Iceland: A changing landscape

Iceland's financial markets will barely be recognizable by the end of the year, such is the pace of change. Having opened its markets to foreign investment, the country is now pressing ahead with privatization. Rebecca Bream reports

Iceland has traditionally been seen as an isolated Nordic fishing outpost, marooned in the middle of the north Atlantic and slightly out of step with the modern world. But any visitor to Reykjavik in 1999 would find that the exact opposite is true. The country’s small population has become wealthy, hi-tech, forward-thinking and even highly fashionable.

Most of this transformation has been achieved through the opening up of the Icelandic economy to foreign investment during the 1990s, accompanied by the retreat of the state’s role in the economy.

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