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Demographics
Demographics
The original population of Iceland was of Nordic and Celtic origin.
This is evident from literary evidence dating from the settlement period as well as from later scientific studies such as blood type and genetic analyses.
One such genetics study has indicated that the majority of the male settlers were of Nordic origin while the majority of the women were of Celtic origin.
Iceland has extensive genealogical records dating back to the late 1600s and fragmentary records extending back to the Age of Settlement.
The biopharmaceutical company deCODE Genetics has funded the creation of a genealogy database which attempts to cover all of Iceland's known inhabitants.
It sees the database, called Íslendingabók, as a valuable tool for conducting research on genetic diseases, given the relative isolation of Iceland's population.
The population of the island is believed to have varied from 40,000 to 60,000 in the period from initial settlement until the mid-19th century.
During that time, cold winters, ashfall from volcanic eruptions, and bubonic plagues adversely affected the population several times.
The first census was carried out in 1703 and revealed that the population was then 50,358.
After the destructive volcanic eruptions of the Laki volcano during 1783–1784 the population reached a low of about 40,000.
Improving living conditions have triggered a rapid increase in population since the mid-19th century - from about 60,000 in 1850 to 320,000 in 2008.
In December 2007, 33,678 people (13.5% of the total population) who were living in Iceland had been born abroad, including children of Icelandic parents living abroad.
19,000 people (6% of the population) held foreign citizenship.
Poles make up the far largest minority nationality (see table on the right for more details), and still form the bulk of the foreign workforce.
About 10,000 Poles now live in Iceland, 1,500 of them in Reyðarfjörður where they make up 75 percent of the workforce who are building the Fjarðarál aluminium plant.
The recent surge in immigration has been credited to a labor shortage because of the booming economy while restrictions on the movement of people from the Eastern European countries that joined the EU/EEA in 2004 have been lifted.
Large-scale construction projects in the east of Iceland (see Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project) have also brought in many people whose stay is expected to be temporary.
The Icelandic financial crisis threatens to push many immigrants - mostly from Poland - back home.
The south-west corner of Iceland is the most densely populated region.
It is also the location of the capital Reykjavík, the northernmost capital in the world.
The largest towns outside the greater Reykjavík area are Akureyri and Reykjanesbær, although the latter is relatively close to the capital.
10 most populous towns in Iceland
List of ten most populous towns in Iceland.
The population census is 1 July 2008 (estimate).
120,000 Reykjavík .
30,000 Kópavogur .
25,434 Hafnarfjörður .
17,390 Akureyri .
14,029 Reykjanesbær .
10,272 Garðabær .
8,479 Mosfellsbær .
7,817 Árborg .
6,549 Akranes .
5,033 Fjarðabyggð .
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Language
Iceland's official written and spoken language is Icelandic, a North Germanic language descended from Old Norse.
It has changed less from Old Norse than the other Nordic languages, has preserved more verb and noun inflection, and has to a considerable extent developed new vocabulary based on native roots rather than borrowings from other languages.
It is the only living language to retain the runic letter Þ.
The closest living language to Icelandic is Faroese.
In education, the use of Icelandic Sign Language for Iceland's deaf community is regulated by the National Curriculum Guide.
English is widely spoken as a secondary language, and many Icelanders speak it almost at a native level of proficiency[citation needed].
Danish is also widely understood.
Studying both these languages is a mandatory part of the compulsory school curriculum.
Other commonly spoken languages are German, Norwegian and Swedish.
Danish is mostly spoken in a way largely comprehensible to Swedes and Norwegians – it is often referred to as "Scandinavian" in Iceland.[citation needed] .
Rather than using family names as is the custom in all mainland European nations, the Icelanders use patronymics.
The patronymic follows the person's given name, e.g.
Ólafur Jónsson ("Ólafur, son of Jón") or Katrín Karlsdóttir ("Katrín, daughter of Karl").
Religion
Icelanders enjoy freedom of religion under the constitution, though the National Church of Iceland, a Lutheran body, is the state church.
The National Registry keeps account of the religious affiliation of every Icelandic citizen.
In 2005, Icelanders divided into religious groups as follows: .
80.7% members of the National Church of Iceland.
6.2% members of unregistered religious organisations or with no specified religious affiliation .
4.9% members of the Free Lutheran Churches of Reykjavík and Hafnarfjörður.
2.8% not members of any religious group.
2.5% members of the Roman Catholic Church, which has a Diocese of Reykjavík (see also Bishop of Reykjavik (Catholic)) .
The remaining 2.9% is mostly divided between around 20–25 other Christian denominations and sects, and less than 1% belong to non-Christian religious organisations.
The largest non-Christian denomination is Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið, a neopagan group.
Religious attendance is relatively low, as in the other Nordic countries.
The above statistics represent administrative membership of religious organizations and not the actual belief demographics of the population of Iceland.[citation needed] .
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Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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