Beer was banned in Iceland for nearly 75 years, until 1989.

World History

I f you wanted to drink beer in Iceland between 1915 and 1989, you'd have to break the law to do so. The alcoholic beverage was banned in the small Nordic country for nearly 75 years, with the prohibition period beginning five years earlier than it did in the U.S.. The ban followed a 1908 referendum that received 60% of the vote, indicating most of the country was initially in favor of prohibition. At first, all alcohol was forbidden, but wine became legal again in 1922 and all spirits except beer followed suit in 1935. Beer, however, remained forbidden for another half century.

Though all alcohol consumption was frowned upon at the time, beer was especially out of favor because Icelanders associated it with their fiercest rival: Denmark, from whom they were struggling to gain independence (a victory they didn't fully achieve until 1944). Imbibing lagers and ales was therefore considered unpatriotic, a sentiment that took decades to fizzle out. The beer ban ended on March 1, 1989, a date that has been celebrated as Bjórdagur ("Beer Day") ever since.

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By the Numbers

Score of Iceland's shocking victory over England in a 2016 soccer match

2-1

Presidents of Iceland since it gained independence in 1944

Did you know?

About 60% of Iceland's population lives in or near Reykjavik.

Reykjavik isn't just Iceland's capital and most populous city — it's home to nearly two-thirds of the entire country's population. Approximately 382,000 people live in Iceland, about 60% of whom are in the capital region and 123,000 of whom are in Reykjavik proper. The capital region includes the nearby municipalities of Kópavogur, Garðabær, Mosfellsbær, and Hafnarfjörður. At 39,768 square miles, Iceland itself isn't exactly small; it's the world's 18th-largest island and roughly the same size as Ohio. But outside of the capital area, it's very sparsely populated.