Mind-Blowing Iceland Facts to Make You Fall in Love with the Country
Defying Last Names
Names play a very important role in Icelandic culture. Unlike many other countries where people use family surnames, Icelanders use patronymic last names, which consist of their father’s first name and a suffix for daughter or son, similar to the Arab naming tradition. Everyone in the country is referred to by their first name, regardless of their profession.
Women keep their original names when they marry and if they change their surnames when they move abroad, they have to revert back when they return to Iceland. The National Registry even allows people to have more than one name if they want to make it longer or unique.
Iceland Has The Highest Movie-Watching Per Capita
Living in Iceland, where winter days are short and the weather is often harsh, can be a challenge. But its citizens have found a way to cope – by watching movies. These citizens watch about 3.2 movies per person per year according to a 2019 research by Motion Picture Association of America.
Iceland has a deep love for the cinematic arts, which is reflected in its own creative output. With more writers per capita than anywhere else, one in ten citizens have published a book in their lifetime. The country is also home to the oldest film festival in the world, Reykjavik International Film Festival, which was established in 1978.
Trendsetter in Gender Equality
Iceland is a trendsetter in the area of gender equality. Women here are thriving, and many of them are business owners and are challenging traditional gender roles. The country uses street signs featuring women working on the road which is a break away from the norms worldwide.
For nine years in a row, the World Economic Forum has named this country as the most gender-equal country in the world. Half of its parliamentarians are women and for two decades out of the last half-century, it has had a female president. In 2020, it became the first country that made it illegal to pay men more than women.
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