Country · Europe
Iceland
Iceland is a country in Northern Europe. About 353 000 people live there, in an area of 103 000 square kilometres. Its capital city is Reykjavik.
Picture credit: Jakub Hałun (CC BY 4.0) · Martin Falbisoner (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Hedwig Storch (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Jakub Hałun (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Iceland?
Iceland lies in Northern Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 7 236 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 4 970 km long.
It has no land neighbours — every border it has is with the sea.
How big is Iceland?
Iceland covers 103 000 square kilometres.
That is about 2.5 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 106th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 3.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Iceland?
About 353 000 people live in Iceland.
That is the 171st biggest population in the world.
People here speak Icelandic.
They pay with the Icelandic króna (kr).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 79 years.
The land of Iceland
The land of Iceland sits on average 557 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 4 970 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 249 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Iceland different?
Dishes the country is known for: Hákarl and Þorramatur.
Websites from here often end in .is.
Iceland and the rest of the world
Fewer than one person in every thousand on Earth lives in Iceland.
It takes up about 0.08 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 16th of 45 by size, and 40th by population.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 10 live wild in Iceland: Arctic fox, Atlantic puffin, Blue whale, Orca, Greylag goose, Hermit crab and more. The highest mountain in the country is Hvannadalshnúkur, at 2 110 metres. The longest river in the country is the Þjórsá. The largest lake in the country is Þingvallavatn.
Arctic fox
Atlantic puffin
Blue whale
Orca
Greylag goose
Hermit crab
Atlantic salmon
Common raven
Herring gull
Atlantic cod
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Iceland compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 91 times as big as Iceland: 9 372 610 km² against 103 000 km². See both on one map
- The United Kingdom is about 2.4 times as big as Iceland: 242 900 km² against 103 000 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Iceland?
The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Iceland?
About 353 000 people live in Iceland, which makes it the 171st most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Iceland?
Iceland covers 103 000 square kilometres, making it the 106th largest country in the world. That is about 2.5 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Iceland?
The highest mountain in Iceland is Hvannadalshnúkur, 2 110 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Iceland?
The longest river in Iceland is the Þjórsá, about 230 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Iceland?
The largest lake in Iceland is Þingvallavatn. It covers about 84 km².
Which continent is Iceland in?
Iceland is in Europe, in the part called Northern Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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