To which language should you translate to localize in Iceland?
LANGUAGE INSIGHT
Official language
Icelandic (95.7%)
Actual languages
Icelandic (95.7%), other (4.3%)
What the top 150 best localized websites in the world do in Iceland
(Top 150 websites listed in the Global by Design ranking – published annually by Byte Level Research, this report provides a list of globally localized websites, showcasing best practices and emerging trends in their globalization)
32/150 localize by translating into Icelandic
1/150 localizes by translating into both German and French
Imports $7.73 billion (2021). Aluminium Oxide ($508M), Cars ($487M), Carbon-based Electronics ($452M), Refined Petroleum ($446M), and Packaged Medicaments ($216M), importing mostly from Norway ($858M), Denmark ($749M), Netherlands ($722M), Germany ($693M), and China ($537M).
Ease of doing business It is very easy to conduct business (79 out of 100) ranked 16th out of 34 OECD high income countries, and ranked 26th out of 190 countries worldwide (2022, World Bank).
Main local online stores Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, Elko and Ikea.
Economic freedom ‘Mostly free’ (rated 72.2 out of 100). Ranked 13th out of 44 European countries. Ranked 19th out of 186 countries worldwide (2022, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal).
Exports $6.76 billion (2021). Raw Aluminium ($2.5B), Fish Fillets ($1.06B), Non-fillet Fresh Fish ($449M), Non-fillet Frozen Fish ($439M), and Fish: dried, salted, smoked or in brine ($278M), exporting mostly to Netherlands ($1.65B), Spain ($704M), Germany ($661M), United Kingdom ($577M), and United States ($492M).
Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of age) • 100% have an account with a financial institution • 74% have a credit card
Global Innovation Index Ranked 12th out of 39 European countries, 20th out of 132 worldwide.
The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.
Specialization is measured using Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), an index that takes the ratio between Iceland observed and expected exports in each product.
This score represents the likelihood that the given country will start importing that product in the next few years. It forecasts the opening of a new specific market.
Market Growth Exports (2019)
This score represents the likelihood that the given country will start exporting that product in the next few years. It forecasts the opening of a new specific market.
Information channels National public radio and TV is provided by the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV), which is owned by the state. The RUV is tasked with promoting the Icelandic language and culture. It is funded from a licence fee and advertising revenue. Media ownership is highly concentrated. The 365 company runs the main private TV and radio stations and the highest-circulating newspaper, Frettabladid. The constitution guarantees “absolute” press freedom, but the situation for journalists has worsened in recent years because of poor relations between politicians and the media, says Reporters Without Borders. Legislation passed in 2010 aims to give more protection to journalists and whistleblowers than any other such law in the world. A 2019 study, based on OECD data, found that Iceland had the highest level of online news consumption, with about 93% of the population getting news updates online, rather than traditional media.
Share of web traffic by device 42.52% mobile phones, 55.70% computers (laptops and desktops), 1.77% tablet devices, others 0.02%
Mobile connection as a percentage of total population:130.6%
Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G):93%
Mostpopular web search engines Google (94.13%), Bing (3.61%), DuckDuckGo (1.1%), Yahoo (0.65%), Yandex (0.22%), Other (0.3%)
Most used social media Facebook (79.5%), Twitter (6.27%), Instagram (6.24%), Pinterest (5.45%), Reddit (1.07%), YouTube (0.88%), Tumblr (0.32%), Other (0.29%)
Corruption perceptions Index Iceland scored 74 out of 100, ranked 14 out of 180 countries worldwide.
CO2 emissions 3.9 metric tons per capita
World Happiness Index Iceland ranked 3rd out of 146 countries, with a score of 7.557
Current education expenditure 94.3% of total expenditure in public institutions
Current health expenditure 9.65% of GDP (2018)
Glass Ceiling Index 78.7 out 100, ranked 2nd out of 29 countries.
The glass-ceiling index measures the environment for working women combining data on higher education, labor-force participation, pay, child-care costs, maternity and paternity rights, business-school applications, and representation in senior jobs.
The Data Factbook is a work in progress project. Our community is helping us to fill it up always with new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write your advices at imminent@translated.com
Languages research
Languages and dialects spoken in Iceland
The geographical distribution of languages that you will find in the maps published in this section is a work in progress. Our community is helping us to fill it up with always new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write to imminent.factbook@translated.com
Photo credit: Evelyn Paris, Unsplash
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