Where is Iceland located?

(Show more) Iceland, island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, and culture.

When was Iceland founded?

Iceland was founded more than 1,000 years ago during the Viking age of exploration and settled by a mixed Norse and Celtic population. The early settlement, made up primarily of Norwegian seafarers and adventurers, fostered further excursions to Greenland and the coast of North America (which the Norse called Vinland).

Is Iceland a homogeneous country?

The population of Iceland is extremely homogeneous. The inhabitants are descendants of settlers who began arriving in ad 874 and continued in heavy influx for about 60 years thereafter. Historians differ on the exact origin and ethnic composition of the settlers but agree that between 60 and 80 percent of them were of Nordic stock from Norway.

Is Iceland a monolingual country?

That’s because Iceland is by and large a monolingual country, even if most Icelanders can speak multiple other languages beyond their official tongue. The official language of Iceland is Icelandic, which is spoken by at least 300,000 of the 336,000 people who live there (if not more).