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Compare United Kingdom (2001) - Iceland (2008)
Compare United Kingdom (2001) z Iceland (2008)
| United Kingdom (2001) | Iceland (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | England - 47 boroughs, 36 counties*, 29 London boroughs**, 12 cities and boroughs***, 10 districts****, 12 cities*****, 3 royal boroughs******; Barking and Dagenham**, Barnet**, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset****, Bedfordshire*, Bexley**, Birmingham***, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford***, Brent**, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol*****, Bromley**, Buckinghamshire*, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire*, Camden**, Cheshire*, Cornwall*, Coventry***, Croydon**, Cumbria*, Darlington, Derby*****, Derbyshire*, Devon*, Doncaster, Dorset*, Dudley, Durham*, Ealing**, East Riding of Yorkshire****, East Sussex*, Enfield**, Essex*, Gateshead, Gloucestershire*, Greenwich**, Hackney**, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham**, Hampshire*, Haringey**, Harrow**, Hartlepool, Havering**, Herefordshire*, Hertfordshire*, Hillingdon**, Hounslow**, Isle of Wight*, Islington**, Kensington and Chelsea******, Kent*, City of Kingston upon Hull*****, Kingston upon Thames******, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth**, Lancashire*, Leeds***, Leicester*****, Leicestershire*, Lewisham**, Lincolnshire*, Liverpool***, City of London*****, Luton, Manchester***, Medway, Merton**, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne***, Newham**, Norfolk*, Northamptonshire*, North East Lincolnshire****, North Lincolnshire****, North Somerset****, North Tyneside, Northumberland*, North Yorkshire*, Nottingham*****, Nottinghamshire*, Oldham, Oxfordshire*, Peterborough*****, Plymouth*****, Poole, Portsmouth*****, Reading, Redbridge**, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond upon Thames**, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland****, Salford***, Shropshire*, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield***, Slough, Solihull, Somerset*, Southampton*****, Southend-on-Sea, South Gloucestershire****, South Tyneside, Southwark**, Staffordshire*, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent*****, Suffolk*, Sunderland***, Surrey*, Sutton**, Swindon, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin****, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets**, Trafford, Wakefield***, Walsall, Waltham Forest**, Wandsworth**, Warrington, Warwickshire*, West Berkshire****, Westminster***, West Sussex*, Wigan, Wiltshire*, Windsor and Maidenhead******, Wirral, Wokingham****, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire*, York*****; Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2 cities*; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast*, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Derry*, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane; Scotland - 32 council areas; Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, The Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), West Lothian; Wales - 11 county boroughs, 9 counties*, 2 cities and counties**; Isle of Anglesey*, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff**, Ceredigion*, Carmarthenshire*, Conwy, Denbighshire*, Flintshire*, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire*, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire*, Powys*, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea**, Torfaen, The Vale of Glamorgan*, Wrexham | 8 regions; Austurland, Hofudhborgarsvaedhi, Nordhurland Eystra, Nordhurland Vestra, Sudhurland, Sudhurnes, Vestfirdhir, Vesturland |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
18.89% (male 5,778,415; female 5,486,114) 15-64 years: 65.41% (male 19,712,932; female 19,304,771) 65 years and over: 15.7% (male 3,895,921; female 5,469,637) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 21.4% (male 32,759/female 31,845)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 102,161/female 99,411) 65 years and over: 11.8% (male 16,162/female 19,593) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish | potatoes, green vegetables; mutton, dairy products; fish |
| Airports | 489 (2000 est.) | 99 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
349 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 162 914 to 1,523 m: 89 under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
140 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 116 (2000 est.) |
total: 94
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 63 (2007) |
| Area | total:
244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands |
total: 103,000 sq km
land: 100,250 sq km water: 2,750 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
| Background | Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside of the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. Regional assemblies with varying degrees of power opened in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1999. | 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 | 11.54 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.57 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$555.2 billion expenditures: $510.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $37.7 billion (FY00) |
revenues: $9.495 billion
expenditures: $8.432 billion (2007 est.) |
| Capital | London | name: Reykjavik
geographic coordinates: 64 09 N, 21 57 W time difference: UTC (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast | temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers |
| Coastline | 12,429 km | 4,970 km |
| Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944; amended many times |
| Country name | conventional long form:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK |
conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lydveldid Island local short form: Island |
| Currency | British pound (GBP) | - |
| Death rate | 10.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.77 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $3.073 billion (2002) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip LADER embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 207499-9000 (switchboard) FAX: [44] (171) 409-1637 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh |
chief of mission: Ambassador Carol VAN VOORST
embassy: Laufasvegur 21, 101 Reykjavik mailing address: US Department of State, 5640 Reykjavik Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-5640 telephone: [354] 562-9100 FAX: [354] 562-9118 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sir Christopher J. R. MEYER chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, Orlando (reports to Atlanta), San Juan, and Seattle |
chief of mission: Ambassador Albert JONSSON
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 | Northern Ireland issue with Ireland (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); Gibraltar issue with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius and the Seychelles claim Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM | Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $3.4 billion (1997) | $6.7 million (2004) |
| Economy - overview | The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, deploys an essentially capitalistic economy, one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. The economy has grown steadily, at just above or below 3%, for the last several years. The BLAIR government has put off the question of participation in the euro system until after the next election, in June of 2001; Chancellor of the Exchequer BROWN has identified some key economic tests to determine whether the UK should join the common currency system, but it will largely be a political decision. A serious short-term problem is foot-and-mouth disease, which by early 2001 had broken out in nearly 600 farms and slaughterhouses and had resulted in the killing of 400,000 animals. | 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 nearly 70% of export earnings and employs 6% 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. Substantial foreign investment in the aluminum and hydropower sectors has boosted economic growth which, nevertheless, has been volatile and characterized by recurrent imbalances. Government policies include reducing the current account deficit, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, and diversifying the economy. 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. The 2006 closure of the US military base at Keflavik had very little impact on the national economy; Iceland's low unemployment rate aided former base employees in finding alternate employment. |
| Electricity - consumption | 333.012 billion kWh (1999) | 8.152 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 265 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 14.5 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 342.771 billion kWh (1999) | 8.533 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
69.38% hydro: 1.55% nuclear: 26.68% other: 2.39% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fenland -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,110 m (at Vatnajokull glacier) |
| Environment - current issues | continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has meet Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and hopes to reduce even more); small particulate emissions, largely from vehicular traffic, remain a problem; solid waste continues to rise and recycling is very limited | water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
| Ethnic groups | English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8% | homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%, population of foreign origin 6% |
| Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996) | Icelandic kronur per US dollar - 63.391 (2007), 70.195 (2006), 62.982 (2005), 70.192 (2004), 76.709 (2003) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony C. L. (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons (assuming there is no majority party, a prime minister would have a majority coalition or at least a coalition that was not rejected by the majority) |
chief of state: President Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON (since 1 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Geir H. HAARDE (since 7 June 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: president, largely a ceremonial post, is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (no term limits); election last held 26 June 2004 (next to be held in 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 85.6%, Baldur AGUSTSSON 12.5%, Astthor MAGNUSSON 1.9% |
| Exports | $282 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco | fish and fish products 70%, aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon, diatomite |
| Exports - partners | EU 58% (Germany 12%, France 10%, Netherlands 8%), US 15% (1999) | Netherlands 16.5%, UK 15.7%, Germany 15%, US 10.8%, Spain 6.4% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) and which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas territories | 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 - $1.36 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.7% industry: 24.9% services: 73.4% (1999) |
agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 26.3% services: 68.4% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,800 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 54 00 N, 2 00 W | 65 00 N, 18 00 W |
| Geography - note | lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters | 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 |
| Heliports | 11 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | total:
371,603 km paved: 371,603 km (including 3,303 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 27.3% (1991) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; major consumer of synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center | - |
| Imports | $324 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 17,450 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles |
| Imports - partners | EU 53% (Germany 14%, France 9%, Netherlands 7%), US 13%, Japan 5% (1999) | US 12.8%, Germany 12.3%, Norway 7.1%, Sweden 6.9%, Denmark 6.1%, UK 5.3%, China 5.3%, Netherlands 4.8%, Japan 4.1% (2006) |
| Independence | England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales was enacted under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284; in the Act of Union of 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanent union as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927 | 1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000) | 9% (2007 est.) |
| Industries | machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods | fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production; geothermal power, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 3.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (2007 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 245 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,080 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
| Judicial branch | House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary | 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 | 29.2 million (1999) | 180,000 (2007 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (1996 est.) | agriculture: 5.1%
industry: 23% services: 71.4% (2005) |
| Land boundaries | total:
360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land:
25% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 10% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.07%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.93% (2005) |
| Languages | English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken |
| Legal system | common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; British courts and legislation are increasingly subject to review by European Union courts | civil law system based on Danish law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (some proposals for further reform include elections); House of Commons - last held 7 June 2001 (next to be held by NA May 2006) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166, Liberal Democrat 52, other 29 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and was rescinded in February 2000); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly |
unicameral Parliament or Althing (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 May 2007 (next to be held by May 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Independence Party 36.6%, Social Democratic Alliance 26.8%, Progressive Party 11.7%, Left-Green Movement 14.3%, Liberal Party 7.3%, other 3.3%; seats by party - Independence Party 25, Social Democratic Alliance 18, Progressive Party 7, Left-Green Alliance 9, Liberal Party 4 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.82 years male: 75.13 years female: 80.66 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 80.43 years
male: 78.33 years female: 82.62 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% (1978 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France | Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK |
| Map references | Europe | Arctic Region |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing 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 | total:
200 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,934,776 GRT/3,760,240 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 31, chemical tanker 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 47, liquefied gas 3, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 19, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,704 GRT/729 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 2 registered in other countries: 41 (Antigua and Barbuda 9, Bahamas 1, Belize 1, Faroe Islands 4, Gibraltar 1, Malta 7, Norway 3, St Vincent and The Grenadines 15) (2007) |
| Military - note | - | under a 1951 bilateral agreement, Iceland's defense was provided by a US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered in Keflavik; in October 2006, all US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn; nonetheless, the US and Iceland signed a Joint Understanding to strengthen their bilateral defense relationship, including regular security consultations, military communications in the event of national emergencies, annual bilateral exercises on Icelandic territory, and future bilateral and NATO support to four Iceland Air Defense System (IADS) radar sites |
| Military branches | Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force | no regular military forces; Icelandic National Police (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $36.884 billion (FY97) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY97) | 0% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
14,599,199 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
12,139,930 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day, 17 June (1944) |
| Nationality | noun:
Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British |
noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic |
| Natural hazards | NA | earthquakes and volcanic activity |
| Natural resources | coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land | fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite |
| Net migration rate | 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Conservative and Unionist Party [William HAGUE]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) Blair]; Liberal Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [John SWINNEY]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [John HUME]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE] | Independence Party or IP [Geir H. HAARDE]; Left-Green Movement or LGM [Steingrimur SIGFUSSON]; Liberal Party or LP [Gudjon KRISTJANSSON]; Progressive Party or PP [Gudni AGUSTSSON]; Social Democratic Alliance or SDA [Ingibjorg Solrun GISLADOTTIR] (includes People's Alliance or PA, Social Democratic Party or SDP, Women's List) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress | NA |
| Population | 59,647,790 (July 2001 est.) | 301,931 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 17% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.23% (2001 est.) | 0.824% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 3, FM about 70 (including repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 84.5 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
16,878 km broad gauge: 342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 342 km is in common carrier use, and is in Northern Ireland standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track) (1996) |
- |
| Religions | Anglican 27 million, Roman Catholic 9 million, Muslim 1 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 400,000, Hindu 350,000, Jewish 300,000 (1991 est.) | 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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.029 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.028 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.825 male(s)/female total population: 1.002 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers |
general assessment: telecommunications infrastructure is modern and fully digitized, with satellite-earth stations, fiber-optic cables, and an extensive broadband network
domestic: liberalization of the telecommunications sector beginning in the late 1990s has led to increased competition especially in the mobile services segment of the market international: country code - 354; the CANTAT-3 and FARICE-1 submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Canada, the Faroe Islands, UK, Denmark, and Germany; a planned new section of the Hibernia-Atlantic submarine cable will provide additional connectivity to Canada, US, and Ireland; 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 | 34.878 million (1997) | 193,700 (2006) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 13 million (yearend 1998) | 328,500 (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations | 228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995) | 14 (plus 156 repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast | mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords |
| Total fertility rate | 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.91 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 1% (2007 est.) |
| Waterways | 3,200 km | - |
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