Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • The Guardian

    Tourists and tech bring resilient Iceland back from the brink

    When the country lets its banks go bust 10 years ago, there seemed to be no timetable for recovery. Things have changed
    by Richard Partington in Reykjavik Jun 16, 2018 5 minutes
    Reykjavik has become home to an incubator for the country’s emerging technology industry. Photograph: Alamy

    Ten years since the financial crisis in Iceland, the noise of the computer servers mining for bitcoin on a former Nato airbase is many decibels louder than the vast turbines spinning away in the hydroelectric power plant down the road.

    Having come through the crisis a decade ago, Iceland is now enjoying an economic revival, with technology, renewable energy and tourism replacing the unsustainable boom in banking. Visitor numbers have quadrupled and output per head is among the strongest in Europe. The employment rate is the highest in the world.

    But there are fears the economy could bubble out of control once more as tourist money floods in, pushing up the value of the Icelandic króna – which is among the most volatile free-floating currencies in the world, given the tiny population behind it. The price of cod used to

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from The Guardian

    The Guardian4 min read
    Lawn And Order: The Evergreen Appeal Of Grass-cutting In Video Games
    Jessica used to come for tea on Tuesdays, and all she wanted to do was cut grass. Every week, we’d click The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker’s miniature disc into my GameCube and she’d ready her sword. Because she was a couple of years younger than m
    The Guardian4 min read
    The Royals May Easily Dismiss Harry And Meghan, But These Charges Of Racism Will Linger For Ever | Zoe Williams
    Omid Scobie is the reporter favoured by Harry and Meghan. In ordinary circumstances, this would be a footnote, but the couple’s relationship with the rest of the press is so frosty that Scobie’s access looks as unfettered as if he were their medieval
    The Guardian6 min read
    Fallen Kingdom: Why Has Disney Had Such A Terrible Year?
    For its 100th anniversary this year, Disney received a bucket of ice-cold water to the face. It may sound momentary, but somehow it’s the gift that has been giving all year, from the box office nosedive of Marvel’s Ant-Man sequel, to lower-than-expec

    Related Books & Audiobooks