Population
360,390 (2019)
Official language
Icelandic or ‘íslenska’, which is a Germanic language derived from Old Norse.
Language spoken in Iceland
Due to its remote location, there has been little linguistic influence. Unsurprisingly then,98% of Icelanders speak in the mother tongue – Icelandic. However, they are well known for their fluent English, so travellers will be able to get by very easily. Icelandic can be very hard to read and pronounce. The basics are: þ is pronounced like the ‘th’ in ‘thing’ and ð is pronounced like the ‘th’ in ‘cloth’.
People of Iceland
93% of the population is Icelandic. The biggest majority otherwise is Polish, making up for 3% of the population.
Religion in Iceland
The national church is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland and 80% of the population identify as such. Almost 5% of people practice ásatrú, the traditional Norse religion.
National Holiday of Iceland
17 June: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic (1944).
Holiday Schedule
January 1: New Year's Day (January 31 is a holiday afternoon)
In late March - early April: Easter (Holy Thursday and Good Friday are public holidays and Easter Monday)
Third Thursday of April: Day of Summer (‘Sumardagúrinn’). Important festivities
May 1: Labor Day
During May: Thursday of the Ascension
17 June: National Day
First weekend of August: Traders Day (Friday afternoon, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday are public holidays morning, official celebrations on Monday)
25 December: Christmas (24 December afternoon plus the full days of the 25 and 26 December are holidays). Something fun to note is that Icelanders have 13 Santas who arrive one by one from the 13th day before Christmas
Other Icelandic festivals to note are:
First Sunday of June: Sailors’ Sunday (‘Sjomannadgwinn’) in honor of the fishermen, where all boats are in port for the day
21 and 24 June: Summer Solstice and St. John (‘Jónsmessa’)
October 9: Leif Ericson Day (which, to the thousand year, discovered the North American coast)
December 23: Saint Thorlak (‘Thorláksmessa’), the Icelandic boss
History of Iceland
The first inhabitants of Iceland were Irish monks who were soon joined by Norwegian Vikings. In 930 AD, over 30 clan leaders met at Thingvellir to discuss law on the island and create a parliament, which they called Althingi. Each year, the leaders met at Thingvellir - which means fields of parliament - to discuss important matters, and it was here in 1000 AD that they decided to officially move away from Asatru (the Norse religion) and take up Christianity. In 1944 AD Iceland declared independence from Denmark, elected their first president and put Iceland culture on the map.
Policy in Iceland
Iceland is a constitutional republic. The President is elected by national vote for a renewable term of four years, but the role is largely ceremonial. Executive power is held by the Prime Minister (appointed by the President) and his government. The legislative branch is the Parliament (Althingi) which has 63 members elected by national vote, who hold their role for four years. Founded in 930 AD, the Althingi is the oldest parliament in the world. Iceland has no armed forces, except 130 coastguards.
Famous Icelanders
Vigdis Finnbogadóttir (born 1930) was Iceland's president from 1980 to 1996. She was the first female president and is seen as the symbol of the opening of Icelandic politics to women.
Björk Gudhmundsdottir (born in 1965). Björk is one of the most well-known Icelandic celebrities, renowned for her inventive and quirky character and music.
Jon Sigurdhsson (1811-1879). A historian and politician, he was the head of the movement for the independence of Iceland. In tribute to this role as father of the nation, the Republic was proclaimed on his birthday (June 17).
Ólafur Stefánsson (born 1973). A professional handball player.
Jón Arason (1484-1550). A Catholic bishop and poet, he led the fight against the Lutheran Christian III of Denmark. He remains a legendary character in Iceland, mixing poetry, national idea and religious nonconformity.
Halldor Gudhjonsson (1902-1998), Halldor Laxness Kiljan wrote around 60 books (including the famous Bell of Iceland), which dealt with themes of history and torment of Iceland in the 20th century, including social Catholicism and Communism. His work has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955.
Etiquette in Iceland
In Icelandic culture, tipping is completely at your discretion. In Iceland, hotels, restaurants and bars, the service is included, but you can still show your appreciation by leaving a small tip if you wish. If you want to tip your driver, we recommend 1.5 to 3 Euros per day, and from 2 to 4 Euros for guides. Dinner is usually early, and most people eat their evening meal before 8pm(so book reservations well before). If you are invited into an Icelander’s house, it is polite to take off your shows your shoes before entering the house (same in some stores or public places). Finally, hot springs and communal pools are very popular in Iceland, so be sure to check the etiquette of your chosen pools before you decide to go.
Shopping
At the heart of Iceland’s culture is wool. Knitted woollen goods can be found across the island and the handmade jumpers with circular jacquard design are particularly characteristic of Iceland. They also make a great gift or memento of your trip. The island is also famous for its ceramics and other handmade items made from numerous materials, including wood, skins (including fish skins), glass, stone and lava.
Food
Seafood is at the heart of Icelandic cuisine, but the land provides mutton and potatoes which are used in many meals. Unusual traditional recipes include Hákarl, fermented shark meat that has been aged several months and þorramatur, which is a selection of Icelandic foods such as testicles and sheep heads, blubber, liver sausage, shark meat, dried haddock, black bread and more cured in a traditional manner and served sliced. These meats and fish dishes are usually consumed during the Nordic month of Þorri (Thorri), in January and February, and particularly at the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót (Thorrablot) – a tribute to old culture.
Drink
You can drink the tap water all over Iceland and it is one of the purest in the world. Alcohol in Iceland is very expensive and only sold in the state stores (Vínbúð). With such excellent water quality, Iceland makes very good beers that are generally blonde and light. With regards to spirits, there’s Icelandic vodka and aquavit, but the real national specialty is Brennivín, also called "Black Death", a potato alcohol flavoured schnapps with caraway.
