Iceland Basics

General information about Iceland

• Official name: Republic of Iceland
• Capital: Reykjavík
• Surface area: 102,950 km²
• Official language: Icelandic
• Religion: Lutherans attached to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (92%)
• Population: 319,849 inhabitants (including about 201,000 in Reykjavík)
• Density: 2.9 inhabitants per km²
• Urban population: 92%
• Life expectancy: 76.5 years for men and 81.3 years for women
• Fertility index: 2
• Currency: The Icelandic krone (ISK = Kronur)
• Phone code: 354
• Time difference: Reykjavík Paris minus 2 hours in summer, minus 1 hour in winter

Language

Icelandic is a Scandinavian language, which has not evolved much and has remained close to Old Icelandic as it was spoken in the Middle Ages. It is a fairly complex language with many variations and very unique features, especially in terms of pronunciation.

Luckily for tourists who don't speak the language, most Icelanders are fluent in English.

Regarding surnames, Icelanders have preserved the Viking tradition, so the “last name” is composed of the first name of the father followed by the suffix -son (son of) or -dóttir (daughter of), so the members of the same family may have a different “last name”. Similarly, in the directory, users are classified by first names, followed by their profession, and not by last names.