From Iceland — Who's Dead And Who Isn't: The National Registry Investigates

Who’s Dead And Who Isn’t: The National Registry Investigates

Published February 3, 2011

The National Registry has asked to work with the genealogical records database Íslendingabók to amend inconsistencies where an Icelander is recorded as dead in one, but alive in the other.
RÚV reports that some 156 Icelanders are reported alive in the National Registry, but dead in Íslendingabók. In some cases, these individuals have remained in this contradictory state for decades.
National Registry director Haukur Ingibergsson said that while the situation is bad, it does not necessarily surprise him. It has been an international problem, he says, to keep track of the deaths of nationals who moved overseas, sometimes years ago.
To rectify this, the National Registry will meet with Íslendingabók to compare records and correct inconsistencies.
The Social Insurance Administration uses information from the National Registry, but also draws from other sources of information to establish whether someone is living or dead. An investigation of these 156 individuals at the Social Insurance Administration has shown that none of them have been collecting any sort of payments, so fraud has been ruled out as a possible cause.

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