Among the many social, professional, and service organizations in Iceland are the Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA and YWCA, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the Iceland Sport Association, the Federation of Icelandic Cooperative Societies, lodges of the Order of the Good Templar (temperance societies), Kiwanis, the Lion's Club, the Employers' Federation, the Association of Steam Trawler Owners, and the Union of Icelandic Fish Producers.

Notable national youth organizations include the Federation of Young Progressives, Independence Party Youth Organization, National Council of Icelandic Youth, National Union of Icelandic Students, Social Democratic Youth Federation, Youth Movement of the People's Alliance, and The Icelandic Boy and Girl Scouts Association.

Learned societies include the Icelandic Archaeological Society, the Icelandic Historical Society, the Icelandic Literary Society, the Music Society, the Icelandic Natural History Society, and the Agricultural Association. There are also the Icelandic Artists' Association, the Iceland Association of Pictorial Artists, the Icelandic Actors' Association, the Icelandic Musicians' Association, the Icelandic Composers' Society, the Icelandic Architects' Association, and the Icelandic Writers' Association. Among other cultural organizations are the Icelandic-American Society, the Danish Society, the Danish-Icelandic Society, the Anglo-Icelandic Society, the Alliance Française, the Nordic Society, and the Union of Women's Societies.

Famous early Icelanders were Eric the Red (Eiríkur Thorvaldsson), who discovered and colonized Greenland in 982, and his son Leif Ericsson (Leifur Eiríksson, b.970), who introduced Christianity to Greenland and discovered the North American continent (c.1000). Two famous patriots and statesmen were Bishop Jón Arason (1484–1550), who led the fight for liberty against the power of the Danish king, and Jón Sigursson (1811–79), Iceland's national hero, champion of the fight for independence. Vigdís Finnbogadottír (b.1930) served four consecutive terms as president from 1980 to 1996, becoming the first female elected to the presidency of any republic.

Prominent writers were Ari Thorgilsson (1067–1148), father of Icelandic historical writing; Snorri Sturluson (1178–1241), author of the famous Prose Edda , a collection of Norse myths; and Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–74), author of Iceland's beloved Passion Hymns. Leading poets include Bjarni Thorarensen (1786–1841) and Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807–45), pioneers of the Romantic movement in Iceland; Matthías Jochumsson (1835–1920), author of Iceland's national anthem; Thorsteinn Erlingsson (1858–1914), lyricist; Einar Hjörleifsson Kvaran (1859–1939), a pioneer of realism in Icelandic literature and an outstanding short-story writer; Einar Benediktsson (1864–1940), ranked as one of the greatest modern Icelandic poets; Jóhann Sigurjónsson (1880–1919), who lived much of his life in Denmark and wrote many plays based on Icelandic history and legend, as well as poetry; and the novelist Halldór Kiljan Laxness (1902–98), who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1955.

Niels Ryberg Finsen (1860–1904), a physician who pioneered in the field of light (ray) therapy, received the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1903. Stefán Stefánsson (1863–1921) was the pioneer Icelandic botanist. Helgi Pjeturss (1872–1949), geologist and philosopher, was an authority on the Ice Age and the geology of Iceland. Einar Jónsson (1874–1954), Iceland's greatest sculptor, is represented in European and American museums.

In 1997 there were 168,000 main line telephones and 65,746 mobile cellular phones. Radio and radiotelephone communications are maintained with Europe and America and an underwater telegraph cable connects Iceland with Europe. The telephone, telegraph, and radio systems are publicly owned and administered. Icelandic radio broadcasts primarily on FM, via numerous public and private stations. Television was initiated in 1966. As of 1999 there were 5 AM and 147 FM radio stations and 14 television stations. In 1997 there were 260,000 radios and 98,000 television sets throughout the country.

There are five daily newspapers, four of which are published in Reykjavík. Nondaily newspapers are published in Reykjavík and other towns. Various popular and scholarly periodicals are published in Reykjavík.

The law prohibits the production, showing, distribution, and/ or sale of violent movies, which are defined as containing scenes depicting the mistreatment or the brutal killing of men or animals. The Motion Picture Review Committee, which includes six members, is appointed by the Minister of Education and Culture to review all movies before they are shown. The committee also rates the films based on their suitability for children. By their evaluation, the committee may ban a film or require edits before its release.

The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government is said to respect these rights in practice.

The Director of Public Health is responsible for all health matters. Iceland had 2.8 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants in 1992. In 1998 there were roughly 3.3 physicians, 8.7 nurses, 0.9 midwives, 1.1 dentists, and 0.8 pharmacists per 1,000 people. In the 1990s there were an estimated 53 hospitals, with 3,985 beds. Two-thirds of the beds were in nursing and senior living homes, with the remaining one-third in hospitals. As of 1991, 93% of all health bills were paid by public insurance. Public expenditures on health were among the highest in industrialized countries at 19.3% of total public expenditures during 1989–1991.

There were 5,000 births in 1992. As of 2002, Iceland had estimated birth and death rates of, respectively, 14.4 and 6.9 per 1,000 people. Life expectancy was estimated at 79.7 years, among the highest in the world and highest among the Nordic countries. Infant mortality in 2002 was estimated at 3.5 per 1,000 live births. The total fertility rate was two children per woman during her childbearing years. The incidence of tuberculosis, once widespread, has been greatly reduced. Leprosy, also common in earlier times, has been virtually eliminated, with no new cases reported in recent decades. In 1998, 99% of Iceland's children were immunized against measles. There were two reported cases of AIDS and 10 cases of tuberculosis in 1998. The number of AIDS cases per 100,000 people was 1.1 in 1994. As of 1999, there were an estimated 200 people living with HIV/ AIDS and fewer than 100 deaths from the disease.

The major causes of death per 100,000 population in 1993 were as follows: circulatory system diseases, 294.3; cerebrovascular disease 67.0; malignant neoplasms (cancers) 170.8; and diseases of the respiratory system 88.6.

There is virtually no adult illiteracy. Education is compulsory for children ages 6 to 16. In 1997, there were 29,342 students enrolled in 193 primary schools. In 1996, secondary schools enrolled approximately 31,000 students. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 11 to 1 in 1999. In the same year, all (100%) of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school, while 76% of those eligible attended secondary school. Special schools include a commercial high school, a school of navigation, two schools of agriculture, and continuation schools. The University of Iceland in Reykjavík, founded in 1911, has faculties of law and economics, theology, medicine and dentistry, philosophy (art and humanities), and engineering. Tuition is free; only nominal registration and examination fees must be paid. In 1997, post-secondary institutions had a combined enrollment of 7,908 students.

In some remote rural areas, a system of "alternate teaching" is in effect. This allows children to study intensively for a week or two at a boarding school, then return home for the same period of time. There are three main types of secondary schools: grammar schools, comprehensive high schools and vocational schools. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 7.1% of GDP.

The leading libraries, all in Reykjavík, are the National University Library (founded in 1918; 700,000 volumes), the City Library of Reykjavik (425,000 volumes), and the National Archives, which contains a collection of documents covering 800 years of Icelandic history. There were a total of 187 public libraries with combined holdings of 1.9 million volumes in 1997.

Iceland has more than 50 museums. The important museums, also all in Reykjavík, are the Icelandic National Museum (founded in 1863), the Natural History Museum (1889), and a museum devoted to the sculptures and paintings of Einar Jónsson. Also in the capital are the National Gallery of Iceland, the Living Art Museum, and the Sigurjón Ólaffson Museum, among others.

The national government and some local governments are involved in trawler fishing, herring processing, merchant shipping, electric power facilities, and certain other industries. To a considerable degree, the central government supervises the export-import trade and the fishing and fish-processing industries. It may set uniform prices of export commodities and may shift export and import trade to specific countries as balance-of-payments considerations require. It channels investment funds into fields it considers desirable.

The government supports farmers in the rebuilding or enlarging of their homes, livestock sheds, and barns, and assists them in the purchase of machinery. Equipped with crawler tractors and excavators, a government agency helps farmers enlarge cultivated areas and break, drain, and level new lands for the establishment of homesteads. Thousands of new acres have thus been brought under cultivation.

The government fixes prices of essential foods and other basic consumption items and subsidizes them, both to limit prices for the consumer and to maintain farm incomes. It also fixes markups that manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and importers may place on a wide variety of products.

In the early 1990s, the government concentrated on maintaining the value of the króna by bringing down inflation, even at the cost of economic growth. Wage gains were restricted. In late 1992, plans were made public for a Fisheries Development Fund that would buy and scrap unneeded vessels and thereby promote efficiency. The Fund would also be used to help firms establish joint ventures abroad and buy fishing rights. Plans were also under way to sell several state-owned companies, with the money used for research and development and reducing the deficit. Entry into the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1994 and the Uruguay Round brought increased trade liberalization and foreign investment. The country experienced rapid economic growth during the late 1990s, but high domestic spending led to a widening current account deficit that peaked at 10% of GDP in 2000.

The economy went into recession in 2001, and inflation rose. The government tightened monetary and fiscal policy that brought inflation down, but GDP growth remained negative in 2002. The government adopted a floating exchange rate for the króna in March 2001. Gross external debt amounted to 130% of GDP at the end of 2002. The government is looking to diversify exports, which is expected to stabilize the economy.