Iceland
Iceland Ísland (Icelandic) | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: Lofsöngur "Hymn"1:40 | |
.svg) | |
| Capital and largest city | Reykjavík 64°08′N 21°56′W |
| Official language and national language | Icelandic |
| Ethnic groups |
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| Religion (2020)[3] |
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| Demonym(s) |
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| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Guðni Th. Jóhannesson | |
| Katrín Jakobsdóttir | |
| Legislature | Alþingi |
| Formation | |
| 9th century | |
| 930–1262 | |
| 1262–1397 | |
| 1397–1523 | |
| 1523–1814 | |
| 14 January 1814 | |
| 5 January 1874 | |
• Extended home rule | 1 February 1904 |
| 1 December 1918 | |
• Republic | 17 June 1944 |
| Area | |
• Total | 102,775[4] km2(39,682 sq mi) (106th) |
• Water (%) | 2.07 (as of 2015)[5] |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 376,248[6] (179th) |
• 2011 census | 315,556[7] |
• Density | 3.5/km2 (9.1/sq mi) (190th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $19.8 billion[8] (142nd) |
• Per capita | $54,482[8] (16th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $20.8 billion[8] |
• Per capita | $57,189[8] (5th) |
| Gini (2018) |  23.2[9]low · 2nd |
| HDI (2021) |  0.959[10]very high · 3rd |
| Currency | Icelandic króna (ISK) |
| Time zone | UTC[c] (GMT/WET) |
| Date format | dd.mm.yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +354 |
| ISO 3166 code | IS |
| Internet TLD | .is |
Iceland (Icelandic: Ísland; [ˈistlant] (
listen))[d] is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and the most sparsely populated country in Europe.[13] Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its surrounding areas) is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly.[14][15] The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.
According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island.[16] In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, emigrated to Iceland, bringing with them thralls (i.e., slaves or serfs) of Gaelic origin.
The island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the native parliament, the Althing, one of the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies. Following a period of civil strife, Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. The establishment of the Kalmar Union in 1397 united the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Iceland thus followed Norway's integration into that union, coming under Danish rule after Sweden seceded from the union in 1523. The Danish kingdom forcefully introduced Lutheranism to Iceland in 1550.[17]
In the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918 with the establishment of the Kingdom of Iceland, sharing through a personal union the incumbent monarch of Denmark. During the occupation of Denmark in World War II, Iceland voted overwhelmingly to become a republic in 1944, thus ending the remaining formal ties with Denmark. Although the Althing was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has been credited with sustaining the world's oldest and longest-running parliament.
Until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture. Industrialization of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid following World War II brought prosperity, and Iceland became one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. It became a part of the European Economic Area in 1994; this further diversified the economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing.
Iceland has a market economy with relatively low taxes, compared to other OECD countries,[18] as well as the highest trade union membership in the world.[19] It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens.[20] Iceland ranks high in democracy and equality indexes, ranking third in the world by median wealth per adult. In 2020, it was ranked as the fourth-most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index,[21] and it ranks first on the Global Peace Index. Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy.
Icelandic culture is founded upon the nation's Scandinavian heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old West Norse and is closely related to Faroese. The country's cultural heritage includes traditional Icelandic cuisine, Icelandic literature, and medieval sagas. Iceland has the smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one with no standing army, with a lightly armed coast guard.[22]
Etymology
The Sagas of Icelanders say that a Norwegian named Naddodd (or Naddador) was the first Norseman to reach Iceland, and in the ninth century, he named it Snæland or "snow land" because it was snowing. Following Naddodd, the Swede Garðar Svavarsson arrived, and so the island was then called Garðarshólmur which means "Garðar's Isle".[23]
Then came a Viking named Flóki Vilgerðarson; his daughter drowned en route, then his livestock starved to death. The sagas say that the rather despondent Flóki climbed a mountain and saw a fjord (Arnarfjörður) full of icebergs, which led him to give the island its new and present name.[24] The notion that Iceland's Viking settlers chose that name to discourage the settlement of their verdant isle is a myth.[24]
History
874–1262: Settlement and Commonwealth
According to both Landnámabók and Íslendingabók, monks known as the Papar lived in Iceland before Scandinavian settlers arrived, possibly members of a Hiberno-Scottish mission. Recent archaeological excavations have revealed the ruins of a cabin in Hafnir on the Reykjanes peninsula. Carbon dating indicates that it was abandoned sometime between 770 and 880.[25] In 2016, archaeologists uncovered a longhouse in Stöðvarfjörður that has been dated to as early as 800.[26]
Swedish Viking explorer Garðar Svavarsson was the first to circumnavigate Iceland in 870 and establish that it was an island.[27] He stayed during the winter and built a house in Húsavík. Garðar departed the following summer, but one of his men, Náttfari, decided to stay behind with two slaves. Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík, and he and his slaves became the first permanent residents of Iceland to be documented.[28][29]
The Norwegian-Norse chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson built his homestead in present-day Reykjavík in 874. Ingólfr was followed by many other emigrant settlers, largely Scandinavians and their thralls, many of whom were Irish or Scottish.[30] By 930, most arable landon the island had been claimed; the Althing, a legislative and judicial assembly was initiated to regulate the Icelandic Commonwealth. The lack of arable land also served as an impetus to the settlement of Greenland starting in 986.[31] The period of these early settlements coincided with the Medieval Warm Period, when temperatures were similar to those of the early 20th century.[32] At this time about 25% of Iceland was covered with forest, compared to 1% in the present day.[33] Christianity was adopted by consensus around 999–1000, although Norse paganism persisted among segments of the population for some years afterward.[34]
The Middle Ages
The Icelandic Commonwealth lasted until the 13th century when the political system devised by the original settlers proved unable to cope with the increasing power of Icelandic chieftains.[35] The internal struggles and civil strife of the Age of the Sturlungs led to the signing of the Old Covenant in 1262, which ended the Commonwealth and brought Iceland under the Norwegian crown. Possession of Iceland passed from the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) to the Kalmar Unionin 1415, when the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden were united. After the break-up of the union in 1523, it remained a Norwegian dependency, as a part of Denmark–Norway.
Infertile soil, volcanic eruptions, deforestation, and an unforgiving climate made for harsh life in a society where subsistence depended almost entirely on agriculture. The Black Death swept Iceland twice, first in 1402–1404 and again in 1494–1495.[36] The former outbreak killed 50% to 60% of the population, and the latter 30% to 50%.[37]
Reformation and the Early Modern period
Around the middle of the 16th century, as part of the Protestant Reformation, King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism on all his subjects. Jón Arason, the last Catholic bishop of Hólar, was beheaded in 1550 along with two of his sons. The country subsequently became officially Lutheran, and Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion.
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In the 17th and 18th centuries, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland. Natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions and disease, contributed to a decreasing population. In the summer of 1627, Barbary Pirates committed the events known locally as the Turkish Abductions, in which hundreds of residents were taken into slavery in North Africa and dozens killed; this was the only invasion in Icelandic history to have casualties.[38][39] The 1707-08 Iceland smallpox epidemic is estimated to have killed a quarter to a third of the population.[40][41] In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects.[42] In the years following the eruption, known as the Mist Hardships (Icelandic: Móðuharðindin), over half of all livestock in the country died. Around a quarter of the population starved to death in the ensuing famine.[43]
1814–1918: Independence movement
In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the Treaty of Kiel but Iceland remained a Danish dependency. Throughout the 19th century, the country's climate continued to grow colder, resulting in mass emigration to the New World, particularly to the region of Gimli, Manitoba in Canada, which was sometimes referred to as New Iceland. About 15,000 people emigrated, out of a total population of 70,000.[44]
A national consciousness arose in the first half of the 19th century, inspired by romantic and nationalist ideas from mainland Europe. An Icelandic independence movement took shape in the 1850s under the leadership of Jón Sigurðsson, based on the burgeoning Icelandic nationalism inspired by the Fjölnismenn and other Danish-educated Icelandic intellectuals. In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland a constitution and limited home rule. This was expanded in 1904, and Hannes Hafstein served as the first Minister for Iceland in the Danish cabinet.