1. Bartłomiej Nowak
Three elements that
make up the island:
•RED - volcanic fires
•WHITE - snow and
icefields
•BLUE – oceans
surrounding Iceland

2. Geography

3. Geography
 Part of Mid-Atlantic Ridge
 Boundary between both the Eurasian Plate and
the North American Plate
 Westernmost European country
 Reykjavik – northernmost capital in the world

4. Geography
 Capital – Reykjavik 198 000 (2009)
 Total country area – 103 000 sq km
 Coastline – 4 970 km
 Earthquakes and volcanic activity

5. Historical background
 Norwegian and Celtic (Scots and Irishmen)
immigrants settled in the late 9th century
 First democratic country in the World (Parliament
established in 930 AD)
 Independent for over 300 years
 Ruled by Norway and Denmark

6. Historical background
 Devastated economy in 1875 caused by fallout from
Askja volcano
 20% Iceland’s population left until 1900’s
 1944 – fully independent country
 1994 – joined the European Economic Area

7. Society
 Population – 313 183 (July 2012 est.)
 Languages - Icelandic, English, Nordic languages and
German
 Ethnic groups - mixture Norse and Celts 94%, others
6%
 Religion - Lutheran Church of Iceland (official) 80.7%,
Roman Catholic 2.5%, Reykjavik Free Church 2.4%,
unaffiliated 3%, other or unspecified 11.4%

8. Economy
 Growth rate: 2.4% (2011)

9. Economy
 GDP per capita: $38,000 (2011)

10. Economy
 Public debt: 130.1% of GDP (2011)

11. Economy
 Unemployment rate: 6.9% (2011)

12. Economy
 Inflation rate - 4.5% (2011)

13. Economy
 Exports: $5.3 billion (2011)
 Main exp. partners: Netherlands 33.9%, Germany
14.1%, UK 10.1%, Spain 4.7%, US 4.5%, Norway
4.3% (2010)
 Commodities: fish and fish products 40%,
aluminum, animal products, ferrosilicon,
diatomite

14. Economy
 Imports: $4.495 billion (2011)
 Main imp. partners: Norway 9%, Brazil 8.7%,
Netherlands 8.5%, US 8.1%, Germany 7.5%,
Denmark 7%, China 6%, Finland 5.4%, Sweden
5.2%, UK 5.1% (2010)
 Commodities: machinery and equipment,
petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles

15. Financial crisis
 3 main banks collapsed
 Icelandic Krona declined amost 50% against US Dollar
between 2007 – 2010 (from 63 to 122 ISK/$)
 Economic recession
 Lowered Ratings
 Market capitalization of Icelandic stock exchange
dropped by 90%.

16. Financial crisis
 Market capitalization of Icelandic stock exchange dropped
by 90%.

17. Military
 No standing military force.
 From 1951 defense was provided by US Army but they
withdrawn in 2006.
 Wartime defense of Iceland remains to NATO.
 From 2008 Norway is providing aerial surveillance and
defense of Iceland’s airspace.

18. Facts about Iceland
 No surnames!
 Leifur Eriksson, Iceland Viking, was the first European
man who land in North America. 500 years before
Columbus.
 Geysir, the first geyser described in a printed sources.
Eruptions at Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 70
metres in the air.
 In June, July and half of august the day is about 20
hours long. But of course during winter it’s completely
conversely.

19. Facts about Iceland
 Most of Icelanders know English language but the
oldest people speak better Danish.
 Iceland is the world’s oldest democracy. Its parliament
(Althingi) was founded about the year 930 AD.
 Icelandic water is so clean and pure that it is piped into
the city and to the kitchen taps in the home without
any treatment (no chlorination needed).
 Iceland has the longest-lived men.

20. Facts about Iceland
 Urban Icelandic homes do not need a water heater or a
furnace for heating. Steam and hot water are piped
into the city from natural geysers and hot springs for
use in homes and buildings.
 The weather in Iceland is not so cold as you might
think. Average daytime temperature in Reykjavik is -1
degrees C.
 Despite that Coca-Cola is not national drink of
Iceland. Consumption per capita is one of the highest
in the world.

21. Bibliography
 https://www.cia.gov
 http://www.islandia.org.pl
 http://bjork.pl/islandia/index.htm
 http://www.iceland.is
 http://www.statice.is
 http://www.danshort.com/iceland/icefacts.htm
 http://www.reuters.com
 http://icelandchronicles.com
 http://www.indexmundi.com