o fluctuations in world prices for its main
exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon.
Government policies include reducing the budget and current account
deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising
agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and
privatizing state-owned industries. 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 had been remarkably steady in 1996-2001 at
3%-5%, but could not be sustained in 2002 in an environment of
global recession. Growth resumed in 2003, and estimates call for
strong growth until 2007, slowly dropping until the end of the
decade.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$9.373 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.8% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $31,900 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 9.6%
services: 79.2% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
158,100 (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture, fishing and fish processing 10.3%, industry 18.3%,
services 71.4% (2003)

Unemployment rate:
3.1% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
23.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.154 billion
expenditures: $4.058 billion, including capital expenditures of $467
million (2004 est.)

Public debt:
35.9% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, green vegetables, mutton, dairy products, fish

Industries:
fish processing; aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon production,
geothermal power; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
8.8% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
8.271 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 0.1%
hydro: 82.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 17.5% (geothermal) (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
7.692 billion kWh (2002)

Electric