正式名稱冰島共和國（Republic of Iceland）
冰島語作ísland
北大西洋島國，位於挪威和格陵蘭之間。面積102,819平方公里。人口約284,000（2001）。首都︰雷克雅未克。人民幾乎都是北歐人種。語言：冰島語（官方語）。宗教︰基督教路德派新教（國教）。貨幣︰冰島克朗（ISK）。冰島是世界上火山最活躍的一個地區，包括兩百多座火山，熔巖流佔有全球的1/3。1/10的陸地覆蓋了冰冷的熔巖牀和冰川，其中包括瓦特納冰原。海岸線崎嶇，長達6,000公里。經濟以漁業和魚製品為主，不過水力發電、畜牧和鋁加工業也很重要。政府形式為共和國，一院制。國家元首是總統，政府首腦是總理。
西元9世紀時挪威海員就在冰島定居，1000年冰島已基督教化。930年創立的立法機構艾爾辛（Althing）是世界上歷史最悠久的立法機構之一。1262年冰島併入挪威，1380年併入丹麥。1918年為丹麥一個獨立的州，1944年始斷絕這些關係，成為獨立的共和國。1980年芬博阿多蒂爾（Vigdis Finnbogadottir）任冰島總統，為世界上第一位民選的女性國家元首。1990年代經濟上大部分的成長是靠鋁製品的生產量擴增。
Iceland
IcelandicíslandIsland country, located in the northern Atlantic Ocean, lying between Norway and Greenland. Area: 40,000 sq mi (100,000 sq km). Population (1997) est.: 271,000. Capital: Reykjavik. The people are overwhelmingly Nordic. Language: Icelandic (official). Religion: Evangelical Lutheranism (official). Currency: krona. One of the most active volcanic regions in the world, Iceland contains about 200 volcanoes and accounts for one-third of the earth's total lava flow. One-tenth of its area is covered by cooled lava beds and glaciers, including Vatnaj?kull. Its rugged coastline is 3,700 mi (6,000 km) long. The economy is based heavily on fishing and fish products but also includes hydropower production, livestock, and aluminum processing. It is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Iceland was settled by Norwegian seafarers in the 9th century and was Christianized by 1000. Its legislature, the Althing, was founded in 930, making it one of the oldest legislative assemblies in the world. Iceland united with Norway in 1262 and with Denmark in 1380. It became an independent state of Denmark in 1918, but severed those ties to become an independent republic in 1944. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became the world's first female elected president in 1980. Much of Iceland's 1990s economic growth was in the expansion of its aluminum production capacity.
