1988 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Ireland, and UK

Bangladesh, China, Cease-Fire Line with Pakistan

Climate

temperate; Gulf Stream influence; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers

varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

Coastline

4,988 km

7,000 km

Comparative area

about the size of Virginia

about one-third the size of US

Contiguous zone

24 nm

Continental shelf

edge of continental margin or 200 nm

edge of continental margin or 200 nm

Environment

subject to earthquakes and volcanic activity

droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification

Ethnic divisions

homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians and Celts

72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, 3% Mongoloid and other

Extended economic zone

200 nm

200 nm

Infant mortality rate

6.1/1,000 (1983)

116/1,000 (1984 est.)

Labor force

122,800; 55.4% commerce, finance, and services; 11.3% agriculture; 8.0% fish processing; 5.0% fishing; 20.3% other manufacturing (1985); 0.9% unemployment (1985 average)

(1984/85) about 284.4 million; 67% agriculture; more than 10% unemployed and underemployed

Land boundaries

12,700 km total

Land use

NEGL% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 23% meadows and pastures; 1% forest and woodland; 76% other

55% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 23% forest and woodland; 17% other; includes 13% irrigated

Language

Icelandic

Hindi, English, and 14 other official languages; 24 languages spoken by a million or more persons each; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30 percent of the people; English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindustani, a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India

Life expectancy

men 73.9, women 79.4

54.9

Literacy

99.9%

36%

Nationality

noun— Icelander(s); adjective— Icelandic

noun — Indian(s); adjective — Indian

Organized labor

60% of labor force

less than 5% of total labor force

Population

244,676 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 0.69%

800,325,817 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.07%

Religion

95% Evangelical Lutheran, 3% other Protestant and Roman Catholic, 2% no affiliation

83.5% Hindu, 11.0% Muslim, 2.6% Christian, 2.0-2.5% Sikh, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.2% other

Special notes

strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country

dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Joint River Commission on water sharing with downstream riparian Bangladesh

Terrain

mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields

upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges River, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Territorial sea

12 nm

12

Total area

103,000 km2; land area: 100,250 km2

3,287,590 km2; land area: 2,973,190 km2

Administrative divisions

23 counties, 200 parishes, 23 incorporated towns

24 states, 7 union territories

Branches

legislative authority rests jointly with President and parliament (Althing); executive power vested in President but exercised by Cabinet responsible to parliament; Supreme Court and 29 lower courts

bicameral parliament (Council of States, House of the People); relatively independent judiciary

Capital

Reykjavik

New Delhi

Communists

est. less than 100, some of whom participate in the People's Alliance, which drew 22,489 votes in the 1983 parliamentary elections

466,000 members claimed by CPI, 270,000 members claimed by CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members

Elections

parliamentary every four years, last held 23 April 1983, next elections in April 1987; presidential held every four years; last held August 1984 Political parties and leaders: Independence (conservative), Thorsteinn Palsson; Progressive, Steingrimur Hermannsson; Social Democratic, Jon Baldvin Hannibalsson; People's Alliance (left socialist), Svavar Gestsson Iceland (continued) India

national and state elections ordinarily held every five years; may be postponed in emergency and may be held more frequently if government loses confidence vote; last general election in December 1984; state elections staggered Political parties and leaders: Indian National Congress, controlled national government from independence to March 1977; split in January 1978 and 1979; party currently headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi; Lok Dal Party led by Charan Singh; Janata Party led by Chandra Shekhar; Bharatiya Janata Party led by L. K. Advani; Communist Party of India (CPI), led by C. Rajeswara Rao; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M) led by E. M. S. Namboodiripad; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML) led by Satyanarayan Singh; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), a regional party in Tamil Nadu, led by M. G. Ramachandran; Akali Dal, led by Surjit Singh Barnala, representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; Telugu Desam, a regional party in Andhra Pradesh led by N. T. Rama Rao; National Conference (NC), a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir, split into factions led by Farcoq Abdullah and G. M. Shah; Asom Gana Parishad, a regional party in Assam led by Prafulla Mahanta; Mizo National Front, a regional party in Mizoram led by Laldenga; Congress (IG) Party, a breakaway faction of Congress (I) Party, led by Pranab Mukherjee and Gundu Rao

Government leaders

Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR, President (since August 1980); Steingrimur HERMANNSSON, Prime Minister (since May 1983)

Rajiv GANDHI, Prime Minister (since October 1984); Zail SINGH, President (since July 1982)

Legal system

civil law system based on Danish law; constitution adopted 1944; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

based on English common law; constitution adopted 1950; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Member of

Council of Europe, EC (free trade agreement pending resolution of fishing limits issue), EFTA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICES, IDA, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC— International Whaling Commission, NATO, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WSG

ADB, AIOEC, ANRPC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

National holiday

Anniversary of the Establishment of the Republic, 17 June

Republic Day, 26 January

Official name

Republic of Iceland

Republic of India

Other political or pressure groups

various separatist groups seeking reorganization of states; numerous senas or militant/ chauvinistic organizations, including Shiv Sena (in Bombay), Anand Marg, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Suffrage

universal over age 20 but not compulsory

universal over age 21

Type

republic

federal republic

Voting strength

(1983 election) 38.7% Independence, 18.5% Progressive, 17.3% People's Alliance, 11.7% Social Democratic, 13.8% other

India Congress, 74%; Telugu Desam Party, 5%; CPM, 4%; Janata, 1.8%; CPI, 1.1%; DMKP, 0.5%; BJP, 0.4%; other, 6.6%

Agriculture

cattle, sheep, dairying, hay, potatoes, turnips

rice, other cereals, pulses, oilseed, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, tea, coffee; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade

Aid

US, including Ex-Im, $19.1 million (FY70-81)

Budget

revenues, $704.9 million; expenditures, $647.8 million (converted at 41.508 kronur=US$l 1985 average) (1985)

Crude steel

10.9 million metric tons, 14 kg per capita (1985)

Electric power

913,000 kW capacity; 4,460 million kWh produced, 18,290 kWh per capita (1986)

46,663,000 kW capacity; 170,000 million kWh produced, 220 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$814 million (f.o.b., 1985); fish and fish products, animal products, aluminum, diatomite

$8.3 billion (f.o.b., FY85/86); engineering goods, textiles and clothing, tea

Fiscal year

calendar year

Fishing

catch, 1,670,000 metric tons (1985 est.); marine product exports, $533 million (1985)

catch 2.34 million metric tons (1984); exports $337 million (1982)

GDP

$2.7 billion (1985), $11,300 per capita; 60.4% private consumption, 21.4% private investment, 17.9% public consumption, 4.3% net export of goods and services; change in stockbuilding —0.5%; real growth rate -5.5% (1983)

GNP

$190 billion (FY85/86 at current prices), $250 per capita; real growth 4% (FY85/86 est.)

Imports

$904 million (c.i.f., 1985); machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, textiles

$15.0 billion (c.i.f., FY85/86); machinery and transport equipment, petroleum, edible oils, fertilizers

Major industries

fish processing, aluminum smelting, diatomite production, hydroelectricity

textiles, food processing, steel, machinery, transportation equipment, cement, jute manufactures

Major trade partners

(1985) exports — EC 39.3% (UK 18.0%, FRG 8.3%), 27.0% US, 9.0% LDC, 6.7% USSR; imports— EC 49.5% (FRG 13.3%, Denmark 9.1%, UK 9.6%), LDC 23.0%, USSR 8.0%, US 6.8%

US, UK, USSR,

Monetary conversion rate

40.72 kronur=US$l (November 1986)

Natural resources

fish, hydroelectric and geothermal power, diatomite

coal, iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, chromite, natural gas

Shortages

grains, sugar, vegetables and vegetable fibers, fuel, wood, minerals

Airfields

95 total; 16 with runways 2,500 m or longer

100 total, 93 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Hungarian People's Army, Frontier Guard, Air and Air Defense Command

Police, Coast Guard

Civil air

22 major transport aircraft

20 major transport aircraft

Freight carried

rail— 117.0 million metric tons, 22.3 billion metric tons/km; highway— 554.5 million metric tons, 11.9 billion metric tons/km; waterway — est. 12.5 million metric tons, 9.5 billion metric tons/km (public and private use) (1984)

Highways

140,000 km total; 29,633 km concrete, asphalt, stone block; 58,495 km country roads (66 percent unpaved), and 51,872 km other roads (70 percent unpaved) (1985)

12,343 km total; 166 km bitumen and concrete; 1,284 km bituminous treated and gravel; 10,893 km earth

Inland waterways

1,622 km (1983)

Military budget

announced for fiscal year ending 31 December 1986, 25.1 billion forints; 4.2% of total budget Greenland Sea Hafnarfjordhur North Atlantic Ocean Stt regional m«p V

Military manpower

males 15-49, 2,595,000; 2,077,000 fit for military service; about 77,000 reach military age (18) annually

males 15-49, 64,000; 58,000 fit for military service (Iceland has no conscription or compulsory military service) Bay of Bengal • • Calicut ( \ Mldurai Laccadive \ • / Sea \y See region*! map VIII Andaman I Islands I' Nicobar •; Islands \

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,160 km; refined products, 600 km; natural gas, 3,732 km (1984)

Ports

1 major (Reykjavik), 3 secondary (Akureyri, Hafnarfjordhur, Seydhisfjordhur), and numerous minor

Railroads

7,766 km total; 7,510 km 1.435meter standard gauge, 221 km narrow gauge (mostly 0.760-meter), 35 km 1.524meter broad gauge, 1,130 km double track, 1,801 km electrified; government owned (1984)

none

River ports

2 principal (Budapest, Dunaujvaros); no maritime ports; outlets are Rostock, GDR; Gdansk, Gdynia, and Szczecin in Poland; and Gala{i and Braila in Romania

Telecommunications

12 AM, 11 FM, 20 TV stations; 8 Soviet TV relays; 2,848,000 TV sets; 5,500,000 receiver sets; at least 1 satellite ground station Defense Forces

adequate domestic service, wire and radio communication system; 135,000 telephones (52.5 per 100 popl.); 4 AM, 33 FM, 129 TV stations; 2 submarine cables; 1 satellite station with 2 Atlantic Ocean antennas Defense Forces