From Iceland — More Icelanders Moving Away Than Moving Back Home

More Icelanders Moving Away Than Moving Back Home

Published November 4, 2016

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Arpingstone/Wikimedia Commons

Not only are more Icelanders leaving the country than moving back to it; Statistics Iceland believes this trend will continue for at least the next 50 years.

Kjarninn reports that, according to data from Statistics Iceland, about 250 more Icelanders moved away from the country than moved back home during the first nine months of this year.

Most Icelanders prefer to move to other Nordic countries, and 1,830 Icelanders moved to Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the first nine months of this year.

Statistics Iceland predicts that this trend is not going to be ending any time soon. In fact, they predict that from 2016 to 2065 “Icelandic citizens that leave the country will continue to be in greater numbers than those who move back to the country.” An average of about 850 Icelanders are predicted to leave Iceland every year.

Support The Reykjavík Grapevine!
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!

Show Me More!