Foreign-Born Residents About 14% Of Iceland, Varies Greatly From Region To Region

The latest data from the National Registry shows that as of December 1st of last year, foreign nationals comprised about 14% of the total population. This, of course, is merely an average for the entire country—studied by regions and municipalities, there are wide disparities.

The municipality with the highest percentage of immigrants is Mýrdalshreppur, mostly known for the village of Vík. There, 44% of the population is comprised of foreign nationals, or 313 residents out of a total 717.

The lowest percentage of immigrants, about 1%, can be in Svalbarðshreppur—that is to say, one foreign national.

Regionally, intuition might dictate that the greater Reykjavík area has the highest percentage of immigrants, but they in fact only comprise about 13% of the population, similar to West Iceland as a whole. In fact, it’s Suðurnes—Iceland’s southwestern peninsula—which is the region with the highest percentage of immigrants, comprising 24% of the total population.

Where other regions are concerned, foreign nationals comprised 16% of the population of the Westfjords; 14% of South Iceland; 12% of East Iceland; and about 8% for all of North Iceland.