12 coolest fun facts about Iceland, its culture, and people

Iceland is a stunning country, blessed with incredible landscapes. Other than being naturally beautiful, Iceland is an epitome of equality. It appears in international media often for positive reasons. Be it the response to a pandemic like Corona, its gender equality laws, or the beautiful display of Icelandic spirit in the football World/Euro Cup! It is the culture and the people that make it one of my favorite countries in the world. Let me tell you some of the most interesting fun facts about Iceland.

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The Viking clap

Iceland is a proud country that supports its players. Even with such a small population, they have been tagged the dark horses of the Euro Cup 2016 and World Cup 2018. Most of their football team players are not even full-time players, they have their day jobs and play football part-time. Almost 10% of the whole population went to Russia to support their team at the World Cup 2018. 99.6% of the country watched the match when this tiny island country stopped Argentinia to a historic 1-1 draw. The striker, Alfred Finnbogason – who scored Iceland’s goal – joked on Twitter that the other 0.4 percent were playing on the pitch. And the best part is the deafening standing ovation they give to their team, be it in the stadium or when they return back.

Literacy rates and love for books

Iceland is a nation of bookworms. Being such a small country, it has the highest number of books read per person. Not only that, but another mindblowing fact about Iceland is also that one in every ten Icelanders publishes their own book. Books are considered the best Christmas present (I think I should move there! Soon!) to an extent that there is a term in Icelandic called jólabókaflóð, the Christmas book flood. It refers to the large number of books published just before Christmas.

Icelandic horses

“There is no more sagacious animal than the Icelandic horse. He is stopped by neither snow, nor storm, nor impassable roads, nor rocks, glaciers, or anything. He is courageous, sober, and surefooted. He never makes a false step, never shies. If there is a river or fjord to cross (and we shall meet with many) you will see him plunge in at once, just as if he were amphibious, and gain the opposite bank.” -Jules Verne

Yes! Horses, not ponies! Very sensitive in Iceland. Icelandic horses are considered one of the purest breeds of horses in the world. So pure that if a horse leaves Iceland, it is not allowed to be brought back. Serious business here, dude! They show 5 different gaits compared to three gaits in other horses. One of its gaits, known as Tölt, is considered to be the most stable gait to ride. So stable that people have beer carrying sport on them. Yes! Beer in glasses while riding horses! I am not kidding here as well. You can also experience this gait yourself, sans alcohol though, at this highly-rated horse riding tour on the volcanic landscapes in Iceland.

Anti-incest App

“Bump the app before you bump in bed.” Believe it or not, it is the promotional motto of the Anti-incest app (ÍslendingaApp) in Iceland. With a small population of approx. 300000, Icelandic people have a high chance of being related to each other through the previous six or seven generations. This app was created to trace one’s forefathers and distant cousins (and to remind you if you forget your grandparents’ birthdays). Things got interesting when three software engineers took things in their hands by including an ‘anti-incest feature’ in the genealogy charts. To avoid the risk of kissing someone very close in the genetic tree, incest prevention alarm will notify you if you are getting too close to a distant relative (if both have downloaded the app). Well, we all know nothing good comes out of incest (Remember Joffrey from Game of Thrones?).

“Iceland sets a world record. The UN asked people from all over the world a series of questions. Iceland stuck out on one thing. When we were asked what do we believe, 90% said ‘ourselves’. I think I am in that group. If I get into trouble, there is no God or Allah to sort me out. I have to do it myself.” – Bjork

Incredible museums

Iceland has one of the best museums I have seen. Be it the settlement museum, open-air museum, the Viking saga museum, the whale exhibition, marine museum, or the phallological museum (yes, that’s the penis museum and yes they have whale penis as well). The sheer diversity in the museums blows my mind. They range from the early settlement to how a life transformed during the Viking era, the medieval time all the way to one of the most modern illustrations. Given how dark the arctic winter can get, having such great museums definitely provides a lot of indoor entertainment and family activities. If you intend to attend more than one of the museums listed above, I highly recommend getting the Reykjavik city card which grants you access to the museums either for free or at a discounted price (and included free public transport).

Elf school

Icelanders take their legends very seriously. Do you know that more than 50 % of people still believe in the folklore of Elves, the hidden people? What is even cooler is, there is an Elf School in Reykjavik where you can study about them and can have a diploma in Elf studies! Before you start booking your tickets already, let me tell you that this school offers classes or special sessions on Friday evenings and usually have one-day lessons only. Alternatively, you can also sign up for this guided tour in Reykjavik, focussed on elves, trolls, and other mythological legends.

Elf rights

If you are tipping off the Elfschool as a tourist trap, wait for a minute. You need to read this to understand how serious this Elf business is in Iceland. A road project was delayed by environmentalists and Elf advocates because it involved breaking a rock which was supposed to be Elf church. And no this did not happen 100 years ago but just a few years ago in 2013! Statements like “It will be a terrible loss and damaging both for the elf world and for us humans,”  made rounds in local and international newspapers.

“The problem with driving around Iceland is that you’re basically confronted by a new soul-enriching, breath-taking, life-affirming natural sight every five goddamn minutes. It’s totally exhausting.” – Stephen Markley

Post without name and address

How many times are you miffed with your post-service when the postman delivers it at the wrong address? Not in Iceland. It turns out that you do not even need the exact address or even name to get your letter delivered. A sender in Iceland drew a map and wrote helpful hints like: “A horse farm with an Icelandic/Danish couple and three kids and a lot of sheep!” and “the Danish woman works in a supermarket in Búðardalur” on a letter (pictured above). Thankfully the area has a low-residency of approx 300 people and postman actually took the effort of finding the family and delivering them the letter. Isn’t it insane? Don’t believe me? Read the article here.

Low crime rates

Iceland is one of the safest countries in the world. The first time Police had shot anyone EVER in the entire history of Iceland was in December 2013. Exactly. That is how safe Iceland is. Regular police do not even carry guns with them. Special squad named, Viking Squad (yes! You read it right, Viking squad) is the one that keeps guns but they are not usually called. No wonder you see cool photos of Police officers playing Darth Vader with kids or saving cats on the official Instagram account of Reykjavik Police. It is a delight. You have to see it! And while you are at it, find me there as well 🙂

“Consistently rated the most peaceable of all countries in the world by the Global Peace Index, Iceland has reduced its military expenditure to zero, has no armed forces, and has reduced the inequality gap between rich and poor” – Scilla Elworthy

Gender equality

Other than being one of the safest countries in the world, Iceland is also known for its remarkable gender equality culture. Gender equality has been an agenda in Iceland since the 1850s. Since then women had equal inheritance rights as men. Women got their right to vote already in 1915. While most of the countries are still struggling to have a balanced ration of genders at workspaces, Iceland boasts of having about 60-40 ratio. Other than that, Iceland is one of the first countries to have openly gay ministers in the government. Another interesting fun fact is that they once elected a comedian (No, I am not talking about Trump!) Jón Gnarr as the mayor of Reykjavik who promised them free towels in all the swimming pools and polar bear in the local zoo? His campaign started as a joke but eventually became a symbol of change!

“In Reykjavik, Iceland, where I was born, you are in the middle of nature surrounded by mountains and ocean. But you are still in a capital in Europe. So I have never understood why I have to choose between nature or urban” – Bjork

Environment-driven

Iceland is one of the few countries that rely heavily on renewable energy. Can you guess how much? 100%! Heating, electricity, everything is produced from renewable resources (Geothermal, hydropower, wind). It is the largest green energy producer per capita and the largest electricity producer per capita. You can see some of those plants on the Golden circle. But the most impressive thing is, when the government realized that excessive tourism is affecting the environment severely, they planned to backlash it via taxing the Airbnbs, making them more expensive. As I mentioned before Iceland is currently heavily dependent on tourism, but conservation of the environment is their first priority!

Tourism after bankruptcy

Iceland was on the verge of being bankrupt after the 2008 banking meltdown. But it bounced back and shifted its major economy to tourism and fishing! It was a win-win situation for everyone. Iceland got ways to earn money and people like us could finally travel around in Iceland (which, by the way, is still pretty expensive!).

What do you think?

Iceland is much more in terms of a nation than its beautiful and stunning landscapes. Its people, its history, and its culture make Iceland such a super cool country that many countries in the world can take inspiration from. Did you know these fun facts about Iceland? Which one did you find the most interesting?