There is a country where most of the residents are related to each other.
When you meet someone on the street who looks like you, it's likely that they are your relative.
If a man and a woman plan to fall in love, they need to check their family tree first to avoid marrying close relatives.
This country not only has a small population and a small land area but also has no established military. Yet, its economy is extremely developed, unaffected by its remote geographical location.
Where is this country, and is it really easy to meet relatives when making friends?
This unique and peculiar place is Iceland, located between Europe and America.
Iceland is an independent island nation.
Many Chinese people know the name Iceland because people often choose "Iceland" as a location when setting or hiding their location, which seems special and evokes a sense of solitary distance.
However, many people are unclear whether Iceland is a country or a region, its geographical location, and its economic status.
Iceland is located between the United Kingdom and Greenland, surrounded by the sea, with an area of only 103,000 square kilometers and a population of about 397,000 people.
With its small area and population, after generations of development, many people are related to each other, making it normal to run into relatives when going out.
When looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend, avoiding close relative marriages is a particularly important issue.
Iceland's situation is similar to the "six degrees of separation" theory, where any two strangers can be connected through at most six people.
In Iceland, sometimes it might not even take six people, as the blood relationships are too close.
Icelanders refer to themselves as one big family, not only out of a sense of national unity but also because they are genuinely related by blood.
After the 9th century, Nordic Germanic Vikings discovered Iceland during their voyages and settled there, becoming the first inhabitants of Iceland.
After generations of reproduction, the population increased, and some outsiders settled as well, but most were of Germanic descent, still forming one big family.
After many wars and natural disasters, Iceland's population size and origin gradually stabilized, and now 95% of the residents are natives.
Perhaps due to Iceland's remote geographical location, few immigrants come here.
This population composition can easily lead to issues of close relative marriages.
Icelanders understand this, and as modern, science-minded people, they do not allow close relative marriages in their country.
In a situation with a small population and many generations, this must be avoided.
If Icelandic men and women want to date, they must first check their family tree.
The saying "lovers turning into siblings" is not a joke in Iceland.
To avoid this awkward situation, parents actively introduce family members and blood relationships to their children after they are born.
With the development of society, ideas are becoming more open, but not to the extent of accepting close relative marriages.
Everyone understands that allowing close relative marriages would lead to a crisis in population health and civilization.
To prevent this, Icelanders have specially developed an app that can check blood relationships, called the "Anti-Incest App."
This app was downloaded a lot as soon as it was launched, showing how much Icelanders need it.
At matchmaking events, after the man and woman talk and feel a mutual liking, they can take out their phones, enter their names, and immediately know the result.
If the two are closely related, the app will issue a warning, allowing both parties to turn their affection into family affection.
This "magic" software is only useful for Icelanders because its theoretical data is based on Iceland's national gene database, and people from other countries can only envy it without experiencing it.
Despite Iceland's small population and land area, its economy is highly developed.
In 2022, Iceland's per capita GDP reached $73,500, making it one of the countries with the highest per capita GDP and Human Development Index rankings in the world.
Iceland's economic development is closely related to its geographical location.
First, Iceland has abundant fishery resources.
As an independent island nation, the surrounding sea is a natural fishing ground, especially the North Sea, one of the world's three major fishing grounds. Iceland has utilized this advantage to vigorously develop its fishery, making it an economic pillar industry.
In 2023, the total catch of Icelandic fishing vessels reached 1.379 million tons, with main species including cod, mackerel, and herring.
Secondly, Iceland has a developed industrial base. Although the foundation is weak, Iceland has abundant geothermal resources, mainly used for aluminum refining and pharmaceuticals.
Energy-intensive industries like electrolytic aluminum and ferrosilicon are among Iceland's three major foreign exchange-earning industries.
Additionally, Iceland has abundant geothermal resources.
Although the name "Iceland" contains "ice," and 11.6% of its area is covered by glaciers, there are many active volcanoes underground.
Volcanic eruptions, though common disasters, have been harnessed by modern technology to benefit humanity.
Iceland has rich hot spring resources, with the largest hot spring producing 200 liters of water per second.
Geothermal resources are used for power generation, producing about 7.2 billion kilowatt-hours annually, with a potential of 80 billion kilowatt-hours.
Geothermal resources bring low electricity costs and promote Iceland's heating development.
About 90% of Icelanders use geothermal heating, bringing warmth to residents who live in a long-term cold environment.
Iceland's tourism industry is also well developed, with the Northern Lights attracting many tourists, bringing considerable revenue to Iceland.
Despite Iceland's developed economy, high prices are a real issue. Due to its remote geographical location and small land area, many goods rely on imports, keeping prices high.
Iceland has always been a mysterious presence.
Some say it was discovered by Zhang Wuji first, while others express a desire to immigrate to Iceland to spread excellent genes.
This small country, despite its small population and remote location, has achieved remarkable success in the economy and technology.
All this is the result of the wisdom and efforts of the Icelandic people.
Comments