The island state of Iceland is located in Northern Europe. It is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of 103 thousand square meters. km The state includes several adjacent islands at once. Iceland is translated from the national language as “land of ice”. The capital and largest city is Reykjavik.
History reference
The territory of present Iceland began to be inhabited only in the 9th century BC. 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 legal independence. According to legend, only one family lived in the land of lions in ancient times. Gradually, its number grew. So there was a culture and the first community of the Icelandic people. From real history it is known that the territory was back in the Middle Ages by the Vikings. Immigrants from Norway were looking for new lands, wealth, 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 by internecine wars and local clan conflicts.
In the 18-19 centuries, almost the entire population of Iceland was engaged in farming and fishing. The most prosperous layers were merchants. It is worth noting that throughout the history of the country, various epidemics, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have repeatedly experienced the strength. Population growth began to be noted only in the middle of the 20th century. Most of the residents are concentrated in cities. Interestingly, about 20% of the state’s territory is still not populated due to severe climatic conditions.
Administrative allocation
Today, the territory of the island state consists of 8 districts. In Iceland, they received the name Sisla. In turn, the districts are divided into communes and cities. The highest population density in Iceland is observed in the Sislu Hevudborgarsvaidid. The administrative center of the county 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. In terms of power, they are centralized to Reykjavik. They have their representation in the Parliament. Local authorities are called sislamans. Each administrative region has its own civic council, headed by a headman.
Population of the country
Iceland has a very low mortality rate for a very long time. According to statistics, the average age of a woman is 83 years, and men are about 79 years old. According to this indicator, the country of lions is in the world ranking in leading places. The proportion of people who crossed the line at the age of 65 is only 12%. In recent years, the population of Iceland has been growing slowly but steadily. 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 (photo below) consists of 93% of the Norwegian and Celtic peoples. Poles stand out from non-indigenous ethnic groups. Their share in the total population is 3%. Next on the list are nationalities such as Lithuanians and Danes.
By religion, Iceland is a Lutheran country. Over 72% of the population belongs to the evangelical church. It is noteworthy that about 13% of the inhabitants consider themselves to be pagans, preferring the ancient Scandinavian religion. About 2% belong to the Catholic Church. Slightly fewer residents consider themselves free Reykjavik dogma. As for employment, it is almost 100%. Most of the inhabitants work in agriculture.
Population dynamics
In the early 1960s, the population of Iceland was just over 175.5 thousand people. Mostly, growth was noted due to an increase in the birth rate. Among migrants, the country of lions is not particularly popular. The reasons for this are the cold climate, and the relative estrangement 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. The demographic component grew annually by about 1%. By 2000, the number reached 281 thousand. The country crossed the border of 0.3 million inhabitants only by the middle of 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, newborns accounted for 90% of the increase, the rest - 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 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 babies were born. The mortality rate is at around 2 thousand people. Thus, today the natural increase is about 0.5%. About 200 people come to Iceland for permanent residence annually. Mostly migrants are residents of Denmark, Norway and Poland. Interestingly, 12 children are born per day in the country (one every 2 hours).