Iceland — Country profile

Icelandic, English, Polish, Nordic languages, German

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (official) 58.6% Roman Catholic 3.8%, Independent Congregation of Reykjavik 2.6%, Independent Congregation of Hafnarfjordur 1.9%, pagan worship 1.5%, Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association 1.4%, other (includes Zuist and Pentecostal) or unspecified 18.7%, none 7.7% (2024 est.)

12.47 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Icelandic 78.7%, Polish 5.8%, Danish 1%, Ukrainian 1%, other 13.5% (2024 est.)

4.37 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

2.8 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

1.93 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.82% (2025 est.)

0.94 (2025 est.)

Iceland is almost entirely urban, with half of the population located in and around the capital of Reykjavik; smaller clusters are primarily found along the coast in the north and west

3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

216,000 REYKJAVIK (capital) (2018)

21.9% (2016)

28.7 years (2020 est.)

48.5% (2023 est.)

description: blue with a red cross outlined in white extending to the edges of the flag; the cross is shifted to the left in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

meaning: red stands for the island's volcanic fires, white for the snow and ice fields, and blue for the ocean

18 years of age; universal

1 December 1918 (became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown); 17 June 1944 (from Denmark; birthday of Jon SIGURDSSON, leader of Iceland's 19th-century independence movement)

civil law system influenced by the Danish model

unitary parliamentary republic

Independence Day, 17 June (1944)

blue, white, red

Center Party or M 
Independence Party or D 
Liberal Reform Party or C
People's Party or F
Progressive Party or B 
Social Democratic Alliance or S

gyrfalcon

Iceland’s coat of arms is derived from a 13th-century folktale about four guardians who protect the four corners of the nation; the bull protects the northwest, the eagle the northeast, the dragon the southeast, and the rock-giant the southwest; the shield displays the national flag, with red standing for Iceland’s volcanic fires, white for its snow and ice fields, and blue for the ocean

64 municipalities (sveitarfelog, singular - sveitarfelagidh); Akranes, Akureyri, Arneshreppur, Asahreppur, Blaskogabyggdh, Bolungarvik, Borgarbyggdh, Dalabyggdh, Dalvikurbyggdh, Eyjafjardharsveit, Eyja-og Miklaholtshreppur, Fjallabyggdh, Fjardhabyggdh, Fljotsdalshreppur, Floahreppur, Gardhabaer, Grimsnes-og Grafningshreppur, Grindavikurbaer, Grundarfjardharbaer, Grytubakkahreppur, Hafnarfjordhur, Horgarsveit, Hrunamannahreppur, Hunathing Vestra, Hunabyggdh, Hvalfjardharsveit, Hveragerdhi, Isafjardharbaer, Kaldrananeshreppur, Kjosarhreppur, Kopavogur, Langanesbyggdh, Mosfellsbaer, Mulathing, Myrdalshreppur, Nordhurthing, Rangarthing Eystra, Rangarthing Ytra, Reykholahreppur, Reykjanesbaer, Reykjavik, Seltjarnarnes, Skaftarhreppur, Skagabyggdh, Skagafjordhur, Skeidha-og Gnupverjahreppur, Skorradalshreppur, Snaefellsbaer, Strandabyggdh, Stykkisholmur, Sudhavikurhreppur, Sudhurnesjabaer, Svalbardhsstrandarhreppur, Sveitarfelagidh Arborg, Sveitarfelagidh Hornafjordhur, Sveitarfelagidh Olfus, Sveitarfelagidh Skagastrond, Sveitarfelagidh Vogar, Talknafjardharhreppur, Thingeyjarsveit, Tjorneshreppur, Vestmannaeyjar, Vesturbyggdh, Vopnafjardharhreppur

Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

state-owned public TV broadcaster (RUV) operates 21 TV channels nationally; every household is required to have RUV, which doubles as the emergency broadcast network; 3 privately owned TV stations; 100% of households have multi-channel services though digital and/or fiber-optic connections; RUV operates 3 national and 4 regional radio stations; 1 privately owned radio conglomerate, Syn (4 stations), broadcasts nationwide; over 20 regional radio stations (2019)

.is

82 (2025)

1 (2025)

TF

temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers

mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords

Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom

4,970 km

0.5 sq km (2022)

Arctic Region

earthquakes and volcanic activity

volcanism: Iceland is situated on top of a hotspot and experiences severe volcanic activity; Eyjafjallajokull (1,666 m) erupted in 2010, sending ash high into the atmosphere and seriously disrupting European air traffic; scientists continue to monitor nearby Katla (1,512 m), which has a high probability of eruption; Grimsvoetn and Hekla are Iceland's most active volcanoes; other historically active volcanoes include Askja, Bardarbunga, Brennisteinsfjoll, Esjufjoll, Hengill, Krafla, Krisuvik, Kverkfjoll, Oraefajokull, Reykjanes, Torfajokull, and Vestmannaeyjar

strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe

fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania; about the same size as Kentucky

65 00 N, 18 00 W

Iceland is almost entirely urban, with half of the population located in and around the capital of Reykjavik; smaller clusters are primarily found along the coast in the north and west

temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers

water pollution from fertilizer runoff

5.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

170 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

Iceland was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949; Iceland is the only NATO member that has no standing military force; defense of Iceland is a NATO commitment, and NATO maintains an air policing presence in Icelandic airspace; Iceland participates in international peacekeeping missions with the civilian-manned Icelandic Crisis Response Unit (ICRU)

Iceland also cooperates with the militaries of other regional countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and the Joint Expeditionary Force (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK); in 1951, Iceland and the US concluded an agreement to make arrangements regarding the defense of Iceland and for the use of facilities in Iceland to that end (2025)

no regular military forces; the Icelandic National Police, the regional police forces, and the Icelandic Coast Guard fall under the purview of the Ministry of Justice (2025)