Iceland

Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom

65 00 N, 18 00 W

Arctic Region

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania; about the same size as Kentucky

4,970 km

temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers

mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords

fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite

0.5 sq km (2022)

Iceland is almost entirely urban, with half of the population located in and around the capital of Reykjavik; smaller clusters are primarily found along the coast in the north and west

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

Icelandic 78.7%, Polish 5.8%, Danish 1%, Ukrainian 1%, other 13.5% (2024 est.)

Icelandic, English, Polish, Nordic languages, German

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (official) 58.6% Roman Catholic 3.8%, Independent Congregation of Reykjavik 2.6%, Independent Congregation of Hafnarfjordur 1.9%, pagan worship 1.5%, Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association 1.4%, other (includes Zuist and Pentecostal) or unspecified 18.7%, none 7.7% (2024 est.)

0.82% (2025 est.)

12.47 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Iceland is almost entirely urban, with half of the population located in and around the capital of Reykjavik; smaller clusters are primarily found along the coast in the north and west

216,000 REYKJAVIK (capital) (2018)

28.7 years (2020 est.)

3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.93 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.94 (2025 est.)

4.37 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

2.8 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

21.9% (2016)

48.5% (2023 est.)

unitary parliamentary republic

civil law system influenced by the Danish model

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark; birthday of Jon SIGURDSSON, leader of Iceland's 19th-century independence movement)

Independence Day, 17 June (1944)

gyrfalcon

blue, white, red

Iceland’s coat of arms is derived from a 13th-century folktale about four guardians who protect the four corners of the nation; the bull protects the northwest, the eagle the northeast, the dragon the southeast, and the rock-giant the southwest; the shield displays the national flag, with red standing for Iceland’s volcanic fires, white for its snow and ice fields, and blue for the ocean

high-income North Atlantic island economy; not an EU member but market integration via European Economic Area (EEA); dominant tourism, fishing, and aluminum industries vulnerable to demand swings and disruption from volcanic activity; inflation remains above target rate; barriers to foreign business access and economic diversification

$33.463 billion (2024 est.)

milk, chicken, lamb/mutton, barley, potatoes, pork, beef, eggs, other meats, cucumbers/gherkins (2023)

tourism, fish processing; aluminum smelting; geothermal power, hydropower; medical/pharmaceutical products

-2.3% (2024 est.)

248,400 (2024 est.)

8.8% (2017 est.)

23.3% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Netherlands 27%, Germany 11%, USA 10%, UK 8%, Norway 6% (2023)

aluminum, fish, orthopedic appliances, animal meal, iron alloys (2023)

Norway 11%, China 9%, Germany 9%, Netherlands 8%, USA 7% (2023)

refined petroleum, cars, carbon-based electronics, aluminum oxide, computers (2023)

state-owned public TV broadcaster (RUV) operates 21 TV channels nationally; every household is required to have RUV, which doubles as the emergency broadcast network; 3 privately owned TV stations; 100% of households have multi-channel services though digital and/or fiber-optic connections; RUV operates 3 national and 4 regional radio stations; 1 privately owned radio conglomerate, Syn (4 stations), broadcasts nationwide; over 20 regional radio stations (2019)

.is

TF

82 (2025)

1 (2025)

no regular military forces; the Icelandic National Police, the regional police forces, and the Icelandic Coast Guard fall under the purview of the Ministry of Justice (2025)