The Press Market in Iceland

Iceland is an island in the northern Atlantic Ocean, lying in the juncture of tectonic plates and reaching to the Arctic Circle, midway between the continents of Europe and North America. The population of Iceland is 300.000. It is by no means self-evident that such a sparse island population on the fringe of the world should be able to create a modern welfare society with one of the highest standards of living in the world. Reykjavík is the capital, with over half of the population living in the surrounding area. The language spoken is Icelandic. It is a Germanic-language, more precisely a West-Nordic language. The centuries- old, unbroken habit of writing in the native language gave it an invaluable foundation. This explains how Icelanders today can read the medieval literature of the country without much difficulty.The Sagas of Icelanders are doubtless the best-known works from the medieval period, and are considered to be Icelands chief contribution to world literature. English is now the first foreign language taught in schools. Most Icelanders find it comparatively easy to express themselves in at least one foreign language. Iceland is in the same position as many other small countries in regards to domestic publication. There has been great development in this industry in the past and the cost of publication is very high when the market is this small. There are between 20 – 30 monthly Icelandic on the market, and 3 local daily newspapers. Newspapers are mainly distributed through home delivery (86%) with single copy sales playing only a minor role (14%). In Iceland seven hundred imported titles from eight different countries are available on the market. The main share of imported publications is made up by English-language publications, followed by Danish. The good news for 2007 is that VAT was decreased from 14% on magazines to 7% on March 1. It is believed that this measure will lead to an increase in sales for both domestic and imported press.

With the kind contribution of Rans`y Bender, Penninn - IB Press