Country of the World Iceland

About the country Iceland, its location, size, population, leaders and rulers.

NATIONS AND THEIR RULERS

ICELAND

Size: 39,768 sq. mi. (103,000 sq. km.).

Population: 223,000.

Independent since severing ties with Denmark in 1944, this largely unspoiled island in the North Atlantic has been plagued by labor unrest in recent years, including a 1977 strike by civil servants which isolated Iceland from the rest of the world for two weeks. With no armed forces, Iceland relies on NATO, specifically the U. S., for protection.