Historical dictionary of Iceland

"Although Iceland is the second-largest inhabited island in Europe, with 313,000 inhabitants in 2007, it is one of the smallest independent nations in the world. Approximately two-thirds of the population lives in the capital, Reykjavik, and its suburbs; the rest is spread across the country. Until fairly recently, the Icelandic nation was unusually homogeneous, both culturally and religiously; in 1981, nearly 98 percent of the nation was born in Iceland, and 96 percent belonged to the Lutheran state church or other Lutheran religious sects. By 2007, however, these numbers dropped to 89 and 86 percent, respectively, reflecting the rapidly growing multicultural nature of Icelandic society." "This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Iceland traces Iceland's history and provides a future outlook through a chronology, introductory essays, appendixes, a map, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important people, places, events, and institutions and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of Iceland."--BOOK JACKET.