📰 Iceland · page 3

The animals of Iceland include the Icelandic sheep, cattle, chickens, goats, the sturdy Icelandic horse, and the Icelandic Sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by Europeans.203 Wild mammals include the Arctic fox, mink, mice, rats, rabbits, and reindeer.204 Polar bears occasionally visit the island, travelling from Greenland on icebergs, but no Icelandic populations exist.[104]205 In June 2008, two polar bears arrived in the same month.[105]206 Marine mammals include the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and harbour seal (Phoca vitulina).207 Many species of fish live in the ocean waters surrounding Iceland, and the fishing industry is a major part of Iceland's economy, accounting for roughly half of the country's total exports.208 Birds, especially seabirds, are an important part of Iceland's animal life.209 Atlantic puffins, skuas, and black-legged kittiwakes nest on its sea cliffs.[106]210

Commercial whaling is practised intermittently[107][108] along with scientific whale hunts.[109]211 Whale watching has become an important part of Iceland's economy since 1997.[110]212

Around 1,300 species of insects are known in Iceland.213 This is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide).214 Iceland was essentially free of mosquitoes until October 2025.[111][112]215

Politics

Main article: Politics of Iceland

Iceland is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, while the prime minister serves as the head of government in a multi-party system.216 Members of the Icelandic parliament are voted in by proportional representation within large constituencies.217

After the 2024 parliamentary elections, the Icelandic government is led by a coalition between the Social Democratic Alliance, the centrist Viðreisn (Liberal Reform Party), and the populist People's Party.218 The governing coalition's cabinet is led by prime minister Kristrún Frostadóttir of the Social Democrats.219 Other political parties with seats in the Althing (Parliament) are the centre-right Independence Party, the right-wing Centre Party, and the agrarian Progressive Party.220

According to International IDEA's Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices and Democracy Tracker, Iceland performs in the high range on overall democratic measures, with particular weaknesses in inclusive suffrage.[113][114][115]221 In 2024, Iceland was ranked fourth in the strength of its democratic institutions[116] and 10th in government transparency.[117]222 The country has a high level of civic participation, with 81.4% voter turnout during the most recent elections,[118] compared to an OECD average of 72%.223 Iceland scored second in Europe for their trust in legal institutions (police, parliament, and judiciary) at a mean of 73% trust as of 2018.[119]224 Many political parties remain opposed to EU membership, primarily due to Icelanders' concern about losing control over their natural resources (particularly fisheries).[120]225

Women's rights

Women in Iceland first gained the right to vote in 1915 (with restrictions) and increased voting rights in 1920.[121]226 Iceland was the first country in the world to have a political party formed and led entirely by women.[122]227 Known as the Women's List (Kvennalistinn), it was founded in 1983 to advance the political, economic, and social needs of women.228 It left a lasting influence on Iceland's politics: every major party has a 40% quota for women.229 After the 2021 elections, 48% of members of parliament were female compared to the global average of 16% in 2009.[123][124][125]230 Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was the world's first democratically elected female head of state.231 In 2009, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became the world's first openly LGBT head of government.[126]232

Government

See also: Government of Iceland

Iceland is a representative democracy and a parliamentary republic.233 The modern parliament, Alþingi (English: Althing), was founded in 1845 as an advisory body to the Danish monarch.234 It was widely seen as a re-establishment of the assembly founded in 930 in the Commonwealth period and temporarily suspended from 1799 to 1845.235 Consequently, "it is arguably the world's oldest parliamentary democracy."[127]236 It has 63 members, elected for a maximum period of four years.[128]237 The head of government is the prime minister, who with the cabinet, is responsible for executive government.238

The president of Iceland, in contrast, is a largely ceremonial head of state and serves as a diplomat, but may veto laws voted by the parliament and put them to a national referendum.[129][130]239 They are elected by popular vote for a term of four years with no term limit.240 The current president is Halla Tómasdóttir, having been in office since 1 August 2024.241 The elections for the president, the Althing, and local municipal councils are all held separately every four years.[131]242

The cabinet in the country's government is typically appointed by the president after a general election to the Althing.243 However, the appointment is usually negotiated by the leaders of the political parties, who decide amongst themselves which parties can form the cabinet and how to distribute its seats, as long as it has majority support in the Althing.244 If the party leaders are unable to come to an agreement within a reasonable period of time, the president will personally appoint the cabinet.245 That has not happened since the republic was founded in 1944, although in 1942 the regent, Sveinn Björnsson, appointed a non-parliamentary government.246 Sveinn held the practical position of president at the time and later became the country's first official president in 1944.247

The governments of Iceland have always been coalition governments, with two or more parties involved, as no single political party has ever received a majority of seats in the Althing throughout the republican period.248 There is no legal consensus on the extent of the political power possessed by the office of the president; several provisions of the constitution appear to give the president some important powers, but other provisions and traditions suggest otherwise.[132]249 In 1980, Icelanders elected Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as president, the world's first directly elected female head of state.250 She retired from office in 1996.251 In 2009, Iceland became the first country with an openly gay head of government when Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became prime minister.[133]252

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Iceland

Iceland is divided into regions, constituencies, and municipalities.253 The eight regions are primarily used for statistical purposes.254 District court jurisdictions also use an older version of this division.[78]255 Until 2003, the constituencies for the parliamentary elections were the same as the regions, but by an amendment to the constitution, they were changed to the current six constituencies:256

• Reykjavík North and Reykjavík South (city regions)257
• Southwest (four non-contiguous suburban areas around Reykjavík)258
• Northwest and Northeast (northern half of Iceland, split)259
• South (southern half of Iceland, excluding Reykjavík and suburbs)260

The redistricting change was made to balance the weight of different districts of the country, since previously a vote cast in the sparsely populated areas around the country would count much more than a vote cast in the Reykjavík city area.261 The imbalance between districts has been reduced by the new system, but it still exists.[78]262

Sixty-two municipalities in Iceland govern local matters like schools, transport, and zoning.[134]263 These are the actual second-level subdivisions of Iceland, as the constituencies have no relevance except in elections and for statistical purposes.264 Reykjavík is by far the most populous municipality, about four times more populous than Kópavogur, the second largest,[78] which is itself a suburb of Reykjavík.265

(The white areas on the maps show (uninhabited) glaciers.)266

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Iceland

See also: Accession of Iceland to the European Union

Iceland, which is a member of the UN, NATO, EFTA, Council of Europe, and OECD, maintains diplomatic and commercial relations with practically all nations, but its ties with the Nordic countries, Germany, the United States, Canada, and the other NATO nations are particularly close.267 Historically, due to cultural, economic, and linguistic similarities, Iceland is a Nordic country, and it participates in intergovernmental cooperation through the Nordic Council.268

Iceland is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), which allows the country access to the single market of the European Union (EU).269 It has never been a member state of the EU, but in July 2009, the Icelandic parliament, the Althing, voted in favour of applying for EU membership[135] and Iceland officially applied on 17 July 2009.[136]270 However, in 2013, opinion polls showed that many Icelanders were now against joining the EU; after the 2013 Icelandic parliamentary election the two parties which formed the island's new government—the centrist Progressive Party and the right-wing Independence Party—announced that they would hold a referendum on EU membership.[137]271 In 2015, Minister for Foreign Affairs Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson informed the EU that Iceland would no longer pursue membership, but the application was not formally withdrawn and there have been subsequent calls for a referendum on the issue.[138][139]272 A referendum on the resumption of European Union membership negotiations was held on 29 August 2026, with the No campaign winning with 52.8% of the vote, rejecting the restart of negotiations.[140][141]273

Military

Main article: Defence of Iceland

Iceland has no standing army but has the Icelandic Coast Guard, which also maintains the Iceland Air Defence System and an Iceland Crisis Response Unit to support peacekeeping missions and perform paramilitary functions.274

The Iceland Defense Force (IDF) was a military command of the United States Armed Forces from 1951 to 2006.275 The IDF, created at the request of NATO, came into existence when the United States signed an agreement to provide for the defence of Iceland.276 The IDF also included civilian Icelanders and military members of other NATO nations.277 The IDF was downsized after the end of the Cold War, and the United States Air Force maintained four to six interceptor aircraft at the Naval Air Station Keflavik until they were withdrawn on 30 September 2006.278 Since May 2008, NATO nations have periodically deployed fighters to patrol Icelandic airspace under the Icelandic Air Policing mission.[142][143]279 Iceland supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite much domestic controversy, deploying a Coast Guard EOD team to Iraq,[144] which was replaced later by members of the Iceland Crisis Response Unit.280 Iceland has also participated in the conflict in Afghanistan[145] and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.[146]281 Despite the ongoing financial crisis the first new patrol ship in decades was launched on 29 April 2009.[147]282

Iceland was the neutral host of the historic 1986 Reagan–Gorbachev summit in Reykjavík, which set the stage for the end of the Cold War.283 Iceland's principal historical international disputes involved disagreements over exclusive economic zones.284 Conflict with the United Kingdom led to a series of so-called Cod Wars, which included confrontations between the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Royal Navy regarding British fishermen: in 1952–1956 due to the extension of Iceland's fishing zone from 3 to 4 nmi, in 1958–1961 following a further extension to 12 nmi, in 1972–1973 with another extension to 50 nmi, and in 1975–1976 after another extension to 200 nmi.[148]285

According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world, due to its lack of armed forces, low crime rate, and high level of socio-political stability.[149]286 Iceland is listed in Guinness World Records as the "country ranked most at peace"[150] and the "lowest military spending per capita".[151]287

Economy

Main article: Economy of Iceland

In 2022, Iceland was the eighth-most productive country in the world per capita (US$78,837), and the thirteenth-most productive by GDP at purchasing power parity ($69,833).[152]288 About 85% of the total primary energy supply in Iceland is derived from domestic renewable energy sources.[153]289 Use of abundant hydroelectric and geothermal power has made Iceland the world's largest electricity producer per capita.[154]290

Historically, Iceland's economy depended heavily on fishing, which still provides around 20% of export earnings and employs 7% of the workforce.[78][155]291 The economy is now more dependent on tourism, but important sectors continue to be fish and fish products, aluminium, and ferrosilicon.292 Iceland's economic dependence on fishing is diminishing, from an export share of 90% in the 1960s to 20% in 2020.[156][155]293

Until the 20th century, Iceland was a fairly poor country.294 Whaling in Iceland was historically significant.295 It is now one of the most developed countries in the world.296 Strong economic growth led Iceland to be ranked third in the United Nations' Human Development Index report for 2021/2022.[8]297 According to the Economist Intelligence Index of 2011, Iceland had the second-highest quality of life in the world.[157]298 Based on the Gini coefficient, Iceland also has one of the lowest rates of income inequality in the world,[158] and when adjusted for inequality, its HDI ranking is sixth.[159]299 Iceland's unemployment rate has declined consistently since the crisis, with 4.8% of the labour force being unemployed as of 2012 June, compared to 6% in 2011 and 8.1% in 2010.[78][160][161]300

The national currency of Iceland is the Icelandic króna (ISK).301 Iceland is the only country in the world with a population under two million to have a floating exchange rate and an independent monetary policy.[162]302 A poll released on 5 March 2010 by Capacent Gallup showed that 31% of respondents were in favour of adopting the euro and 69% opposed.[163]303 Another Capacent Gallup poll conducted in February 2012 discovered that 67.4% of Icelanders would reject EU membership in a referendum.[164]304

Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, including software production, biotechnology, and finance; industry accounts for around a quarter of economic activity, while services comprise close to 70%.[165]305 The tourism sector is expanding, especially in ecotourism and whale-watching.306 On average, Iceland receives around 1.1 million visitors annually, which is more than three times the native population.[166]307 1.7 million people visited Iceland in 2016, 3 times more than the number that came in 2010.[167]308 Iceland's agriculture industry, accounting for 5.4% of GDP,[78] consists mainly of potatoes, green vegetables (in greenhouses), mutton, and dairy products.[78]309 The financial centre is Borgartún in Reykjavík, which hosts a large number of companies and three investment banks.310 Iceland's stock market, the Iceland Stock Exchange (ISE), was established in 1985.[168] as of 2019, Iceland ranks 26th in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitive Index, two places lower than in 2018.[169]311 According to the Global Innovation Index, Iceland is the 22nd most innovative country in the world in 2024.[170]312