The other 9 seats are divided among the political parties so that the percentage of representatives each party has in the Althing is about the same as the percentage of votes each party received in the elections. All Althing members serve four-year terms. Iceland has six main political parties. A magistrate appointed by the national government and representatives from the rural communities govern each county. Councils, elected to four-year terms, govern the towns.
Local governments handle welfare, education, health, roads, and law enforcement programs.
Some local governments also own fishing boats or operate businesses, such as fish processing plants. People Iceland was settled more than 1,100 years ago by people from Norway and from Viking colonies in Britain and Ireland. Some of these settlers had married Celtic people, and some had Celtic slaves. Nearly all Icelanders live near the coast. About half of the people live in or near Reykjavik, and the rest live in villages and small towns around the island.