsysla, Nordhur-Mulasys-la, Nordhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Olafsfjordhur*, Rangarvallasysla, Reykjavik*, Saudharkrokur*, Seydhisfjordhur*, Siglufjordhur*, Skagafjardharsysla, Snaefellsnes-og Hnappadalssysla, Strandasysla, Sudhur-Mulasysla, Sudhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Vesttmannaeyjar*, Vestur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Vestur-Hunavatnssysla, Vestur-Isafjardharsysla, Vestur-Skaftafellssysla

note:
there may be four other counties
267 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Age structure 0-14 years:
23.18% (male 33,238; female 31,191)

15-64 years:
65.01% (male 91,095; female 89,583)

65 years and over:
11.81% (male 14,681; female 18,118) (2001 est.)
0-14 years:
29.6% (male 933,647,850; female 886,681,514)

15-64 years:
63.4% (male 1,975,418,386; female 1,931,021,694)

65 years and over:
7% (male 188,760,223; female 241,449,691) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products potatoes, turnips; cattle, sheep; fish -
Airports 87 (2000 est.) -
Airports - with paved runways total:
12

over 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
4

914 to 1,523 m:
7 (2000 est.)
-
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
75

1,524 to 2,437 m:
3

914 to 1,523 m:
20

under 914 m:
52 (2000 est.)
-
Area total:
103,000 sq km

land:
100,250 sq km

water:
2,750 sq km
total:
510.072 million sq km

land:
148.94 million sq km

water:
361.132 million sq km

note:
70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kentucky land area about 16 times the size of the US
Background 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. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the drop in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 14.62 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 21.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues:
$3.5 billion

expenditures:
$3.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $467 million (1999)
-
Capital Reykjavik -
Climate temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 4,988 km 356,000 km
Constitution 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944 -
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of Iceland

conventional short form:
Iceland

local long form:
Lyoveldio Island

local short form:
Island
-
Currency Icelandic krona (ISK) -
Death rate 6.89 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $2.6 billion (1999) $2 trillion for less developed countries (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Barbara J. GRIFFITHS

embassy:
Laufasvegur 21, Reykjavik

mailing address:
US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, FPO AE 09728-0340

telephone:
[354] 5629100

FAX:
[354] 5629118
-
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Jon-Baldvin HANNIBALSSON

chancery:
Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

telephone:
[1] (202) 265-6653

FAX:
[1] (202) 265-6656

consulate(s) general:
New York
-
Disputes - international Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Denmark over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Denmark, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM -
Economic aid - donor $NA -
Economic aid - recipient - traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1997 est.)
Economy - overview Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system, low unemployment, and remarkably even distribution of income. In the absence of other natural resources (except for abundant hydrothermal and geothermal power), the economy depends heavily on the fishing industry, which provides 70% of export earnings and employs 12% of the work force. The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks as well as to drops in world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. The center-right government plans to continue its policies of 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 has been remarkably steady over the past five years at 4%-5%. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) rose to 4.8% in 2000 from 3.5% in 1999, despite continued low growth in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in several transition economies. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 5% in 2000, although growth slowed in fourth quarter 2000; the US accounted for 23% of GWP. The EU economies grew at 3.3% and produced 20% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its strong growth and accounted for 10% of GWP. Japan grew at only 1.3% in 2000; its share in GWP is 7%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. Continued financial difficulties in East Asia, Russia, and many African nations, as well as the slowdown in US economic growth, cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects; GWP probably will grow at 3-4% in 2001. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2000, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 6.574 billion kWh (1999) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production 7.069 billion kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
0.07%

hydro:
84.64%

nuclear:
0%

other:
15.29% (1999)
fossil fuel:
NA%

hydro:
NA%

nuclear:
NA%

other:
NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m
lowest point:
Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m

highest point:
Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Environment - international agreements party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Marine Life Conservation
-
Ethnic groups homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts -
Exchange rates Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 84.810 (January 2001), 78.676 (2000), 72.335 (1999), 70.958 (1998), 70.904 (1997), 66.500 (1996) -
Executive branch chief of state:
President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996)

head of government:
Prime Minister David ODDSSON (since 30 April 1991)

cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 29 June 1996 (next to be held NA June 2004); President GRIMSSON ran unopposed in June 2000 so there were no elections; prime minister appointed by the president

election results:
Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON elected president; President GRIMSSON ran unopposed
-
Exports $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities fish and fish products 70%, animal products, aluminum, diatomite, ferrosilicon the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners EU 64% (UK 20%, Germany 13%, France 5%, Denmark 5%), US 15%, Japan 5% (1999) in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Fiscal year calendar year -
Flag description blue with a red cross outlined in white that extends 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 - $6.85 billion (2000 est.) GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $43.6 trillion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
15% (includes fishing 13%)

industry:
21%

services:
64% (1999 est.)
agriculture:
4%

industry:
32%

services:
64% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $24,800 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.3% (2000 est.) 4.8% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 65 00 N, 18 00 W -
Geography - note 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:
12,691 km

paved:
3,262 km

unpaved:
9,429 km (1999)
total:
NA km

paved:
NA km

unpaved:
NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
Imports $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, petroleum products; foodstuffs, textiles the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners EU 56% (Germany 12%, UK 9%, Denmark 8%, Sweden 6%), US 11%, Norway 10% (1999) in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
Independence 17 June 1944 (from Denmark) -
Industrial production growth rate 1.5% (2000 est.) 6% (2000 est.)
Industries fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power; tourism dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate 3.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 52.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.5% (2000 est.) all countries 25%; developed countries 1% to 3% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2000 est.)

note:
national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries
International organization participation Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 7 (2000) 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land NA sq km 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the president) -
Labor force 159,000 (2000) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 5.1%, fishing and fish processing 11.8%, manufacturing 12.9%, construction 10.7%, other services 59.5% (1999) agricultue NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries 0 km the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land:
0%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
23%

forests and woodland:
1%

other:
76% (1993 est.)
arable land:
10%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
26%

forests and woodland:
32%

other:
31% (1993 est.)
Languages Icelandic -
Legal system civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Legislative branch unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
last held on 8 May 1999 (next to be held by April 2003)

election results:
percent of vote by party - Independence Party 40.7%, The Alliance (PA, People's Party, Women's List) 26.8%, Progressive Party 18.4%, Left-Green Alliance 9.1%, Liberal Party 4.2%; seats by party - Independence Party 26, The Alliance 17, Progressive Party 12, Left-Green Alliance 6, Liberal Party 2
-
Life expectancy at birth total population:
79.52 years

male:
77.31 years

female:
81.92 years (2001 est.)
total population:
63.79 years

male:
62.15 years

female:
65.51 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
99.9% (1997 est.)

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
-
Location Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK -
Map references Arctic Region World, Time Zones
Maritime claims continental shelf:
200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
contiguous zone:
24 NM claimed by most, but can vary

continental shelf:
200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM claimed by most, but can vary

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM claimed by most, but can vary

territorial sea:
12 NM claimed by most, but can vary

note:
boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Merchant marine total:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,435 GRT/4,538 DWT

ships by type:
chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.)
-
Military - note defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik -
Military branches no regular armed forces; Police, Coast Guard; note - Iceland's defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $0 aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
71,241 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
62,704 (2001 est.)
-
National holiday Independence Day, 17 June (1944) -
Nationality noun:
Icelander(s)

adjective:
Icelandic
-
Natural hazards earthquakes and volcanic activity large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate -2.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -
Political parties and leaders Independence Party (conservative) or IP [David ODDSSON]; Left-Green Alliance [Steinsvimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party [Sverrir HERMANNSSON]; People's Party (Social Democratic Party) or SDP [Sighvatyr BJORGIVINSSON]; Progressive Party (liberal) or PP [Halldor ASGRIMSSON]; The Alliance (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SVP, People's Movement, Women's List) [Ossur SKARPHEDINSSON]; Women's List or WL [Kristin ASTGEIRSDOTTIR] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 277,906 (July 2001 est.) 6,157,400,560 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 0.54% (2001 est.) 1.25% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Akureyri, Hornafjordur, Isafjordhur, Keflavik, Raufarhofn, Reykjavik, Seydhisfjordhur, Straumsvik, Vestmannaeyjar Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Radio broadcast stations AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios 260,000 (1997) NA
Railways 0 km total:
1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line

broad gauge:
251,153 km

standard gauge:
710,754 km

narrow gauge:
239,430 km
Religions Evangelical Lutheran 93%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic, none (1997) -
Sex ratio at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.81 male(s)/female

total population:
1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.78 male(s)/female

total population:
1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal -
Telephone system general assessment:
adequate domestic service

domestic:
the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links

international:
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)
general assessment:
NA

domestic:
NA

international:
NA
Telephones - main lines in use 168,000 (1997) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular 65,746 (1997) NA
Television broadcast stations 14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) (1997) NA
Terrain mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 2.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.73 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.7% (January 2001) 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2000 est.)
Waterways none -
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