The Population of Iceland

The number of residents in Iceland is about 280,000. A great majority of residents live in the capital city area. In the past years, the population has been increasing continuously, as is the case for the entire southwest corner of the country. This has lead to an enormous disturbance in population patterns, as numbers of people decrease in other parts of the country. Over 60% of Icelandic residents live in the capital city area, whilst in the northeast there are less than 10% of residents, and about 7,5% in southern Iceland. In other parts of the country the percentages are lower still.

There is a strong culture of single-family dwelling in Iceland. Most people choose to live in a single-family house or a terrace house, and few people live in apartment blocks. Amongst other things, this has seen the town spread over a rather large area in relation to the number of residents, and high-rise buildings are fairly uncommon. There is little in the way of rented premises and rent in the capital city area is very high.