Iceland - 50 Interesting facts
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1. Iceland had its first permanent settler in 874AD, a Viking from Norway.
2. It was the last island in Europe to be established and eventually populated.
3. The original Iceland population was of Nordic and Gaelic descent.
4. Floki Vilgeroarson was the first Norseman to intentionally sail to Iceland and he took 3 ravens with him from the Faroe Islands to help him find his way.
5. The character Floki in the Vikings television series is based on Floki Vilgeroarson.
6. A smallpox epidemic in the 18th Century caused fatalities to 1/3 of Iceland’s population.
7. The capital of Iceland is Reykjavic which is also the biggest city.
8. The currency in Iceland is the Icelandic Krona.
9. Its official language is Icelandic. Danish and English are both widely understood and spoken and compulsory in schools.
10. Iceland is the 18th largest island in the world and also the 2nd largest island in Europe following Britain.
11. It suffered 37 years of famine between the years 1500-1804.
12. The majority of Iceland’s population reside in Reykjavic with approximately 60% living there.
13. Iceland struggled for independence following the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars and eventually claimed it from Denmark on 1st December 1918.
14. Iceland became a republic on 17th June 1944.
15. Until the 20th Century, Iceland was considered one of the poorest countries in Europe as at the time the economy relied solely on fishing and agriculture.
16. Following World War 2, the industrialisation of fisheries and Marshall Plan aid brought an abundance of fortune and wealth making Iceland knows as one of the most developed nations.
17. Iceland was ranked as the 9th most developed country in the world by the UN in 2016.
18. Iceland has no standing army but instead has an Icelandic coast guard who is there is to support the peacekeeping missions.
19. Iceland’s main historical conflict was the dispute between the Coast Guard and the Royal Navy regarding the British fishermen.
20. This historical conflict is also referred to as Cod Wars.
21. Iceland has one of the most advanced healthcare systems rating 9th in the world.
22. Iceland is considered to be European both for historical reasons and practical reasons even though it includes sections of both the North American and European continental plates.
23. Iceland is home to hundreds of volcanoes with an estimated 30 of them being active.
24. The only native mammal to Iceland is the Arctic fox which is thought to have arrived on the island following the Ice Age.
25. Whale watching plays an important role in Iceland’s economy and makes a lot of money offering whale watching tours more than anything else.
26. Gulfoss is the most famous waterfall in Iceland and is also known as the Golden Circle. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions that Iceland has.
27. The national tree is the Northern Birch.
28. The main traditional sport in Iceland is known as Glima. It is a form of wrestling that was thought to have been introduced in the Medieval times.
29. The national sport, however, is handball.
30. Traditional Icelandic music is closely related to Nordic music and is strongly religious.
31. Iceland was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the country ranked most at peace and it is known as the most peaceful country in the world according to Global Peace Index.
32. Iceland has a very low crime rate, even the police do not or need to carry guns.
33. Iceland is the worlds largest electricity producer and runs almost completely on renewable energy.
34. Polar Bears have been to known to visit Iceland, reaching there on icebergs from Greenland but they never stay there.
35. Iceland was the first country in the world that had a political party formed and led completely by women.
36. The Icelandic have freedom of religion and religious attendance is very low.
37. Iceland was one of the first countries to legalise same sex marriage in 2011 even though in 2006 parliament voted to grant same sex couples the same opportunities, such as, adoption as heterosexual couples.
38. Raw Puffin Hearts are considered a delicacy in Iceland.
39. Icelandic cuisine is a very acquired taste including singed sheep-heads, rams testicles and black pudding.
40. Traditional Icelandic dishes include skyr which is a yoghurt-like cheese and hakarl which is cured shark.
41. The majority of the Icelandic people believe in elves.
42. They have been known as going as far re - routing roads so as to not disturb certain rocks that are the supposed to be the homes of elves.
43. Iceland is home to many geysers, which include Geysir and the recognised Strokkur which is known to erupt every 8-10 minutes.
44. Christmas is celebrated on the 24th December at 6pm.
45. Bondadagur which also translates as husbands’ day, occurs in late January and the women must give gifts to their men and feed them traditional food.
46. Iceland has the highest Coca-Cola consumption in the world along with Mexico.
47. Beer was legalised in 1989.
48. Iceland is one of the few countries that doesn’t have any McDonalds restaurants.
49. Strip-bars were made illegal in 2011.
50. There are no mosquitoes in Iceland.
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