In April 2016 Prime Minister Sigmundur Daví+Gunnlaugsson was
forced to resign when a leak ofmore than 11 million documents from
a Panamanianlaw firm revealed that he was among a number of
currentand former heads of government and state worldwidewith links
to offshore companies in tax havens. The so-called Panama Papers
(see Special Report on page 304)seemingly revealed that he had
hidden millions of dollarsin an offshore company that had
considerable investmentsin Iceland’s three majorbanks that
collapsed in2008. As prime minister,Gunnlaugsson had beeninvolved
with negotiationsrelated to the banks thatcould impact his
compa-ny’s holdings.
DemographyPopulation (2016): 334,300.Density (2016)1: persons
per sq mi36.4, persons per sq km 14.0.
Sex distribution (20162): male 50.30%;female 49.70%.
Population projection: (2020) 348,000;(2030) 379,700.
Major cities (20162): Reykjavík121,486 (urban area
209,510);Kópavogur 34,1225;Hafnarfjördhur 28,1845;Akureyri
18,041;Reykjanesbær 15,081.
Urban-rural (2014):
Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 pop-ulation (2015):
13.9(world avg. 19.5).
Death rate per 1,000population (2015): 6.3(world avg. 8.1).
Life expectancy at birth(2014): male 81.3 years;female 84.5
years.
Age breakdown (20122):
Ethnic composition (20142)7: Religious affiliation (20122):
Iceland
Official name: Lydhveldidh Ísland (Republic ofIceland).
Form of government: unitary multiparty republicwith one
legislative house (Althingi, orParliament [63]).
Head of state: President Gu+ni Th. Jóhannesson.Head of
government: Prime Minister Sigur+ur IngiJóhannsson.
Capital: Reykjavík.Official language: Icelandic.Official
religion: Evangelical Lutheran.Monetary unit: króna (ISK);
valuation (Sept. 1,2016) 1 U.S.$ = ISK 115.74; 1 £ = ISK
153.93.
Area and population area population20162
Geographic regions3 Principal centres sq mi sq km estimate
Capital region4 Reykjavík 403 1,044 213,619East Egilsstadhir
8,191 21,214 12,452Northeast Akureyri 9,067 23,483 29,361Northwest
Saudhárkrókur 4,861 12,591 7,128South Selfoss 9,527 24,676
24,811Southwest Keflavík 315 817 22,509West Borgarnes 3,679 9,529
15,766Westfjords Ísafjördhur 3,612 9,356 6,883REMAINDER — 120 312
0TOTAL 39,7776 103,022 332,529
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World DataE N C Y C L O P Æ D I ABritannica
National economyBudget (2013). Revenue: ISK 795,900,000,000 (tax
revenue 76.2%, ofwhich taxes on income, profits, and capital
gains39.7%; nontax revenue 23.8%). Expenditures: ISK826,300,000,000
(compensation of employees 32.3%;use of goods and services
25.5%).
Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture,forestry,
fishing (2015): potatoes 9,050, cucumbers1,826, tomatoes 1,347, hay
2,106,750 cu m; livestock(number of live animals) 480,656 sheep,
78,628 cattle,238,000 hens; roundwood (2013) 3,640 cu m, of
whichfuelwood 25%; fisheries production (value in ISK’000,000)8:
151,301, of which cod 60,964, redfish13,443, haddock 11,467,
mackerel 10,360, saithe 9,529,Greenland halibut 7,462, blue whiting
5,666, herring3,572; fisheries production by tonnage 1,319,395
(fromaquaculture [2014] 1%); aquatic plants production (2014)
18,427(from aquaculture, none). Mining and quarrying (2013):
aluminum736,429. Manufacturing (value of sales in ISK ’000,000;
2011): basemetals (nearly all aluminum and ferrosilicon) 255,786;
preserved andprocessed fish 248,289; other food products and
beverages 91,144;electrical equipment 16,008; chemicals and
chemical products 15,156.Energy production (consumption):
electricity (kW-hr; 2013–14)17,586,000,000 ([2013] 18,116,000,000),
by source (2012): renewableenergy 100.0%, of which hydroelectric
70.1%, geothermal 29.9%; coal(metric tons; 2011) none (105,000);
crude petroleum, none (none);petroleum products (metric tons; 2011)
none (478,000); natural gas,none (none).
Population economically active (2015): total 200,000;
participation rates:ages 16–74, male 86.0%; female 80.0%;
unemployed 4.0%, of whichyouth (ages 16–24) 9.0%.
Gross national income (GNI; 2015): U.S.$16,451,000,000
(U.S.$49,730per capita); purchasing power parity GNI (U.S.$46,120
per capita).
Average household size (2011): 2.4.Public debt (December 2008):
U.S.$9,906,000,000.Land use as % of total land area (2009): in
temporary crops, left fal-low, or in permanent crops 0.07%; in
pasture 22.7%; forest area 0.3%.
Foreign trade11Imports (2015): ISK 700,289,000,000 (industrial
sup-
plies 28.1%, capital goods 20.9%, transport equip-ment 15.7%,
fuels and lubricants 12.7%, consumergoods 12.4%). Major import
sources:
Exports (2015): ISK 626,265,000,000 (manufacturingproducts
52.9%, marine products 42.2%, agricul-tural products 2.1%). Major
export destinations:
Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads: none.
Roads(2012): total length 8,009 mi,12,890 km (paved 37%12);
passen-ger-km (2006) 5,600,000,00013;metric ton-km cargo, n.a.
Vehicles(20152): passenger cars 217,454;trucks and buses
33,664.
Education and healthLiteracy: virtually 100%.Health: physicians
(2012) 1,120 (1 per 286 per-sons); hospital beds (2010) 3,125 (1
per 102persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 livebirths (2015)
2.1; undernourished population(2006–08) less than 5% of total
population.
MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2015):200 coast
guard (paramilitary) personnel;Iceland has no military.15 Coast
guardexpenditure as percentage of GDP (2015):0.2%; per capita
expenditure U.S.$104.
1Population density calculated with reference to 9,191 sq mi
(23,805 sq km) area free of glaciers (cov-ering 4,603 sq mi [11,922
sq km]), lava fields or wasteland (covering 24,918 sq mi [64,538 sq
km]), andlakes (covering 1,064 sq mi [2,757 sq km]). 2January 1.
3Actual local administration is based on 78municipalities.
4Includes municipalities adjacent to Reykjavík. 5Within Reykjavík
urban area. 6Detaildoes not add to total given because of rounding.
7By citizenship. 8Preliminary. 9Taxes on products lesssubsidies.
10Unemployed. 11Imports c.i.f.; exports f.o.b. 12Includes
oil-graveled roads. 13Passenger cars5,000,000,000; buses
600,000,000. 14Subscribers. 15NATO members (from July 2007) police
Icelandic air-space.
Internet resources for further information:• Statistics Iceland
www.statice.is• Central Bank of Iceland www.cb.is
Structure of gross domestic product and labour force20128
2013
in value % of total labour % of labourISK ’000,000 value force
force
Agriculture, forestry 17,081 0.9 4,700 2.5Fishing 102,277 5.8
3,600 1.9Mining and quarrying 1,030 0.1 20,900 11.3Manufacturing
209,437 11.8Construction 73,922 4.2 10,600 5.7Public utilities
95,442 5.4 1,300 0.7Transp. and commun. 150,466 8.5 11,900
6.4Trade, restaurants 178,667 10.1 33,800 18.3Finance, real estate
380,331 21.4 25,000 13.5Services 234,608 13.2 54,400 29.4Public
administration 134,375 7.6 9,000 4.9Other 196,3689 11.09 10,00010
5.410TOTAL 1,774,0016 100.0 184,9006 100.0
}
Communications units unitsnumber per 1,000 number per 1,000
Medium date in ’000s persons Medium date in ’000s persons
TelephonesCellular 2014 37014 1,11114Landline 2014 172 515
Internet users 2009 302 935Broadband 2014 12014 35914
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