Reykjavik is the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state.
Iceland's capital sits on the country's southwest coast at about 64 degrees north latitude. It is the centre of Iceland's government, business, education and culture and is home to a large share of the country's population.
The name Reykjavik means Smoky Bay, referring to steam rising from nearby geothermal springs. Ingólfur Arnarson, traditionally regarded as Iceland's first permanent Norse settler, is said to have established a farm there around 874.
Reykjavik is farther north than Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki. Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, lies farther north geographically, but Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark rather than a sovereign state. That distinction makes Reykjavik the standard answer to this capital-city record.