Population of Iceland: history, strength, photo

The island state of Iceland is located in Northern Europe. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Occupies a territory of 103 thousand square meters. Km. The state consists of several adjacent islands. Iceland is translated from the national language as "the land of lions". The capital and the largest city is Reykjavik.

Historical reference

The territory of present Iceland began to be populated only in the 9th century AD. E. Until the mid-1940s, the country was part of the administrative association of Denmark. In the midst of World War II, Iceland held a large-scale referendum. And in 1944 the state peacefully gained its legitimate independence.

According to legend, only one family lived in the territory of the country of lions in ancient times. Gradually, its numbers grew. So there was a culture and the first community of the Icelandic people. From the real history it is known that the territory was colonized by the Vikings in the Middle Ages. Natives of Norway were looking for new lands, riches, slaves. As a result, we found several large empty islands in the middle of the ocean. Over time, villages began to appear there, then small towns. For a long time the country was torn apart by internecine wars and local conflicts of clans. In the 18-19 centuries almost all the population of Iceland engaged in farming and fishing. The most prosperous layers were merchants. It should be noted that throughout the history of the country repeatedly tested for the strength of various epidemics, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Population growth began to be noted only by the middle of the 20th century. Most of the residents are concentrated in the cities. It is interesting that about 20% of the territory of the state is still not populated due to severe climatic conditions.

Administrative Distribution

Today the territory of the island state consists of 8 districts. In Iceland they were called the sysla. In turn, the districts are divided into communes and cities.

The highest density of the population of Iceland is observed in the Hewyudborgsvaidid sysla. The administrative center of the district is Reykjavik. The next in number and economic importance are the regions belonging to the cities of Keflavik and Borgarnes. Sisla are not self-governing districts. With regard to power, they are centralized to Reykjavik. They have their representatives in the Parliament. Local authorities are called syslamanns. In each administrative region there is a civil council headed by the headman.

Population of the country

In Iceland, a relatively low mortality rate has been observed for a very long time. According to statistics, the average age of a woman is 83 years, and men - about 79 years. According to this indicator, the country of lions is in the world ranking at the leading places. The share of people who crossed the threshold at age 65 is only 12%.

In recent years, the population of Iceland has been growing slowly but steadily. The gain varies within 1.2%. In 2014, more than 200 AIDS patients were registered in the country. This is approximately 0.07% of the total number of residents.

At present, the population of Iceland (photo below) is 93% composed of Norwegian and Celtic peoples. Of non-indigenous ethnic groups stand out Poles. Their share in the total population is 3%. Next on the list are such nationalities as Lithuanians and Danes. By faith, Iceland is a Lutheran country. More than 72% of the population belong to the evangelical church. It is noteworthy that about 13% of residents consider themselves pagans, preferring the ancient Scandinavian religion. About 2% belong to the Catholic Church. Slightly less inhabitants refer themselves to a free Reykjavik doctrine.

As for employment, it is almost 100%. Most of the population works in agriculture.

Dynamics of the number

In the early 1960s, the population of Iceland was just over 175.5 thousand people. In general, the increase was noted due to the increase in the birth rate. Among migrants, the country of lions was not very popular. The reasons for this are the cold climate, and the relative detachment of the islands from the outside world, and the seismically dangerous zone.

By the end of the 1970s, the population of Iceland exceeded 225,000 people. The demographic component grew annually by about 1%. By 2000, the number had reached 281 thousand. The border to 0.3 million inhabitants of the country passed only by mid-2006. Since 2010, the population growth has slightly decreased (about 0.5%). In 2014, the number increased by 2.2 thousand people. At the same time, 90% of the increase was made by newborn children, the rest - by newcomers.

Population in 2015

Today, the country's population has almost reached the mark of 330 thousand inhabitants. In the first two quarters, the population of Iceland increased by 0.7%. It is expected that by the end of the year the number will increase by 2.3 thousand people.

In 2015, approximately 3,700 children were born. The death rate is at the level of 2 thousand people. Thus, as of today, the natural increase is about 0.5%.

Every year about 200 people come to Iceland for permanent residence. Mostly migrants are residents of Denmark, Norway and Poland.

It is interesting that on the day in the country are born 12 children (one every 2 hours).