what country does iceland belong to?
Iceland
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 Icelanders have had a tumultuous history . Development of the island was slow due to a lack of interest from the countries controlling it for most of its history : Norway , Denmark – Norway , and ultimately Denmark . Through this time , Iceland had relatively little contact with the outside world . The island became independent in union with Denmark in 1918 . Since 1944 , Iceland has been a republic , and Icelandic society has undergone a rapid modernisation process in the post @-@ independence era . 

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 Icelanders are a Germanic ethnic group and nation , native to Iceland . 

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 Iceland gained near @-@ full independence in 1918 after World War I , and retained only formal ties with the Danish Crown . This move to independence was completed on 17 June 1944 on what would have been Jón Sigurðsson 's 133rd birthday . After a national referendum , Iceland broke all ties with Denmark , after nearly six centuries of Danish rule , and declared itself independent . 

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 On 17 June 1944 , when the Icelandic republic was founded , the Icelanders became independent from the Danish monarchy . The language spoken is Icelandic , a North Germanic language , and Lutheranism is the predominant religion . Historical and DNA records indicate that around 60 to 80 percent of the settlers were of Norse origin ( primarily from Western Norway ) and the rest were of Celtic stock from Ireland and peripheral Scotland . 

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 Iceland was under Norwegian leadership until 1380 , when the Royal House of Norway died out . At this point , both Iceland and Norway came under the control of the Danish Crown . With the introduction of absolute monarchy in Denmark , the Icelanders relinquished their autonomy to the crown , including the right to initiate and consent to legislation . This meant a loss of independence for Iceland , which led to nearly 300 years of decline : perhaps largely because Denmark and its Crown did not consider Iceland to be a colony to be supported and assisted . In particular , the lack of help in defense led to constant raids by marauding pirates along the Icelandic coasts . 
