Iceland Growing By 1% Each Year

Iceland is very close to reaching the third-of-a-million mark, although population distribution is decidedly lopsided.

According to the latest findings from Statistics Iceland, there were 332,529 people in Iceland on New Year’s Day of this year; 3,429 more than the year previous.

While the population grew steadily until 2008, it then flatlined for three years in a row. However, since 2012, Iceland’s population has been growing steadily again, with residents increasing by about 1% each year.

One interesting feature of Iceland’s population is its distribution. The vast majority live in towns, with about 63% of these people living in Reykjavík and the surrounding communities alone. The largest municipality is, of course, Reykjavík, with a population of about 120,000, while the smallest is Skorradalshreppur, home to 53 people.

As more people continue to move to Iceland than move away from it, the population will likely continue to grow, and will soon reach a third of a million – if it hasn’t done so already.