Iceland Travel Guide - Key Facts

North Atlantic, close to Arctic Circle.

GMT.

103,000 sq km (39,769 sq miles).

300,000 (FCO estimate 2006).

2.9 per sq km.

Reykjavík. Population: 184,000 (UN estimate 2003).

Iceland is a large island in the North Atlantic close to the Arctic Circle and includes islands to the north and south. The landscape is wild, rugged and colourful, with black lava, red sulphur, hot blue geysers, grey and white rivers with waterfalls and green valleys, its coastline richly indented with bays and fjords. The whole of the central highland plateau of the island is a beautiful but barren and uninhabitable moonscape – so much so that the first American astronauts were sent there for pre-mission training. Five-sixths of Iceland is uninhabited, the population being concentrated on the coast, in the valleys and in the plains of the southwest and southeast of the country. More than half the population live in or around Reykjavík, the capital. Iceland is one of the most volcanically active countries in the world. Hekla, in the south of Iceland, is the most famous and magnificent volcano of them all. It has erupted no fewer than 16 times since Iceland was settled, and throughout the Middle Ages was considered by European clergymen as one of the gateways to Hell itself. Another volcano, Snæfellsnes, fired Jules Verne’s imagination to use its crater as the point of entry for his epic tale Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Iceland’s highest and most extensive glacier is Vatnajökull; at 8,500 sq km (3,280 sq miles), it is the largest in Europe, although it is now reported to be melting.

Republic. Gained full independence from Denmark in 1944.

President Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson since 1996.

Prime Minister Geir Haarde since 2006.

In 2004, the Independence Party's (IP) David Oddsson, having been prime minister since 1991, handed over premiership to former foreign minister Halldor Asgrimsson. In June 2006 Asgrimsson resigned after his party's poor performance in local elections and amid concerns about the economy. He is succeeded by Geir Haarde.

Icelandic foreign policy is dominated by two factors: fishing and relations with Atlantic powers. Iceland is a member of NATO, the Nordic Council and of the Council of Europe. Iceland has historically eschewed membership of the European Union but, since Sweden, Finland and Denmark have joined up, it is Iceland's opposition to the EU's fisheries policy of stock management by quotas that is now the decisive influence. Both main parties strongly oppose the Common Fisheries Policy, so it seems unlikely that Iceland will apply for EU membership in the foreseeable future. On the issue of whaling, Iceland has been among the few objecting to the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) ban. In October 2006, Iceland announced a return to commercial hunts, with the fisheries ministry citing the nation's dependence on living marine resources.

The official language is Icelandic; English and Danish are widely spoken.

Lutheran, with a Catholic minority.

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are two-pin.

Visitors will find Iceland is a classless society with a strong literary tradition. Handshaking is the normal form of greeting. An Icelander is called by his first name because his surname is made up of his father’s Christian name plus ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ (eg John, the son of Magnus, would be called John Magnusson, while John’s sister, Mary, would be known as Mary Magnusdóttir). People are addressed as Fru (Mrs) and Herra (Mr). Visitors will often be invited to homes, especially if on business, and normal courtesies should be observed. Icelanders pay careful attention to their appearance and, as for most Western countries, casual wear is widely acceptable although unsuitable for smart and social functions.