The Country
Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and the most sparsely populated country in Europe. It's the only part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly.
The settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD with the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson. In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, emigrated to Iceland, bringing with them slaves of Gaelic origin. Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. The establishment of the Kalmar Union in 1397 united the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Iceland thus followed Norway's integration into that union, coming under Danish rule after Sweden's secession from the union in 1523. The Danish kingdom forcefully introduced Lutheranism to Iceland in 1550.
Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918 with the establishment of the Kingdom of Iceland. Iceland voted to become a republic in 1944. It became a part of the European Economic Area in 1994.
In 2020, it was ranked as the fourth-most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index, and it ranks first on the Global Peace Index. Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy.