Economy
The government remains opposed to EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources. Iceland's economy has been diversifying into manufacturing and service industries in the last decade, and new developments in software production, biotechnology, and financial services are taking place. The tourism sector is also expanding, with the recent trends in ecotourism and whale-watching. Growth is likely to slow in 1999, to a still respectable 4.6%.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$6.06 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 5.1% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$22,400 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 24%
services: 63% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1998)
Labor force: 130,000 (1998 est.)
Labor force—by occupation: manufacturing 12.9%, fishing and fish processing 11.8%, construction 10.7%, other services 59.5%, agriculture 5.1% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate: 3% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.9 billion
expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $146 million (1996 est.)
Industries: fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production, geothermal power; tourism
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: 5.048 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 0.06%
hydro: 93.43%
nuclear: 0%
other: 6.51%
Electricity—consumption: 5.532 billion kWh (1997)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: potatoes, turnips; cattle, sheep; fish
Exports: $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: fish and fish products 70%, animal products, aluminum, diatomite and ferrosilicon
Exports—partners: EU 60% (UK 19%, Germany 13%, France 6%, Denmark 6%), US 14% (1997)
Imports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles
Imports—partners: EU 58% (Germany 12%, Norway 12%, UK 10%, Denmark 9%, Sweden 7%), US 9% (1997)
Debt—external: $2.2 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 Icelandic krona (IKr) = 100 aurar
Exchange rates: Icelandic kronur (IKr) per US$1—69.250 (January 1999), 70.958 (1998), 70.904 (1997), 66.500 (1996), 64.692 (1995), 69.944 (1994)