Status: Free
Legal Environment: 1
Political Influences: 3
Economic Pressures: 4
Total Score: 8
Population: n/a
GNI/capita: n/a
Life Expectancy: 80
Religious Groups: Evangelical Lutheran (87.1 percent), other Protestant (4.1 percent), Roman Catholic (1.7 percent), other (7.1 percent)
Ethnic Groups: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts (94 percent), population of foreign origin (6 percent)
Capital: Reykjavik
Iceland has an exceptionally open and free media environment. The constitution and governing institutions provide strong guarantees for freedom of expression. Freedom of information legislation has been in place since 1996. There are three national newspapers as well as a number of local papers; independent and party-affiliated newspapers offer a variety of perspectives. The country has five national television stations, one of which is public. An autonomous board of directors oversees the state broadcasting service. Internet access is open and unrestricted. More than 80 percent of the population accesses the Internet from home.
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