All the chats in Iceland

Iceland is a sovereign country located in the extreme northwest of Europe, whose territory encompasses the homonymous island and some small adjacent islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, between the rest of Europe and Greenland, and has a population of about 350,000 inhabitants. And an area of ​​103 000 km² Because of its location in the mid-Atlantic ridge, it is a country with great volcanic and geological activity, a factor that greatly affects the landscape of the Icelandic territory. The interior of the country consists of a plateau characterized by deserts, mountains, glaciers and glacial rivers that flow into the sea through the lowlands.

Thanks to the effects of the Gulf Stream, it has a temperate climate in relation to its latitude and provides a habitable environment. The first human settlement in Iceland dates back to the year 874 when, according to the Landnámabók or «Book of the settlement», the Norwegian leader Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent settler of the island Other navigators, like the Faroese Viking Naddoddr, possible discoverer, visited the island around 860 to spend the winter there. However, they never founded a permanent settlement there, and over the following centuries, human groups of Nordic and Gaelic origin settled in Iceland. Until the twentieth century, the Icelandic population depended on fishing and agriculture, and from 1262 to 1944 it was part of the kingdom of Norway and, later, of Denmark.

In the 20th century it gained its independence and the Icelandic economy developed rapidly, despite its isolation from the world due to its geographical location. Today it has a market economy, with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD members, maintaining a welfare state that provides universal healthcare and free higher education to its citizens. In recent years it has become one of the most affluent countries, and in 2009 it was classified by the United Nations as the ninth most developed country in the world, in addition to occupying the first place in the Global Peace Index. In 2008, the Icelandic financial system suffered a collapse, causing a strong economic contraction and demonstrations that led to the advance of parliamentary elections, in which Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir won the post of prime minister.

At the same time, the so-called Icelandic Revolution, a series of protests and movements of civic organization that, together with the new Government, resulted in the indictment of the former Prime Minister of Iceland during the crisis, Geir Haarde, two referendums to decide on the payment of the external debt of national banks and a citizen process that led to changes in the constitution that culminated in a constitutional draft on July 29,2011 to be debated in Parliament, since then, the economy has recovered significantly, largely due to an increase in tourism. Iceland has a developed and technologically advanced society whose culture is based on the Nordic heritage. The majority of the population is of Celtic and Scandinavian origin. The official language is Icelandic, a northern Germanic language that is closely related to Faroese and Western dialects of Norwegian. The country's cultural heritage includes its traditional cuisine, art and literature.