Whether Iceland is a developed country or not can be looked at in two ways. It can be looked at through the eyes of economics to assess the size of the economy and wealth. It is also possible to look at this from the perspective of the economy’s level of human development.
The short answer to the question is yes; Iceland is a developed country by all standards. If we quote Wikipedia, Iceland ranks third on the Human Development Index (HDI). When evaluating this measure, it is taken into account how GDP or per capita income is turned “into education and health opportunities and therefore into higher levels of human development.” This is, in my opinion, a better measure than income or productivity. As an Icelander living in Iceland, I am happy to see my country so high on the list of developed countries, but Iceland is far from perfect.
In Iceland, there is a sizeable population of people who do not have homes, and during the most recent storm, there was a great deal of debate over the reasons why it was not possible to provide better care for the homeless population. There are also a lot of asylum seekers and people who have fled their homes. Some of these people came from Ukraine. The provision of food, clothing, and housing to these groups has had a significant impact on our very small country, but the people of Iceland are working hard to make everyone feel good here.
When it comes to our medical system, there are a great number of areas in which we can make improvements. An illustration of this would be the challenging situation that our largest hospital in Reykjavik, which is located there, finds itself in. There are elderly patients being treated in hospitals, which are supposed to be for those with life-threatening conditions, but there are not enough nursing homes available to take these patients once they have recovered.
The emergency medical service in Reykjavik also has a lot of issues, and there are instances when you have to wait a lot of hours for assistance to arrive. The conditions in the oncology day care unit are hard for both the staff and the patients, who are going through chemotherapy and dealing with some of the hardest things in their lives at the same time. However, things are looking up because a technologically advanced hospital is being built, and the majority of it is currently under construction.
The main problem in places that are mostly rural such as in the Westfjords is that there aren’t enough general practitioners, which is utterly perplexing given that the Westfjords are a pleasant place to live, full of friendly people, and offer excellent income opportunities for medical professionals.
Living in Iceland is rewarding due to the fact that the country has progressed in a variety of ways. When people visit our nation as tourists, I anticipate that they will have access to any and all services and activities that they desire and need while they are here. The roads aren’t perfect, but much like everything else about us Icelanders, we’re making progress. Things are getting better.😁
