The Republic of Iceland, or The Lyoveldio Island in Icelandic language, is located towards the northern area of the Atlantic Ocean next to Norway, the British Isles, and Greenland. This is a very peculiar and unique destination with characteristics which could hardly be found repeated any where else.
Until the 9th century when it was discovered, Iceland was an uninhabited island. When it was discovered, Iceland was first inhabited by a group of Norse immigrants who went to that territory accompanied by some Celts from the region of Ireland and Scotland as well. This way, this group of people from different origins was the first inhabitants of Iceland.
Iceland is divided into 23 counties and 95 municipalities. Each municipality takes care of many local issues such as per example, the communications or schools in their area. These counties are distributed within eight main regions known as Westfjorde, Northwest, Northeast, East, South, West, Capital region, and Southern Peninsula.
Iceland is located on the Mid Atlantic Ridge and a geological spot, two factors which together cause it to be very active from a geological point of view. This way, this country contains several volcanoes and geysers, in such a way that local people count on these geological factors as geothermal power which they often use in their own homes.
About ten per cent of Iceland is covered by ice or is glaciated. Most Iceland’s towns are located by the country’s coastlines, far from the central area which is the coldest and less adequate for human life. Some of the main towns in Iceland are Keflavik, Akureyri, and the capital Reykjavik. Tourists can reach Island by plane arriving at the airport of Keflavik.
According to GDP per capita numbers and purchasing power, Iceland is among the richest countries in the world. Due to the country’s location and natural characteristics, the main factor on which Iceland’s economy is based is the fishing industry. The fishing industry is the base of Iceland’s economy, since around 60 % of their exports are based on it and an important part of the country’s employment depends on it as well.