Population and Demographics

The original population of Iceland was of Nordic and Celtic origin. This is evident by literary evidence from the settlement period as well as from later scientific studies such as blood type and genetic analysis. One such genetics study has indicated that the majority of the male settlers were of Nordic origin while the majority of the women were of Celtic origin. The modern population of Iceland is often described as a "homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts" but some history scholars reject the alleged homogeneity as a myth that fails to take into account the fact that Iceland was never completely isolated from the rest of Europe and actually has had much contact with traders and fishermen from many nations through the ages.

The population of the island is believed to have varied from 40,000 to 60,000 in the period from initial settlement until the mid-19th century. During that time, cold winters, ashfall from volcanic eruptions, and plagues adversely affected the population several times. The first census was carried out in 1703 and revealed that the population of the island was then 50,358. Improving living conditions triggered a rapid increase in population from the mid-19th century to the present day - from about 60,000 in 1850 to over 300,000 in 2006.

In 2004, 20,669 people who were living in Iceland had been born abroad, including children of Icelandic parents living abroad. 10,636 people had foreign citizenship. The most populous nationalities are Polish (1903), Danish (890), ex-Yugoslavians (670), Filipinos (647) and Germans (540).

The southwest corner of Iceland is the most densely populated region and the location of the capital Reykjavik, the northernmost capital in the world. The largest towns outside the capital region are Akureyri and Reykjanesbaer.

Icelandic National Registry

All Icelanders, as well as all foreign citizens with permanent residence in Iceland, have a personal identification number (kennitala) identifying them in the National Registry. While similar, all-inclusive personal registries exist in other countries, the use of the national registry is unusually extensive in Iceland. It is worth noting that the completeness of the National Registry eliminates any need for censuses to be performed.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 309,699
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 21.4% (male 32,759/female 31,845)
  • 15-64 years: 66.8% (male 102,161/female 99,411)
  • 65 years and over: 11.8% (male 16,162/female 19,593)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 34.5 years
  • Male: 34 years
  • Female: 35 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.824%
• Birth Rate: 13.57 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 6.77 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: 1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.029 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.028 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.825 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 1.002 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 3.27 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 3.41 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 80.43 years
  • Male: 78.33 years
  • Female: 82.62 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.91 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 0.2%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 220
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norse and Celts 94%
  • Population of foreign origin 6%
• Religions:
  • Lutheran Church of Iceland 85.5%
  • Reykjavik Free Church 2.1%
  • Roman Catholic Church 2%
  • Hafnarfjorour Free Church 1.5%
  • Other Christian 2.7%
  • Other or unspecified 3.8%
  • Unaffiliated 2.4%
• Languages:
  • Icelandic
  • English
  • Nordic languages
  • German widely spoken
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 99%
  • Male: 99%
  • Female: 99%