Keflavík International Airport (KEF) [172] is the largest airport and the main aviation hub for international passenger transport. It serves several international and domestic airline companies. [173] KEF is in the vicinity of the larger metropolitan capital areas, 49km (30mi) [174] to the WSW of Reykjavík centre, and public bus services are available. [175]

A translation of the Bible was published in the 16th century. Important compositions from the 15th to the 19th century include sacred verse, most famously the Passion Hymns of Hallgrímur Pétursson, and rímur, rhyming epic poems. Originating in the 14th century, rímur were popular into the 19th century, when the development of new literary forms was provoked by the influential National-Romantic writer Jónas Hallgrímsson. In recent times, Iceland has produced many great writers, the best-known of whom is arguably Halldór Laxness, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955 (the only Icelander to win a Nobel Prize thus far). Steinn Steinarr was an influential modernist poet during the early 20th century who remains popular. In 1946, the US Defence Force Allied left Iceland. The nation formally became a member of NATO on 30 March 1949, amid domestic controversy and riots. On 5 May 1951, a defence agreement was signed with the United States. American troops returned to Iceland as the Iceland Defence Force and remained throughout the Cold War. The US withdrew the last of its forces on 30 September 2006.According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. [15] In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, immigrated to Iceland, bringing with them thralls (i.e., slaves or serfs) of Gaelic origin. Iceland's best-known classical works of literature are the Icelanders' sagas, prose epics set in Iceland's age of settlement. The most famous of these include Njáls saga, about an epic blood feud, and Grænlendinga saga and Eiríks saga, describing the discovery and settlement of Greenland and Vinland (modern Newfoundland). Egils saga, Laxdæla saga, Grettis saga, Gísla saga and Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu are also notable and popular Icelanders' sagas. Geothermal energy is harnessed for heating buildings and the production of electricity. Almost 90% of Icelandic homes are heated in this way. In fact, there are only 31 so-called cold areas in the country, which use hydro-electric power instead. Fossil fuels are used mainly for transport and industrial purposes and make up around 15% of total energy consumption. As a result of the utilisation of geothermal energy, Iceland suffers minimal environmental pollution.

Akureyri Airport (AEY) [178] and Egilsstaðir Airport (EGS) [179] are two other domestic airports with limited international service capacity. There are a total of 103 registered airports and airfields in Iceland; most of them are unpaved and located in rural areas. The second-longest runway is at Geitamelur, a four-runway glider field around 100km (62mi) east of Reykjavík. Thousands of Icelanders left the country after the collapse, many of those moving to Norway. In 2005, 293 people moved from Iceland to Norway; in 2009, the figure was 1,625. [164] In April 2010, the Icelandic Parliament's Special Investigation Commission published the findings of its investigation, [165] revealing the extent of control fraud in this crisis. [166] By June 2012, Landsbanki managed to repay about half of the Icesave debt. [167]Upper secondary education, or framhaldsskóli, follows lower secondary education. These schools are also known as gymnasia in English. Though not compulsory, everyone who has had a compulsory education has the right to upper secondary education. This stage of education is governed by the Upper Secondary School Act of 1996. All schools in Iceland are mixed-sex schools. The largest seat of higher education is the University of Iceland, which has its main campus in central Reykjavík. Other schools offering university-level instruction include Reykjavík University, University of Akureyri, Agricultural University of Iceland and Bifröst University.

Iceland is the world's 18th-largest island, and Europe's second-largest island after Great Britain and before Ireland. The main island covers 101,826km 2 (39,315sqmi), but the entire country is 103,000km 2 (40,000sqmi) in size, of which 62.7% is tundra. Iceland contains about 30 minor islands, including the lightly populated Grímsey and the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. Lakes and glaciers cover 14.3% of its surface; only 23% is vegetated. [65] The largest lakes are Þórisvatn reservoir: 83–88km 2 (32–34sqmi) and Þingvallavatn: 82km 2 (32sqmi); other important lakes include Lagarfljót and Mývatn. Jökulsárlón is the deepest lake, at 248m (814ft). [66] Crosby, Alfred W. (2004). Ecological imperialism: the biological expansion of Europe, 900–1900. Cambridge University Press. p.52. ISBN 0-521-54618-4. Iceland is closer to continental Europe than to mainland North America, although it is closest to Greenland (290 kilometres; 155 nautical miles), an island of North America. Iceland is generally included in Europe for geographical, historical, political, cultural, linguistic and practical reasons. [61] [62] [63] [64] Geologically, the island includes parts of both continental plates. The closest bodies of land in Europe are the Faroe Islands (420km; 225nmi); Jan Mayen Island (570km; 310nmi); Shetland and the Outer Hebrides, both about 740km (400nmi); and the Scottish mainland and Orkney, both about 750km (405nmi). The nearest part of Continental Europe is mainland Norway, about 970km (525nmi) away, while mainland North America is 2,070km (1,120nmi) away, at the northern tip of Labrador. Iceland lost almost 5000 people in 2009" (PDF). Journal of Nordregio. 10 (1): 18. April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012 . Retrieved 13 September 2011.

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Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey". ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020 . Retrieved 9 August 2021. The Icelandic Commonwealth lasted until the 13th century when the political system devised by the original settlers proved unable to cope with the increasing power of Icelandic chieftains. [33] The internal struggles and civil strife of the Age of the Sturlungs led to the signing of the Old Covenant in 1262, which ended the Commonwealth and brought Iceland under the Norwegian crown. Possession of Iceland passed from the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) to the Kalmar Union in 1415, when the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden were united. After the break-up of the union in 1523, it remained a Norwegian dependency, as a part of Denmark–Norway.