New Population Data On Iceland

Iceland’s population increased by 1% since last year, and about 12% of those living here come from abroad, Statistics Iceland reveals in a new report.

According to the report, released yesterday, the current population of Iceland is 329,100, up by 1% (3,429 people, to be exact) from last year. The largest municipality remains Reykjavík, where 121,822 people live, while the smallest is Helgafellssveit, in Snæfellsnes, which is home to 53 people.

Population trends amongst Iceland’s municipalities show a continuing pattern of Icelanders leaving some regions of the countryside for the capital area, while those Icelanders still living in these regions are significantly older than elsewhere. Three regions in particular – the Westfjords, the northwest and the east – have shown negative population variations over the past 10 years, while the capital area and the southwest have seen significant upswings. At the same time, the largest age demographic in the capital region is 20 to 29 years of age, while in the Westfjords, the greatest portion is comprised of those aged 50 to 59.

Gender proportions nationally were almost completely even, with 1,007 men for every 1,000 women. Regionally, though, things varied greatly: in Reykjavík, there are 985 men for every 1,000 women, but in the countryside the ratio is 1,129 men for every 1,000 women.

Icelandic residents who hail from abroad numbered 24,294 in January 2015. Of these, Poles were the most numerous – 11,073 people (45.6% of all foreign residents) living in Iceland came from Poland. In total, 39,223 people living in Iceland were born overseas, comprising 12% of the total population of the country.