The island nation of Iceland is located in Northern Europe. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean. It occupies an area of 103 thousand square meters. km. The state includes several adjacent islands at once. Iceland is translated from the national language as "the land of ice." The capital and largest city is Reykjavik.
Historical background
The territory of present-day Iceland began to be settled only in the 9th century AD. e. Until the mid-1940s, the country was part of the administrative unification of Denmark. In the midst of World War II, Iceland held a large-scale referendum. And in 1944, the state peacefully gained its legal independence. According to legend, only one family lived in the territory of the country of lions in ancient times. Gradually its number grew. This is how the culture and the first community of the Icelandic people appeared. It is known from real history that the territory was colonized by the Vikings in the Middle Ages. Natives of Norway were looking for new lands, we alth, slaves. As a result, they 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 18th and 19th centuries, almost the entire population of Iceland was engaged in farming and fishing. The richest strata were merchants. It is worth noting that throughout history, the country has been repeatedly tested for strength by various epidemics, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Population growth began to be noted only by the middle of the 20th century. Most of the inhabitants are concentrated in cities. Interestingly, about 20% of the territory of the state is still not inhabited due to harsh climatic conditions.
Administrative distribution
Today the territory of the island state consists of 8 districts. In Iceland they are called sisla. In turn, the districts are divided into communes and cities. The highest population density in Iceland is observed in the sisle of Hevydborgarsvaidid. The county seat is Reykjavik. The next in size and economic importance are the regions belonging to the cities of Keflavik and Borgarnes.
Sisla are not self-governing districts. In terms of power, they are centralized to Reykjavik. They have their representation in the Parliament. The local authorities are called Sislamans. Each administrative region has its own civic council headed by a headman.
Population of the country
Iceland has had a relatively low mortality rate 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 indicatorthe country of lions is in the world ranking in the leading places. The proportion of people who have crossed the threshold of 65 years is only 12%. Iceland's population has been growing slowly but steadily in recent years. The increase varies within 1.2%. In 2014, more than 200 AIDS patients were registered in the country. This is approximately 0.07% of the total population. Currently, the population of Iceland (see photo below) is 93% Norwegian and Celtic. Poles stand out from non-indigenous ethnic groups. Their share in the total population is 3%. Next in the list are such nationalities as Lithuanians and Danes.
By religion, Iceland is a Lutheran country. More than 72% of the population belong to the evangelical church. It is noteworthy that about 13% of the inhabitants consider themselves pagans, preferring the ancient Scandinavian religion. About 2% belong to the Catholic Church. Slightly fewer residents identify themselves with the free Reykjavik creed. As for employment, it is almost 100%. Most of the residents work in agriculture.
Number dynamics
In the early 1960s, the population of Iceland was just over 175.5 thousand people. The increase was mainly due to an increase in the birth rate. Among migrants, the country of lions did not find much popularity. 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 thousand people. Demographic componentgrew by about 1% annually. By 2000, the number had reached 281,000. The country passed the threshold of 0.3 million inhabitants only by mid-2006. Since the 2010s, 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 up of newborn children, the rest were visitors.
Population in 2015
Today the population of the country has almost reached the mark of 330 thousand inhabitants. In the first two quarters, the population of Iceland grew 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 kept at around 2 thousand people. Thus, already 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. Interestingly, 12 children are born per day in the country (one every 2 hours).
