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About Iceland - Icelandic Population
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Population in Iceland
Iceland was settled by a mixed stock of Norsemen from Scandinavia and Celts from the British Isles. The ruling class was Nordic, so that both the language and culture of Iceland were purely Scandinavian from the outset, but there are traces of Celtic influence in some of the Eddaic poems, in names and in the appearance of present day Icelanders who have a higher percentage of the dark-haired type than the other Nordic nations.
The early blending of Nordic and Celtic blood may partly account for the fact that the Icelanders, alone of all the Nordic peoples, produced great literature in the Middle Ages. Immigration of foreign elements has been minimal since the first settlement, and there are no Inuits (Eskimos) in Iceland, contrary to common belief.
Around the year 1100 the population, then entirely rural, is estimated to have been about 70,000 -80,000. Three times during the eighteenth century it declined below 40,000 but by the year 1900 it had reached 78,000. In 1925 it had passed the 100,000 mark, in 1967 it reached 200,000 and in July 2004 people of Iceland were 293,966. Population density per square kilometre in Iceland is 2.8 making the country the most sparsely populated country in Europe (seventh in the world).
The average life expectancy for men is 78 years and for women 82 years - one of the world's highest averages.
Iceland was settled by a mixed stock of Norsemen from Scandinavia and Celts from the British Isles. The ruling class was Nordic, so that both the language and culture of Iceland were purely Scandinavian from the outset, but there are traces of Celtic influence in some of the Eddaic poems, in names and in the appearance of present day Icelanders who have a higher percentage of the dark-haired type than the other Nordic nations.
The early blending of Nordic and Celtic blood may partly account for the fact that the Icelanders, alone of all the Nordic peoples, produced great literature in the Middle Ages. Immigration of foreign elements has been minimal since the first settlement, and there are no Inuits (Eskimos) in Iceland, contrary to common belief.
Around the year 1100 the population, then entirely rural, is estimated to have been about 70,000 -80,000. Three times during the eighteenth century it declined below 40,000 but by the year 1900 it had reached 78,000. In 1925 it had passed the 100,000 mark, in 1967 it reached 200,000 and in July 2004 people of Iceland were 293,966. Population density per square kilometre in Iceland is 2.8 making the country the most sparsely populated country in Europe (seventh in the world).
The average life expectancy for men is 78 years and for women 82 years - one of the world's highest averages.
History of Iceland | Political System in Iceland | Icelandic Language
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