Population 315,300 (estimate at July 2013) Life expectancy at birth: 78.9 years (male), 83.4 years female (2013 estimate)
Ethnic groups – Icelandic 93.4% (a homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts), Polish 2.8%, others 3.7%. Languages – Icelandic is the de facto national language (derived from a western dialect of Old Norse), but no language is designated as official. Icelandic Sign Language was officially recognised by law in 2011 for the Icelandic deaf community. Danish is a minority language and has been spoken for at least two hundred years, but does not have a recognised status. Historically Gaelic was the native language of many of the early Icelanders; Norse language later became dominant. Religion – Religious commitment is quite low, but registered as Church of Iceland 76.2%, other Christian denominations 11.3%, non-Christian 1.4% (data estimated in 2013) Education expenditure – 7.6% of GDP (2010) Population issues Youth unemployment (ages 15-24) – 13.6% (2010) Population below poverty line – not measured
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