Iceland

Iceland is a Nordic island country marking the juncture between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The country has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km2, which makes it the most sparsely populated country in Europe.

Did you know that:
1. Life expectancy is 81.3 years for women and 76.4 for men– one of the highest in the world.
2. Many Icelanders believe in elves.  Certain roads have been re-routed to avoid disturbing areas where elves are thought to live.
3. An international study done in 2006 ranked Iceland as the “Fourth Happiest Nation” in the world.
4. Among OECD nations, Iceland has the highest number of broadband internet connections per capita.
5. More than 13% of Iceland is covered by snowfields and glaciers.
6. Icelanders have unique superstitions such as: “If the first calf born during the winter is white, the winter will be a bad one” and “If you sneeze three times before breaking fast on a Sunday, you will gain something in that week.”
7. Iceland’s main industry is fishing.
8. The eccentric pop star Bjork hails from Iceland.
9.  Icelandic language has been virtually unchanged for the past 1000 years.