Reykjavik--Iceland's GDP reached record levels last year, official figures showed Tuesday as the country claws its way back from the demise of its bloated financial sector in 2008.
At constant prices, Iceland's GDP grew by 1.9 percent in 2014 to beat a GDP record dating back to pre-crisis levels, according to Statistics Iceland.
The small Nordic country was hit hard as the crash of US investment bank Lehman Brothers caused the collapse of its three largest banks.
Iceland then became the first Western European nation in 25 years to appeal to the International Monetary Fund to save its battered economy.
Its GDP fell by 5.1 percent in 2009 and 3.1 percent in 2010 before it started rising again.
Despite Tuesday's record, crisis policy measures such as capital controls to shield the country's currency and indebted households remain.
"You cannot say the economy has completely recovered," economist Asgeir Jonsson at the University of Iceland told AFP.
"With the growth of the population the output per capita is still lower than in 2008, and even if we don't lack jobs, we lack jobs that pay well, especially for young professionals," he added.
The Icelandic crisis led the country of 300,000 to rely on its fishing and tourism industries for recovery.
While economic growth slowed last year from 3.6 percent in 2013, the central bank expects a stronger expansion of 4.2 percent in 2015.
AFP
