Iceland

Iceland is a democratic country in the Atlantic Ocean well away and to the north of most of Europe. Iceland is culturally European and culturally Scandinavian despite being geographically relatively close to North America. Iceland and a member of NATO and had applied for the membership in the European Union. It applied for the  It is very green and beautiful island, second largest in Europe. Geologically it is relatively new, it was formed from volcanic activity between the Eurasian and North American Plates. The Island is still very volcanically and geologically active, it is isolated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and was uninhabited until 874. The population of Iceland is over 300,000. By comparison, the population of New York City is 8,300,000 or 8 million more. Over half the people live in and around the capital which is Reykjavík. Culturally Iceland is Scandinavian. Despite problems the people of Iceland are happy.

Politics
It was a member of the Coalition of the Willing so obviously it is a country with no army, it pulled out in winter 2008. They only had one troop in Iraq. Icelanders enjoy a high standard of living and an egalitarian society. Icelanders have a rich cultural heritage including poetry and cuisine. Like Norway and Switzerland Iceland does not belong to the European Union. Their president is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson a social democrat. Their Prime Minister is Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir who is also a Social Democrat and suprisingly... gay (take that, Neocons!). That can tell you a lot about open mindedness and toleration of homosexuality in Iceland.

Economics
Traditionally the country relied heavily on fish which is their most important export. Despite moving heavily into other areas it is still very important for the island.

In 2007 The United Nations ranked the Icelandic economy as the most developed in the world. Iceland was also ranked the 4th most productive per capita in the world. All that was before the economic crisis ot 2008-2009.

Economic crisis
For such a country with such a small population it owns (or did own) a remarkable amount of business around the world It is currently pwned because it did particularly badly in the ongoing economic crisis, its banks currently owe about six times the countries annual GDP! all three major banks have collapsed. No bigger banking collapse relative to the size of the country’s economy has ever happened in history. Already the crisis has cost more than 75% of Iceland’s 1975 GDP and they’re still counting. Half a million foreigners with bank deposits in Iceland had their money frozen. Iceland’s population is only 300,000 remember. The value of the national currency fell sharply and the value of Iceland’s stock exchange went down by 90% and more.

"Other banks and financial institutions no longer want to touch Iceland with the longest barge-pole ever constructed."

Things are currently so bad for Iceland someone tried to sell it on eBay.

Imports and exports
Iceland's economy is highly export-driven. Bjork CD's account for the majority of goods exports. Other important exports include artificial limbs, ferro-silicon alloys, second hand clothing, and generic drugs.

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The main imports are cement, petroleum products and crappy Hollywood movies.

Climate
The capital, Reykjavík is near the Arctic circle and receives only about 4 hours of sunlight in December. Temperatures average about freezing point in winter and are about 10 to 15 degrees centigrade in summer. Iceland is warmer than most other areas so far from the equator because the Gulf Stream warms the country. Iceland is geologically very active and most icelanders can warm their homes cheaply using renewable geothermal energy and hydroelectric power.

World heritage site
In 1963 there was an unusual and spectacular event in the seas near Iceland. In mid November the crew of a fishing boat noticed smoke rising from the sea. The captain thought another boat might be on fire and went to help. There was no boat. Instead there was a volcanic eruption below the sea. Volcanic smoke increased rapidly. Before the end of November a new volcanic island had formed above the surface of the sea and was growing rapidly in size. The new Island was called Surtsey. Geologists studied the volcano as it was erupting.

The Icelandic people could see this island gave a unique chance to find out how new life colonizes a volcanic island and Surtsey became a nature reserve before the eruptions had even finished. A handful of scientists land on Surtsey to study the island. Other people are kept away. Different types of plants have begun to grow on Surtsey recorded by the biologists. As birds started to nest on Surtsey the soil improved and more plant species could survive there. Seabirds have nested for decades on Surtsey. Seals regularly bask on the beaches and whales are found off the coast. Insects colonized Surtsey as well.

All this excites the scientists so much that in 2008 UNESCO declared Surtsey a World Heritage Site. An island that’s so barren is a Nature reserve and a World Heritage Site. Paradoxical isn’t it?