Iceland review - 2019, Page 12

8
Iceland Review
ASK
ICELAND
REVIEW
Words by
Mariska Moerland
& Jelena Ćirić
Photography by
Golli
HIGH QUALITY HOUSES IN
THE NORTH OF ICELAND
LEIFSSTADIR AKUREYRI
Exclusive villa in the
vicinity of Akureyri.
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sleeps 8
Details and booking www.nollur.is
NOLLUR
Húsavík
AKUREYRI
Vík
Höfn
Eskifjörður
REYKJAVÍK
FNJÓSKÁ NOLLUR
A loft apartment with incredible
views of the fjord.
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, sleeps 2 (4)
VALLHOLT GRENIVIK
A spacious, luxurious
house at the shore.
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sleeps 6
KRÝSUVÍK
A convenient loft apartment
on the Nollur farm in Eyjafjörður.
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, sleeps 4
P
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to
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S
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RZ1_Nollur_Inserat_Iceland-Review_Nr_4_19_210x270_4f-EN.indd 1 09.07.19 14:01
What proportion of Iceland’s
residents are Icelandic citizens,
and how many Icelandic citizens
live abroad?
Question from Altaf Chowdhury
There are large numbers of the
migrant butterfly the painted lady
(Vanessa cardui) in Sweden right
now – they migrate from North
Africa and the Middle East. Are
there any observations in Iceland?
Question from Håkan Schön
About 100 species of moths and butterflies
have been spotted in Iceland over the years.
Of the 100 species, 94 are moths and only
six are butterflies. Iceland’s changeable
weather is most likely the reason why
there are so few butterflies to be found.
The recorded species are: the European
peacock (Aglais io), the small tortoiseshell
(Aglais urticae), the red admiral (Vanessa
atalanta), the small white (Pieris rapae), the
cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae), and
the painted lady. So, the painted lady does
make it to Iceland sometimes, migrating
thousands of kilometres north, but it’s not
regularly sighted as it is in Sweden. Whether
butterflies make it to Iceland depends on
weather and warm air currents. There are
also cases of butterflies arriving on freighter
ships, such as the peacock butterfly.
None of the six species of butterflies that
have been recorded in Iceland are endemic
to the country – only moths are. The largest
moth seen in Iceland is the convolvulus
hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli). Most
moths in Iceland are darkly coloured and
monochromatic. Common moths include the
mottled umber (Erannis defoliaria) and the
winter moth (Operophtera brumata). Also, in
the cool North Atlantic surrounding Iceland,
you will find one more type of “butterfly:” the
sea butterfly. A species of pelagic sea slugs,
sea butterflies are so called because they
“fly” through the water with their parapodia.
According to data from Statistics Iceland,
the total population of the country in the
last quarter of 2018 was 357,050. Of these
residents, 312,740, or 87.6%, were Icelandic
citizens while 44,310, or 12.4% were foreign
citizens. The largest group were Polish
nationals at 17,010, accounting for around
38.4% of all foreign nationals in the country.
Danes made up the next-largest group
(numbering 3,520), followed by Lithuanians
(numbering 2,443). The proportion of foreign
citizens has increased sixfold in the last two
decades – In 1998, foreign citizens made up
just 2.1% of Iceland’s population. Recent
statistics show the proportion continues to
rise, even as the number of Icelandic citizens
in the country increased by 0.4% between
December 2018 and June 2019.
A fair number of Icelandic citizens live
abroad. According to the National Registry,
there were 46,572 Icelanders living abroad as
of February 2018. The vast majority, or 61.8%,
lived in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Another 13.9% of Icelandic emigrants lived
in the US. As of February 2018, Icelandic
citizens were registered residents in 118 of the
193 member states of the United Nations.