A survey conducted by Data Market shows that the percentage of Icelanders registered in the national church has declined in proportion to the population.
According to the statistics, compiled by data from Statistics Iceland, 89.9% of Icelanders were registered in the national church in 1998. While both the population and the number of registered members in the church have increased, the population has increased much faster. In 1998, 244,893 of 272,381 were registered in the church, but by 2006, 251,909 of 299,891 were registered in the national church, or 84% of the population.
Furthermore, the data shows, 2009 saw a drop in both population and registered members of the church. The population, however, dropped farther than members of the church – 1,738 fewer people lived in Iceland in 2009, and there were 1,582 fewer registered members of the national church. This brings the percentage of registered members down to 79.2% last year.
It should be noted that “Icelanders” in this instance refers to “people living in Iceland”, and does not necessarily mean people who were born here.
For a more detailed look at the trend, click the thumbnail of the chart below:
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