Iceland In Regards To The United Nations Millennium Development Goals

#1: Ending Poverty and Hunger

•  The first goal in this section is to halve the proportion of people who live off of $1 or less per day. Iceland has done well in this area. Their at risk of poverty level was around 10% in 2004, a rather low statistic. Of those 10%, none are even close to an income at or around only $1 per day, considering their high average income. 
•  The second goal within this category is to have a productive employment force that is equal among men and women, young and old. For the past two years, Iceland’s unemployment rate has bobbed between 6% and 8%. This is higher than the country is used to and can be attributed to the economic crisis that affected most of the developed world around 2009. For the most part, though, this unemployment rate is on the low side. Men are slightly more prevalent in the work force than women, with 77% of the employment rate being men and 72.1% being women. Also, adults over age 24 have a lower unemployment rate but this can be contributed to the fact that most Icelanders go on to obtain university-level education rather than entering the work force after finishing primary or secondary schooling.
• The third goal is to halve the amount of the world suffering from hunger. The percent of Icelanders who suffer from being undernourished is less than 2.5%, which considering the size of their population is very few people. As long as the unemployment rate can continue to drop, this number should stay or fall below its current level.

#2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

• For this next goal, Iceland is doing outstandingly well. As of 2009 they had a total  net enrollment rate of 99.4% for boys and girls in primary schooling. Education in Iceland is not only a guaranteed right but is widespread and advanced throughout the country. They spend 7.4% of their GDP on education, a percent higher than most developed countries of the world. Also, Iceland has an impressive 99% literacy rate.

#3: Gender Equality

• This is another goal that Iceland is doing better in than most other countries. In 2010, the net enrollment primary enrollment rate was slightly higher for females than males, at 99.3% for males and 99.6% for females. The completion rates are similarly close for both sexes. In parliament, women accounted for 39.7% in 2012, a respectable percentage considering the rest of the world. More recently, Iceland has made history in gender equality. In 2009, Iceland elected their first ever female prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir. She is also openly gay, making it a first for country leaders among the world. All in all, Iceland is a global leader in gender equality. 

#4: Child Health

• This goal is to reduce by 2/3 the under-age-five mortality rate. The infant mortality rate is at a low 2.2 deaths per 1,000 persons, and the mortality rate for those under age five was estimated at 2 per 1,000 in 2010. No deaths were attributed to diarrhea, pneumonia or measles. Iceland has done well at achieving this goal and there is no reason that we should see a decline in progress in the future.

#5: Improve Maternal Health

• This goal is to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio and to achieve universal access to reproductive health. In 2010 there was an average of 5 per 100,000 maternal deaths. This low compared to the world average of 260 per 100,000. 
• The adolescent birth rate per 1,000 women was 14.6 in 2009, which is also on the low side. 
• Nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 persons are 158 which is a significant amount. 
• All in all, maternal health is faring well in Iceland and should continue to do so. There is little information about contraceptive use in Iceland, but considering how well educated women throughout the country are and their low birth rates, it is reasonable to assume that family planning methods are used.

#6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

• These goals consist of halting said diseases and achieving universal treatment. For Iceland, the average percent of people living with HIV/AIDS has never risen above .3%. The prevalence of tuberculosis in Iceland has fallen steadily over the past decade and stands at about 5.2 per 100,000 persons. 
• There are zero reported cases of diseases like leprosy and measles, and in 2010 the number of deaths from AIDS reached zero. Most deaths are related to cardiovascular issues and cancers.  http://www.who.int/nmh/countries/isl_en.pdf
• Iceland's achievement of these goals can be mostly attributed to their small population size, making it easier to control the spread of contagious diseases. Still, their gains in this area are impressive. 
• Also, the government has steadily increased spending in health care over the years.

#7: Environmental Sustainability

• While most countries are destroying their natural habitat at a fast pace, Iceland still has over 95% of their natural habitat left. Also, according to Yale University's Environmental Performance Index, Iceland scored a 100% in regards to air and water quality and control over diseases. 
• On the other hand, Iceland also depends heavily on fish as a main resource, and has recently started whaling again after stopping whale hunting in 1989 due to concerns for the existence of the species. Also, there is a possible fear that as economic pressures drive Iceland to tap into their abundance of natural resources, wild life and natural land will begin to diminish. It is these environmental issues that will most likely be some of the largest problems for Iceland to address in the future.
• Another target for this goal is to improve the population’s access to drinkable water and improved sanitation. This is an area that Iceland has covered almost perfectly, with 100% of the population using improved sanitation and 98% to 100% using an improved water supply.

#8: Global Partnership

• The first target of this goal is to expand global trade to lesser developed countries. Although Iceland has increased it's exports and imports alike, trade is mostly done throughout other neighboring European countries. Iceland has valuable resources that any country could use to import, therefore Iceland should continue to develop and strengthen relationships with countries outside of its European region. 
• Another target is to expand foreign aid to developing countries. Since Iceland's economic crises, the amount of foreign aid they gave has decreased to about .27% of their GDP. This is an area Iceland certainly needs to work on, and could possibly be solved by creating a larger work force with an increase in immigrants. 
• In regards to dealing with the global debt issues, Iceland still has progress to make. Although their external debt is not nearly as high as some other developed nations, it is still rather high considering their economy and GDP. They are steadily fixing this issue however. Unemployment in Iceland continues to drop and their GDP is improving quicker than most countries who faced economic crisis during the same time. The goal will most likely not be met by 2015, but efforts to improve have no reason to not continue. 
• Lastly, Iceland is doing rather well in the area of advanced technology. Cellphone use and internet use is nation wide for Iceland and when compared with other European countries, Iceland spends a larger amount on scientific developments. 

2006