What identity groups are present in your country?

What ethnic/religious/cultural groups

are there? Have there been any conflicts with these groups? If so, how have they been
addressed? If not, why not?

Iceland's population is incredibly homogeneous, with almost all of them

descended from Scandinavians and the Celts (Minorities Rights Group International,
2023). In fact, Iceland is considered to be one of the most ethnically homogenous
countries in the world. Iceland has a large number of ethnic groups, however the
majority are just well under 1000 people. Consequently, the three major ethnic groups
are consist of Lithuanians, Poles, and the Icelanders that is considered as the
largest ethnic group in the country (Petrarca & Muscato, 2022). In terms of religious
groups, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland was the largest religious
institution in Iceland with almost 230 thousand members. The Roman Catholic
Church which has roughly 14.7 thousand members, came in second. By far the
majority of Icelanders were members of Christian sects and the Icelandic Muslim
Society had 581 members (Statista Research Department, 2022). On the other hand,
Iceland’s cultural group are the Icelanders itself. Icelanders comes from a Nordic origin
and are delighted to still speak the ancient Viking language, but they don't exactly cling
to the past. Their revered history coexists peacefully with the most exciting
advancements in today's arts and culture (Travel Iceland, 2023).

For 6 consecutive years, Iceland has been named as the most peaceful place in
the World according to a Global Peace Index report (Nield, 2016). That is why conflict is
not present in this Nordic Island country. According to Wittes (2016), Iceland is
probably the country in the world where you would feel the least threatened by
geopolitics. Aside from the fact that it is an island that is quite a distance from other
places, there are not many people live there (the entire country has a population of
only 330,000) and it I is homogenous in terms of culture and the people. Since the so-
called "Cod Wars" with Great Britain in the 1970s, when fishing boats, coast guard
vessels, and naval ships rammed each other and cut fishing nets, it has not had any
significant international warfare or even domestic conflict.
 In Madagascar, an attempt at a 2009 census was thwarted by political unrest,
therefore most estimates on things like religious denomination are approximated from
the 1993 statistics. Hence, the precise demographic data on ethnic and religious groups
in Madagascar are not available in the present. According to census data, there are 18
recognized ethnic groups in the population with a distinct culture and tradition
(Minorities Rights Group International, 2018). According to Wild Madagascar (2020), it
is consist of Antaifasy (People of the sands), Antaimoro (People of the coast),
Antaisaka (subgroup of Sakalava), Antankarana (Those of the rocks),
Antambahoaka (Those of the people), Antrandroy (People of the thorns),
Antanosy (People of the island), Bara, Betsileo (The many invincibles),
Betsimisaraka (The many inseparables), Bezanozano (Many small plaits), Mahafaly
(Those who make taboos), Makoa or Mikea, Merina (People of the highlands), St.
Marians, Sakalava (People of the long valleys), Sihanaka (People of the swamps),
Tanala: Ikongo and Menabe (People of the forest), Tsimihety (Those who do not
cut their hair), Vezo (subgroup of Sakalava), and Zafimaniry. In terms of religious
groups, data from the Pew Research Center for 2021 show that 85.3% of people
identify as Christians, 3% as Muslims, 4.5 percent as traditionalists, and 6.9
percent as having no affiliation. Many people hold a blend of indigenous and Christian
or Muslim beliefs, and it is typical for people to switch between religious identities or
blend traditions (US Department of State, 2022).

There are long-standing tensions between the two biggest groups of

Madagascar, the Merina and Côtier, despite the country having just one official
language and strong traditions of self-organization and traditional methods of dispute
resolution (Minorities Rights Group International, 2018). The Merina founded a
Malagasy kingdom in the 18th century, and during the course of the following century,
they forcibly annexed the côtier. During this time, the first Merina-related fears
emerged, and they persist today. Members of the group seek both protection from
attacks by other communal groups and increased political participation at the national
level. Despite the fact that there had not been any incidents of côtier-Merina conflict
since 1992, tensions increased following the elections, and some Merina residents of
côtier-dominated areas requested protection from their governors as pro-Ratsiraka
radios were accused of promoting racial conflict. As a result of the unpredictability of
the December 2001 elections, violence erupted at many locations in 2002, resulting in
an estimated 100 fatalities. Radio stations that support Ratsiraka have been charged
with broadcasting hate speech. Ratsiraka urged the blockade of Antananarivo,
Ravalomanana's political bastion. Ravalomana declared himself the winner following the
elections, but the government asserted he only won with 46% of the vote, which would
not have been enough to achieve majority rule without a run-off election. Tensions
erupted for six months before the High Court proclaimed Ravalomanana the victor with
52% of the vote. So Ratsiraka and his family left the nation. Although political
involvement has been relatively low in previous years, it increased in 2001 when
Ravalomanana founded a new party called TIM (Tiako-i-Madagasikara), which
translates to "I love Madagascar." Throughout the contentious elections, political
activism was also noticeable as each organization adopted a position. Mid-December
saw the start of the verbal protests, which culminated in early-2002 strikes and rallies.
Since the opposition movement in 1990, there has not been a rebellion (Minorities at
Risk Project, 2003).

Minorities at Risk Project. (2003, December 31). Assessment for Merina in Madagascar.
https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f3aae1e.html

US Department of State. (2021, June 2). 2021 report on international religious freedom:
Madagascar. https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-
religious-freedom/madagascar/#:~:text=According%20to%20Pew
%20Research%20Center,6.9%20percent%20have%20no%20affiliation.

Wild Madagascar. (2020). Ethnic groups in Madagascar.

https://wildmadagascar.org/people/ethnic_groups.html
Minorities Rights Group International. (2018). Madagascar.
https://minorityrights.org/country/madagascar/#:~:text=The%20largest
%20ethnic%20group%20are,minorities%20of%20Comorans%2C
%20Creole%2C%20French

Nield, D. (2016, June 21). Iceland's been named the most peaceful place on earth for 6
years running. Science Alert. https://www.sciencealert.com/iceland-is-the-
most-peaceful-place-on-earth-according-to-the-stats

Witties, B. (2014, August 13). Countries without conflicts: notes from Iceland. Law
Fare. https://www.lawfareblog.com/countries-without-conflicts-notes-
iceland

Travel Iceland. (2023). Culture. https://www.icelandtravel.is/about-iceland/culture/

Minorities Rights Group International. (2023). Iceland.

https://minorityrights.org/country/iceland/

Petrarca, R. & Muscato, C. (2022, May 8). Iceland population demographics and
ethnicity. Study https://study.com/learn/lesson/iceland-population-
demographics-ethnicity.html#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20large
%20ethnic,far%20the%20largest%20ethnic%20group.

Statista Research Department. (2022, November 3). Population by membership in

religious and life stance organizations in Iceland 2022. Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1050019/population-by-religious-and-
life-stance-organizations/