Country Analysis Report - Iceland - In-depth PESTLE Insights

The country analysis report on Iceland provides a wide array of analytical inputs to analyze the country’s performance, and the objective is to help the reader to make business decisions and prepare for the future. The report on Iceland analyzes the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) structure of Iceland . The report provides a holistic view of Iceland from historical, current and future perspective. Insightful analysis on critical current and future issues is presented through detailed SCPT (strengths, challenges, prospects and threats /risks) analysis for each of the PESTLE segments. In addition, the PESTLE segments are supplemented with relevant quantitative data to support trend analysis. The PESTLE country analysis report series provides an in-depth analysis of 50 major countries.

• Understanding gained from the country analysis report on Iceland can be used to plan business investments or market entry apart from a holistic view of the country. • Political section on Iceland provides inputs about the political system, key figures in the country, and governance indicators. • Economic section on Iceland outlines the economic story of the country to provide a balanced assessment on core macro-economic issues. • Social section on Iceland enables understanding of customer demographics through the income distribution, rural-urban segmentation and centres of affluence, healthcare and educational scenario in the country. • Technological section on Iceland provides strategic inputs on information communications and technology, technological laws and policies, technological gaps, patents data and relevant laws. • Legal section on Iceland provides information about the legal structure, corporate laws, business set-up procedures and the tax regime. • Environmental section provides information on environmental policies in Iceland and the performance in terms of important environmental indicators.

PESTLE analysis of Iceland identifies issues that affect the country’s performance through the prism of current strengths (strengths), current challenges (weaknesses), future prospects (opportunities) and future risks (threats). The political landscape discusses the evolution of the political scenario in Iceland in different periods. The economic, social, foreign and defence policies are considered in the political landscape section. It also discusses the performance of the country as per World Bank Governance Indicators. The economic landscape describes the evolution of the economy of Iceland in different periods. It also examines the country’s performance in terms of GDP growth, composition by sector (agriculture, industry and services), fiscal situation, international investment position, monetary situation, credit disbursement, banking sector and employment. The economic landscape also explains the financial system in the country, especially with regard to financial authorities/regulators. The social landscape covers the demographics, education and healthcare scenario in Iceland . The social welfare policies of the government along with the country’s performance in terms of healthcare, income distribution and education are also provided. The technological landscape discusses the structure and policies in terms of Intellectual property, research & development, technology agreements/pacts; and policies related to the promotion of technology in Iceland . The legal landscape examines the structure of the judicial system, legislation affecting businesses, tax regulations, labor laws, trade regulations and corporate governance in Iceland . The environmental landscape in Iceland discusses the environmental regulations and policies of the country. The performance of the country in terms of in terms of environmental indicators and impact of environmental policies is also examined.

"Economic growth remained relatively robust during 2000–07 (around 4.1%), except for in 2002, largely due to strong consumer spending and favorable international prices for the country's exported commodities. The growth rate fell from the 4.3% recorded in 2000 to -0.01% in 2002. It rose to 7.6% in 2004, and remained stable at 7.25% in 2005. However, the growth rate fell to 4.4% in 2006 and further fell to around 1% in 2008. Iceland's economy plunged into crisis in 2008–09 following the implosion of its banking system in 2008 and has only just begun to inch out of recession. The economy contracted by over 6.8% in 2009 and by 3.4% in 2010. Positive growth is expected from 2011 out to 2013."

• What is the outlook in terms of political stability, policies towards businesses, external front and popularity of government in Iceland ? • What is the economic performance of Iceland in terms of GDP growth, fiscal situation, international investment position, monetary situation, credit disbursement, and employment among other economic indicators? • What is the performance of Iceland in terms of healthcare, income distribution and education? • What is the performance of Iceland in technology intensive sectors like telecommunications and information technology, patents and R&D expenditure trends? • What is the legal structure in Iceland and are the laws conducive for investment? • What is the performance of Iceland in terms of environmental indicators and impact of environmental policies?

Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview
Catalyst
Summary
Key Facts and Geographic Location
Key facts
Geographical location
PESTLE Analysis
Summary
Political analysis
Economic analysis
Social analysis
Technological analysis
Legal analysis
Environmental analysis
Political Landscape
Summary
Evolution
Structure and policies
Performance
Outlook
Economic Landscape
Summary
Evolution
Structure and policies
Performance
Outlook
Social Landscape
Summary
Evolution
Structure and policies
Performance
Outlook
Technological Landscape
Summary
Evolution
Structure and policies
Performance
Outlook
Legal Landscape
Summary
Evolution
Structure and policies
Performance
Outlook
Environmental Landscape
Summary
Evolution
Structure and policies
Performance
Outlook
Appendix
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Disclaimer

TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Map of Iceland
Figure 2: Iceland – key political events timeline
Figure 3: Iceland – key political figures
Figure 4: Distribution of seats, by political parties, in the April 2009 elections
Figure 5: Evolution of GDP growth in Iceland, 1991–2010
Figure 6: GDP and GDP growth rate of Iceland (constant prices), 2004–14f
Figure 7: Sector-specific GDP in Iceland, 2010
Figure 8: Agricultural output in Iceland, 2005–10
Figure 9: Industrial output in Iceland, 2005–10
Figure 10: Services output in Iceland, 2005–10
Figure 11: Iceland’s external trade position, 2006–10
Figure 12: Consumer price index and CPI-based inflation in Iceland, 2004–14f
Figure 13: Major religions in Iceland
Figure 14: Healthcare expenditure in Iceland, 2002–13f
Figure 15: Education expenditure in Iceland, 2002–13f
Figure 16: Growth of fixed and mobile phones in Iceland, 2002–13f
Figure 17: Internet users in Iceland, 2002–13f
Figure 18: Carbon dioxide emissions in Iceland, 2002–13f

TABLE OF TABLES
Table 1: Iceland – key fundamentals
Table 2: Iceland – key facts
Table 3: Analysis of Iceland’s political landscape
Table 4: Analysis of Iceland’s economic landscape
Table 5: Analysis of Iceland’s social landscape
Table 6: Analysis of Iceland’s technology landscape
Table 7: Analysis of Iceland’s legal landscape
Table 8: Analysis of Iceland’s environmental landscape
Table 9: Mid-year population, by age (millions), 2010
Table 10: International environmental treaties signed and ratified by Iceland

Related research categories

By market: Iceland (in Europe)