Demographics of Iceland

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Iceland, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Citizenship of Iceland residents.

Most Icelanders are descendants of Norwegian settlers and Celts from Ireland and Scotland who were brought over as slaves during the age of settlement. Recent DNA analysis suggests that around 66 percent of the male settler-era population was of Norse ancestry, whereas the female population was 60 percent Celtic.^[1] The Icelandic population today is remarkably homogeneous. According to Icelandic government statistics, 99% of the nation's inhabitants live in urban areas (localities with populations greater than 200) and 60% live in the greater Reykjavík Area. Of the North Germanic languages, the Icelandic language is closest to the Old Norse language and has remained relatively unchanged since the 12th century. Because of its small size and relative homogeneity, Iceland holds all the characteristics of a very close-knit society.

About 84% of the population belong to the state church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, or other Lutheran Churches. However, Iceland has complete religious liberty, and other Protestant and Roman Catholic congregations are present (about 3.5%), along with small communities of major world religions. The most notable new religious community in Iceland, and in 2003 the fastest-growing one, is the Ásatrúarfélagið, a legally recognized revival of the pre-Christian religion of Iceland.

Most Icelandic surnames are based on patronymy, or the adoption of the father's first given name, followed by "son" or "daughter". For example, Magnús and Anna, children of a man named Pétur Jónsson, would have the full name Magnús Pétursson and Anna Pétursdóttir, respectively. Magnús's daughter Sigríður Ásta would be Sigríður Ásta Magnúsdóttir, and would remain so for the rest of her life regardless of marriage. An Icelandic patronymic is essentially only a designation of fatherhood, and is therefore redundant in Icelandic social life except to differentiate people of the same first name — the phone directory, for example, lists people by their given name first, patronymic second. Thus it has little in common with traditional surnames except for its position after the given name. It is legally possible in Iceland to rework the patronymic into a matronymic, replacing the father's name with the mother's. Use of the patronymic system is required by law, except for the descendants of those who had acquired family names before 1913 (about 10% of the population). One notable Icelander who has an inherited family name is football star Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen.

See also: Icelandic naming conventions

Icelandic National Registry

Main article: Kennitala

All living Icelanders, as well as all foreign citizens with permanent residence in Iceland, have a personal identification number (kennitala) identifying them in the National Registry. This number is composed of 10 digits, whereof the first six are made up of the individual's birth date in the format DDMMYY. The next two digits are chosen at random when the kennitala is allocated, the 9th digit is a check digit, and the last digit indicates the period of one hundred years in which the individual was born (for instance, '9' for the period 1900–1999). An example would be 120192-3389. While similar, all-inclusive personal registries exist in other countries, the use of the national registry is unusually extensive in Iceland. For example, video rentals register their customers using the registry identification numbers. It is worth noting that the completeness of the National Registry eliminates any need for census to be performed.

Summary of vital statistics since 1900 ^[2]

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1900	78	2 237	1 545	692	28.6	19.8	8.9
1901	78	2 179	1 155	1 024	27.8	14.7	13.1
1902	79	2 220	1 262	958	28.1	16.0	12.1
1903	79	2 244	1 324	920	28.3	16.7	11.6
1904	80	2 293	1 242	1 051	28.7	15.5	13.1
1905	81	2 271	1 435	836	28.1	17.8	10.4
1906	82	2 346	1 193	1 153	28.8	14.6	14.1
1907	83	2 304	1 396	908	27.9	16.9	11.0
1908	83	2 270	1 594	676	27.3	19.1	8.1
1909	84	2 283	1 263	1 020	27.2	15.0	12.1
1910	85	2 171	1 304	867	25.6	15.4	10.2
1911	85	2 205	1 152	1 053	25.8	13.5	12.3
1912	86	2 234	1 171	1 063	26.0	13.6	12.4
1913	87	2 216	1 060	1 156	25.6	12.2	13.3
1914	88	2 338	1 428	910	26.7	16.3	10.4
1915	89	2 446	1 376	1 070	27.6	15.5	12.1
1916	89	2 377	1 322	1 055	26.6	14.8	11.8
1917	91	2 427	1 111	1 316	26.8	12.3	14.5
1918	92	2 441	1 518	923	26.6	16.6	10.1
1919	92	2 342	1 169	1 173	25.4	12.7	12.7
1920	94	2 627	1 360	1 267	28.1	14.5	13.5
1921	95	2 601	1 478	1 123	27.4	15.6	11.8
1922	96	2 546	1 280	1 266	26.6	13.4	13.2
1923	97	2 612	1 287	1 325	26.9	13.3	13.7
1924	98	2 525	1 462	1 063	25.7	14.9	10.8
1925	99	2 554	1 229	1 325	25.7	12.4	13.3
1926	101	2 676	1 121	1 555	26.5	11.1	15.4
1927	103	2 642	1 282	1 360	25.8	12.5	13.3
1928	104	2 542	1 124	1 418	24.4	10.8	13.6
1929	106	2 644	1 237	1 407	25.0	11.7	13.3
1930	107	2 808	1 248	1 560	26.1	11.6	14.5
1931	109	2 804	1 277	1 527	25.7	11.7	14.0
1932	111	2 696	1 191	1 505	24.4	10.8	13.6
1933	112	2 531	1 159	1 372	22.5	10.3	12.2
1934	114	2 597	1 181	1 416	22.8	10.4	12.4
1935	115	2 551	1 402	1 149	22.1	12.2	10.0
1936	116	2 557	1 253	1 304	22.0	10.8	11.2
1937	117	2 397	1 317	1 080	20.4	11.2	9.2
1938	118	2 374	1 207	1 167	20.1	10.2	9.9
1939	120	2 363	1 160	1 203	19.8	9.7	10.1
1940	121	2 480	1 200	1 280	20.5	9.9	10.6
1941	122	2 634	1 352	1 282	21.6	11.1	10.5
1942	123	3 005	1 293	1 712	24.4	10.5	13.9
1943	125	3 173	1 268	1 905	25.4	10.1	15.2
1944	127	3 213	1 218	1 995	25.3	9.6	15.7
1945	129	3 434	1 179	2 255	26.6	9.1	17.5
1946	132	3 434	1 121	2 313	26.1	8.5	17.6
1947	134	3 703	1 162	2 541	27.6	8.6	18.9
1948	137	3 821	1 114	2 707	27.8	8.1	19.7
1949	140	3 884	1 106	2 778	27.8	7.9	19.9
1950	143	4 093	1 122	2 971	28.7	7.9	20.8
1951	145	3 999	1 145	2 854	27.5	7.9	19.6
1952	148	4 075	1 082	2 993	27.5	7.3	20.2
1953	151	4 254	1 118	3 136	28.1	7.4	20.7
1954	154	4 281	1 064	3 217	27.7	6.9	20.8
1955	158	4 505	1 099	3 406	28.5	7.0	21.6
1956	161	4 603	1 153	3 450	28.5	7.1	21.4
1957	165	4 725	1 157	3 568	28.6	7.0	21.6
1958	168	4 641	1 165	3 476	27.5	6.9	20.6
1959	172	4 837	1 242	3 595	28.1	7.2	20.9
1960	176	4 916	1 167	3 749	28.0	6.6	21.3
1961	179	4 563	1 248	3 315	25.5	7.0	18.5
1962	182	4 711	1 237	3 474	25.9	6.8	19.1
1963	186	4 820	1 327	3 493	26.0	7.2	18.8
1964	189	4 787	1 315	3 472	25.3	7.0	18.4
1965	192	4 721	1 291	3 430	24.6	6.7	17.8
1966	196	4 692	1 391	3 301	24.0	7.1	16.9
1967	199	4 404	1 385	3 019	22.2	7.0	15.2
1968	201	4 227	1 390	2 837	21.0	6.9	14.1
1969	203	4 218	1 451	2 767	20.8	7.2	13.6
1970	204	4 023	1 457	2 566	19.7	7.1	12.6
1971	206	4 277	1 501	2 776	20.8	7.3	13.5
1972	209	4 676	1 447	3 229	22.3	6.9	15.4
1973	212	4 598	1 475	3 123	21.7	6.9	14.7
1974	215	4 276	1 495	2 781	19.9	6.9	12.9
1975	218	4 384	1 412	2 972	20.1	6.5	13.6
1976	220	4 291	1 343	2 948	19.5	6.1	13.4
1977	222	3 996	1 435	2 561	18.0	6.5	11.5
1978	224	4 162	1 421	2 741	18.6	6.4	12.3
1979	226	4 475	1 482	2 993	19.8	6.6	13.3
1980	228	4 528	1 538	2 990	19.8	6.7	13.1
1981	231	4 345	1 656	2 689	18.8	7.2	11.7
1982	234	4 337	1 583	2 754	18.5	6.8	11.8
1983	237	4 371	1 653	2 718	18.4	7.0	11.5
1984	240	4 113	1 584	2 529	17.2	6.6	10.6
1985	241	3 856	1 652	2 204	16.0	6.8	9.1
1986	243	3 881	1 598	2 283	16.0	6.6	9.4
1987	246	4 193	1 724	2 469	17.0	7.0	10.0
1988	250	4 673	1 818	2 855	18.7	7.3	11.4
1989	253	4 560	1 716	2 844	18.0	6.8	11.3
1990	255	4 768	1 704	3 064	18.7	6.7	12.0
1991	258	4 533	1 796	2 737	17.6	7.0	10.6
1992	261	4 609	1 719	2 890	17.7	6.6	11.1
1993	264	4 623	1 753	2 870	17.5	6.6	10.9
1994	266	4 442	1 717	2 725	16.7	6.5	10.2
1995	267	4 280	1 923	2 357	16.0	7.2	8.8
1996	269	4 329	1 879	2 450	16.1	7.0	9.1
1997	271	4 151	1 843	2 308	15.3	6.8	8.5
1998	274	4 178	1 821	2 357	15.2	6.6	8.6
1999	277	4 100	1 901	2 199	14.8	6.9	7.9
2000	281	4 315	1 823	2 492	15.3	6.5	8.9
2001	285	4 091	1 725	2 366	14.4	6.1	8.3
2002	288	4 049	1 821	2 228	14.1	6.3	7.7
2003	290	4 143	1 827	2 316	14.3	6.3	8.0
2004	292	4 234	1 824	2 410	14.5	6.2	8.3
2005	297	4 280	1 838	2 442	14.4	6.2	8.2
2006	304	4 415	1 903	2 512	14.5	6.3	8.3
2007	312	4 560	1 943	2 617	14.6	6.2	8.4
2008	317	4 835	1 987	2 848	15.2	6.3	9.0
2009	318	5 027	2 002	3 025	15.8	6.3	9.5
2010	318
	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)

Culture

Main article: Culture of Iceland

The Icelandic Sagas, almost all written between 1180–1300 AD, remain Iceland's best known literary accomplishment, and they have no surviving counterpart anywhere in the Nordic world. Based on Norwegian and Icelandic histories and genealogies, the Sagas present views of Nordic life and times up to 1100 AD. The Saga writers sought to record their heroes' great achievements and to glorify the virtues of courage, pride, and honour, focusing in the later Sagas on early Icelandic settlers.

Unlike its literature, Iceland's fine arts did not flourish until the 19th century because the population was small and scattered. Iceland's most famous painters are Ásgrímur Jónsson, Jón Stefánsson, and Jóhannes Kjarval, all of whom worked during the first half of the 20th century, and Erró (Guðmundur Guðmundsson). The best-known modern sculptor, Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893–1982), drew his inspiration from Icelandic folklore and the Sagas for many of his works.

The best known Icelandic writer of the 20th century is the Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness. The literacy rate is 100%,^{[citation needed]} and literature and poetry are a passion with the population.^{[citation needed]} Per capita publication of books and magazines is the highest in the world^{[citation needed]}. In 2000, a population of around 280,000 enjoyed three daily newspapers and 101 other newspapers and periodicals.

The bass Kristinn Sigmundsson and the tenor Kristján Jóhannsson are Iceland's most famous opera singers, whilst pop singer Björk is probably the country's best known artist in this century. Other notable Icelandic acts include múm, hard rock band Mínus, and internationally renowned post-rock band Sigur Rós.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

309,605 (October 2007 estimate), of whom 195,301 (60%) live in the Reykjavík metropolitan area.

Age structure

0–14 years: 21.5% (male 32,818; female 31,614)
15–64 years: 67.5% (male 111,216; female 100,367)
65 years and over: 11.0% (male 15,589; female 18,001) (2007 est.)

Total: 309,605

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.04 males: 1 female
under 15 years: 1.03 males: 1 female
15–64 years: 1.03 males: 1 female
65 years and over: 0.83 males: 1 female
total population: 1 male: 1 female (2004 estimate)

Infant mortality rate

3.31 deaths: 1,000 live births (2004 estimate)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 80.18 years
male: 78.18 years
female: 82.27 years (2004 estimate)

Total fertility rate

2.14 children born: 1 woman (2008 estimate)

Nationality

noun: Icelander(s)
adjective: Icelandic

Ethnic groups

93% Icelandic, 7.0% other

Religions

As of 2002: Lutheran 87.1%, Protestant 4.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7% and other 7.1% (Ásatrú is officially recognized with some 0.3% as of 2005)

Languages

Icelandic (English and a second Nordic language, Danish by default, are also a part of the Icelandic compulsory education)[1]

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.9% (1997 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

See also

• Iceland

References

1. ^ mtDNA and the Islands of the North Atlantic: Estimating the Proportions of Norse and Gaelic Ancestry, Agnar Helgason, Eileen Hickey, Sara Goodacre, Vidar Bosnes, Ka´ri Stefa´nsson, Ryk Ward, and Bryan Sykes, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 68:723–737, 2001, http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/journal/issues/v68n3/002146/002146.web.pdf and mtDNA and the Origin of the Icelanders: Deciphering Signals of Recent Population History, Agnar Helgason, Sigrún Sigurðardóttir, Jeffrey R. Gulcher, Ryk Ward, and Kári Stefánsson, Am. J. Hum. Genet., 66:999-1016, 2000, http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/journal/issues/v66n3/991226/991226.html
2. ^ Statistics Iceland

External links

• Statice - The National Statistical Institute of Iceland