The demographics of Iceland include population density, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
As of 2026, the Icelandic population is 394,324. In 2026, 77,226 residents (19.6%) were immigrants.
About 99% of the nation's inhabitants live in localities with populations greater than 200, and 64% live in the Capital Region.
History
The population of Iceland probably wavered between about 30,000 and 80,000 for most of the time since settlement. Official statistics begin in 1703, since when the population has grown from 50,358 to 394,234 (1 January 2026).
Migration
Settlement Most Icelandic people are descendants of Norwegian settlers, and of Gaels from Ireland and Scotland who were brought over as slaves during the settlement of Iceland in the ninth century AD. Recent DNA analysis suggests that about 66 percent of the male settler-era population was of Norse ancestry and that the female population was 60 percent Celtic. Iceland remained extremely homogenous from its settlement era until the twentieth century.
Emigration Large numbers of Icelanders began to emigrate from Iceland in the 1850s. It has been estimated that 17,000 Icelanders migrated to North America in the period 1870–1914, and that 2,000 of them moved back to Iceland; this net loss, 15,000, was about 20% of the Icelandic population in 1887. According to historian Gunnar Karlsson, "migration from Iceland is unique in that most went to Canada, whereas from most or all other European countries the majority went to the United States. This was partly due to the late beginning of emigration from Iceland after the Canadian authorities had begun to promote emigration in cooperation with the Allan Line, which already had an agent in Iceland in 1873. Contrary to most European countries, this promotion campaign was successful in Iceland, because emigration was only just about to start from there and Icelandic emigrants had no relatives in the United States to help them take the first steps".
In the wake of the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis, many Icelanders went to work abroad.Guðbjört Guðjónsdóttir. “ ‘We Blend in with the Crowd but They Don’t’: (In)visibility and Icelandic Migrants in Norway.” Nordic Journal of Migration Research 4 (2014): 176–183.
Immigration Before the 1990s, there was little immigration to Iceland, and most of it was from other Scandinavian countries: about 1% of Icelanders in 1900 were of Danish heritage (born either in Denmark or to Danish parents). In the mid-1990s, 95% of Icelanders had parents of Icelandic origin, and 2% of Icelanders were first-generation immigrants (born abroad with both parents and all grandparents foreign-born).Kristín Loftsdóttir, “Being ‘the Damned Foreigner’: Affective National Sentiments and Racialization of Lithuanians in Iceland.” Nordic Journal of Migration Research 7.2 (2017): 70–77 (p. 72) .'Immigrants and persons with foreign background 2017' (16 June 2017).
Immigration to Iceland rose rapidly in the late twentieth century, encouraged by Iceland's accession to the European Economic Area in 1994, its entry into the Schengen Agreement in 2001, and the country's economic boom in the early twenty-first century. The largest ethnic minority is Poles, who are about a third of the immigrant population. In 2017, 10.6% of the people were first-generation immigrants.
Iceland is also developing relatively small populations of religious minorities, including Catholics (about 15,000 in 2020, 4.02% of Icelanders), Baháʼís (about 400 in 2010),Demographic data as published by Statistics Iceland, found online for the period of 1990 and later Hagtíðindi for the years 1973-1989 Jews (about 250 in 2018), Buddhists (about 1,500 in 2021), Muslims (about 1,300 in 2015), and Eastern Orthodox (about 995 in 2024).
Research on the experience of immigrants to Iceland is in its early days.Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, Collisions and Continuities: Ten Immigrant Families and Their Children in Icelandic Society and Schools. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2008.Skaptadóttir, UD 2004, ‘Mobilities and cultural difference: immigrant’s experiences in Iceland’ in Topographies of globalization: politics, culture, language, eds V Ingimundarson, K Loftsdóttir & I Erlingsdóttir, The University of Iceland Press, Reykjavík pp. 133-149. There is some evidence that racism is not as acute in Iceland as in other European countries.Rannveig Thorisdottir, “Armed with a Pen.” In Black Light, White Shadows: Young People in the Nordic Countries Write about Racism. Edited by Leena Suurpää, 85–97. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, 1998.Kristín Loftsdóttir, “ ‘Still a Lot of Staring and Curiosity’: Racism and the Racialization of African Immigrants in Iceland.” In New Dimensions of Diversity in Nordic Culture and Society. Edited by Jenny Björklund, Ursula Lindqvist, 263–78. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.Gunnar J. Gunnarsson, Gunnar E. Finnbogason, Hanna Ragnarsdóttir and Halla Jónsdóttir. “Friendship, Diversity and Fear: Young People’s Life Views and Life Values in a Multicultural Society.” Nordidactica: Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education (2015 part 2): 94–113. But, while it is popularly believed in Iceland that racism does not exist there,Kristín Loftsdóttir, “The Country without Racism: Multiculturalism and Colonial Identity Formations in Iceland.” Social Identities 17 (2011): 11–25. there is evidence that in some respects immigrant populations experience prejudice and inequalities.Kristín Loftsdóttir, “Being ‘the Damned Foreigner’: Affective National Sentiments and Racialization of Lithuanians in Iceland.” Nordic Journal of Migration Research 7.2 (2017): 70–77 . For example, Iceland has a higher dropout rate from upper secondary school among young immigrants than the EEA average.Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, “Competences for Active Communication and Participation in Diverse Societies: Views of Young People in Iceland.” In Intercultural Competence in Education: Alternative Approaches for Different Times. Edited by Fred Dervin and Zehavit Gross, 73–93. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. p. 75.
Iceland does not formally collect data on the ethnicity or racial identification of its citizens, but does collect data of the origin and background group by birth.
Migration data
+ Net Immigration in Iceland (1961–2025) Year Total Immigration Total Emigration Total Net Immigration Icelandic Citizens Immigration Icelandic Citizens Emigration Icelandic Net Immigration Foreign Citizens Immigration Foreign Citizens Emigration Foreign Citizens Net Immigration 1961 1,618 1,689 -71 1,438 1,568 -130 180 121 59 1962 1,728 1,730 -2 1,521 1,557 -36 207 173 34 1963 1,524 1,600 -76 1,308 1,422 -114 216 178 38 1964 1,753 1,673 80 1,459 1,480 -21 294 193 101 1965 1,812 1,781 31 1,488 1,536 -48 324 245 79 1966 1,832 1,727 105 1,469 1,459 10 363 268 95 1967 2,146 1,992 154 1,633 1,582 51 513 410 103 1968 2,358 2,216 142 1,647 1,696 -49 711 520 191 1969 2,198 2,077 121 1,401 1,476 -75 797 601 196 1970 2,326 2,169 157 1,350 1,418 -68 976 751 225 1971 2,136 2,010 126 1,184 1,303 -119 952 707 245 1972 2,213 1,907 306 1,087 1,150 -63 1,126 757 369 1973 2,705 2,087 618 1,163 1,141 22 1,542 946 596 1974 2,802 2,007 795 1,144 1,031 113 1,658 976 682 1975 2,630 1,890 740 1,114 979 135 1,516 911 605 1976 2,736 2,028 708 1,171 1,076 95 1,565 952 613 1977 2,688 1,971 717 1,041 963 78 1,647 1,008 639 1978 2,592 2,080 512 1,022 1,013 9 1,570 1,067 503 1979 2,402 2,146 256 1,005 1,012 -7 1,397 1,134 263 1980 2,437 2,368 69 1,030 1,113 -83 1,407 1,255 152 1981 2,195 2,262 -67 926 1,001 -75 1,269 1,261 8 1982 2,203 2,144 59 976 969 7 1,227 1,175 52 1983 2,073 2,066 7 954 974 -20 1,119 1,092 27 1984 2,239 2,124 115 955 939 16 1,284 1,185 99 1985 2,242 2,243 -1 942 972 -30 1,300 1,271 29 1986 2,401 2,362 39 999 1,039 -40 1,402 1,323 79 1987 2,425 2,484 -59 980 1,050 -70 1,445 1,434 11 1988 2,736 2,753 -17 1,105 1,131 -26 1,631 1,622 9 1989 3,066 2,777 289 1,278 1,182 96 1,788 1,595 193 1990 3,498 2,908 590 1,415 1,229 186 2,083 1,679 404 1991 3,052 2,566 486 1,305 1,087 218 1,747 1,479 268 1992 2,769 2,452 317 1,124 1,011 113 1,645 1,441 204 1993 3,001 2,644 357 1,279 1,137 142 1,722 1,507 215 1994 3,029 2,651 378 1,225 1,126 99 1,804 1,525 279 1995 3,154 2,623 531 1,169 1,040 129 1,985 1,583 402 1996 3,865 3,062 803 1,429 1,137 292 2,436 1,925 511 1997 4,597 3,404 1,193 1,770 1,374 396 2,827 2,030 797 1998 4,412 3,498 914 1,566 1,351 215 2,846 2,147 699 1999 4,266 3,445 821 1,476 1,245 231 2,790 2,200 590 2000 4,089 3,433 656 1,574 1,329 245 2,515 2,104 411 2001 5,002 4,034 968 2,487 2,959 -472 2,515 1,075 1,440 2002 4,215 4,490 -275 2,360 3,380 -1,020 1,855 1,110 745 2003 3,704 3,837 -133 2,351 2,964 -613 1,353 873 480 2004 5,348 4,820 528 2,838 3,276 -438 2,510 1,544 966 2005 7,773 3,913 3,860 3,093 2,975 118 4,680 938 3,742 2006 9,832 4,577 5,255 2,762 3,042 -280 7,070 1,535 5,535 2007 12,546 7,414 5,132 3,228 3,395 -167 9,318 4,019 5,299 2008 10,288 9,144 1,144 2,817 3,294 -477 7,471 5,850 1,621 2009 5,777 10,612 -4,835 2,385 4,851 -2,466 3,392 5,761 -2,369 2010 5,625 7,759 -2,134 2,637 4,340 -1,703 2,988 3,419 -431 2011 9,457 10,571 -1,114 6,163 7,521 -1,358 3,294 3,050 244 2012 9,869 9,781 88 6,536 7,380 -844 3,333 2,401 932 2013 11,166 9,402 1,764 6,778 6,746 32 4,388 2,656 1,732 2014 10,939 9,892 1,047 6,113 6,912 -799 4,826 2,980 1,846 2015 11,629 10,526 1,103 6,077 7,194 -1,117 5,552 3,332 2,220 2016 15,368 10,574 4,794 6,765 6,543 222 8,603 4,031 4,572 2017 19,045 11,140 7,905 6,556 5,977 579 12,489 5,163 7,326 2018 18,538 13,207 5,331 6,062 6,127 -65 12,476 7,080 5,396 2019 16,529 14,065 2,464 5,800 6,146 -346 10,729 7,919 2,810 2020 15,249 13,170 2,079 6,301 5,389 912 8,948 7,781 1,167 2021 15,416 11,288 4,128 5,426 4,679 747 9,990 6,609 3,381 2022 22,209 13,549 8,660 5,220 5,746 -526 16,989 7,803 9,186 2023 21,560 14,771 6,789 4,939 5,154 -215 16,621 9,617 7,004 2024 19,789 15,745 4,044 4,993 5,132 -139 14,796 10,613 4,183 2025 18,674 15,508 3,166 4,601 4,947 -346 14,073 10,561 3,512
Background GroupsYear1996200120062011201620212026Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number% Icelanders260,05497.10%270,10695.32%278,97593.02%282,77990.65%288,41288.46%296,98382.89%303,26476.91%Icelanders of two Icelandic parents251,05793.74%259,10991.44%265,71188.60%267,29785.72%270,64483.01%276,31677.12%279,63970.92%Born abroad, Icelandic background3,4901.30%4,2141.48%4,8801.62%5,2571.69%5,7761.77%6,4681.81%6,8201.73%Born in Iceland, one parent born abroad5,5072.05%6,7832.39%8,3842.79%10,1253.25%11,9923.68%14,1993.96%16,8054.26%Foreign7,7552.90%13,2554.67%20,9166.97%29,1629.35%37,62411.54%61,31517.11%91,06023.09%Immigrants5,3572.00%10,0733.55%16,6905.56%23,2487.46%29,5469.06%50,38714.06%77,22619.58%Descendants of Immigrants3450.12%5430.19%1,1160.37%2,5450.82%4,0731.25%6,0031.68%8,3512.12%Born abroad, one Icelandic parent2,0530.76%2,6390.93%3,1101.03%3,3691.08%4,0051.23%4,9251.37%5,4831.39%Total267,809100%283,361100%299,891100%311,841100%326,036100%358,298100%394,324100%