Editing Demographics of Iceland (section)

====Immigration====
Before the 1990s, there was little immigration to Iceland, and most of it was from other Scandinavian countries: about 1% of Icelanders in 1900 were of [[Danes|Danish]] heritage (born either in Denmark or to Danish parents).<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of Iceland|last=Karlsson|first=Gunnar|year=2000|page=234}}</ref> In the mid-1990s, 95% of Icelanders had parents of Icelandic origin, and 2% of Icelanders were first-generation immigrants (born abroad with both parents and all grandparents foreign-born).<ref>Kristín Loftsdóttir, “[https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/njmr.2017.7.issue-2/njmr-2017-0012/njmr-2017-0012.pdf Being ‘the Damned Foreigner’: Affective National Sentiments and Racialization of Lithuanians in Iceland.]” ''Nordic Journal of Migration Research'' 7.2 (2017): 70–77 (p. 72) {{doi|10.1515/njmr-2017-0012}}.</ref><ref name="auto">'[https://web.archive.org/web/20180301221616/https://www.statice.is/publications/news-archive/population/immigrants-and-persons-with-foreign-background-2017/ Immigrants and persons with foreign background 2017]' (16 June 2017).</ref>

Immigration to Iceland rose rapidly in the late twentieth century, encouraged by Iceland's accession to the [[European Economic Area]] in 1994, its entry into the [[Schengen Agreement]] in 2001, and the country's [[Icelandic outvasion|economic boom in the early twenty-first century]]. The largest ethnic minority is [[Polish immigrants in Iceland|Poles]], who are about a third of the immigrant population. In 2017, 10.6% of the people were first-generation immigrants.<ref name="auto"/>

Iceland is also developing relatively small populations of religious minorities, including [[Catholic Church in Iceland|Catholics]] (about 15,000 in 2020, 4.02% of Icelanders),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Samfelag/Samfelag__menning__5_trufelog/MAN10001.px/table/tableViewLayout1/?rxid=4cfc6e75-3bf7-4455-ba53-5cb62900aa65|title=Populations by religious and life stance organizations 1998-2017|website=Statistics Iceland|access-date=2017-08-22|archive-date=2019-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913113045/http://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Samfelag/Samfelag__menning__5_trufelog/MAN10001.px/?rxid=4cfc6e75-3bf7-4455-ba53-5cb62900aa65|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://statice.is/|title=Statistics Iceland|website=Statistics Iceland}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://grapevine.is/news/2019/10/24/catholic-congregation-in-iceland-growing-rapidly/ |title=From Iceland — Catholic Congregation in Iceland Growing Rapidly |publisher=Grapevine.is |date=2019-10-24 |accessdate=2022-03-21}}</ref> [[Baháʼí Faith in Iceland|Baháʼís]] (about 400 in 2010),<ref name="govstats">Demographic data as published by [[Statistics Iceland]], found online for the period of 1990 and later [http://statice.is/Statistics/Population/Religious-organizations ''Hagtíðindi'' for the years 1973-1989] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607200930/http://www.statice.is/Statistics/Population/Religious-organizations |date=2009-06-07 }}</ref> [[History of the Jews in Iceland|Jews]] (about 250 in 2018),<ref name=visir>{{cite web|url=http://www.visir.is/g/2018180219791|title=Fyrsti íslenski rabbíninn mun beita sér gegn umskurðarbanninu|last1=Jónsson|first1=Stefán Ó.|date=12 February 2018|website=www.visir.is}}</ref> [[Buddhism in Iceland|Buddhists]] (about 1,500 in 2021),<ref name="StatisticsIceland">{{cite web|url=https://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Samfelag/Samfelag__menning__5_trufelog/MAN10001.px|title=Populations by religious and life stance organizations|publisher=[[Statistics Iceland]]|access-date=2021-09-12|archive-date=2021-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713105712/https://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Samfelag/Samfelag__menning__5_trufelog/MAN10001.px|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Islam in Iceland|Muslims]] (about 1,300 in 2015),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/|title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050|date=2015-04-02|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=2017-04-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Samfelag/Samfelag__menning__5_trufelog/MAN10001.px/|title=Populations by religious and life stance organizations 1998-2018|website=PX-Web|access-date=2019-01-15|archive-date=2022-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127015955/http://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Samfelag/Samfelag__menning__5_trufelog/MAN10001.px|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Eastern Orthodox (about 995 in 2024).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistics Iceland: Religious organisations |url=https://statice.is/statistics/society/culture/religious-organisations/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=Statistics Iceland |language=en}}</ref>

Research on the experience of immigrants to Iceland is in its early days.<ref>Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, ''Collisions and Continuities: Ten Immigrant Families and Their Children in Icelandic Society and Schools''. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2008.</ref><ref>Skaptadóttir, UD 2004, ‘Mobilities and cultural difference: immigrant’s experiences in Iceland’ in Topographies of globalization: politics, culture, language, eds V Ingimundarson, K Loftsdóttir & I Erlingsdóttir, The University of Iceland Press, Reykjavík pp. 133-149.</ref> There is some evidence that racism is not as acute in Iceland as in neighbouring countries.<ref>Rannveig Thorisdottir, “Armed with a Pen.” In ''Black Light, White Shadows: Young People in the Nordic Countries Write about Racism''. Edited by Leena Suurpää, 85–97. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, 1998.</ref><ref>Kristín Loftsdóttir, “ ‘Still a Lot of Staring and Curiosity’: Racism and the Racialization of African Immigrants in Iceland.” In ''New Dimensions of Diversity in Nordic Culture and Society''. Edited by Jenny Björklund, Ursula Lindqvist, 263–78. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.</ref><ref>Gunnar J. Gunnarsson, Gunnar E. Finnbogason, Hanna Ragnarsdóttir and Halla Jónsdóttir. “Friendship, Diversity and Fear: Young People’s Life Views and Life Values in a Multicultural Society.” Nordidactica: Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education (2015 part 2): 94–113.</ref> But, while it is popularly believed in Iceland that racism does not exist there,<ref>Kristín Loftsdóttir, “The Country without Racism: Multiculturalism and Colonial Identity Formations in Iceland.” Social Identities 17 (2011): 11–25.</ref> there is evidence that in some respects immigrant populations experience prejudice and inequalities.<ref>Kristín Loftsdóttir, “[https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/njmr.2017.7.issue-2/njmr-2017-0012/njmr-2017-0012.pdf Being ‘the Damned Foreigner’: Affective National Sentiments and Racialization of Lithuanians in Iceland.]” ''Nordic Journal of Migration Research'' 7.2 (2017): 70–77 {{doi|10.1515/njmr-2017-0012}}.</ref> For example, Iceland has a higher dropout rate from upper secondary school among young immigrants than the EEA average.<ref>Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, “Competences for Active Communication and Participation in Diverse Societies: Views of Young People in Iceland.” In ''Intercultural Competence in Education: Alternative Approaches for Different Times''. Edited by Fred Dervin and Zehavit Gross, 73–93. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. p. 75.</ref>

Iceland does not formally collect data on the ethnicity or racial identification of its citizens, but does collect data of the origin and background group by birth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shendruk |first=Amanda |date=2021-07-08 |title=Are you even trying to stop racism if you don't collect data on race? |url=https://qz.com/2029525/the-20-countries-that-dont-collect-racial-and-ethnic-census-data/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref>

{{Historical populations
| percentages = pagr
|footnote = Source: [[Statistics Iceland]]
|title=Historical population<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://px.hagstofa.is:443/pxen/pxweb/en/Ibuar/Ibuar__mannfjoldi__1_yfirlit__yfirlit_mannfjolda/MAN00000.px/|title=Population - key figures 1703-2023|website=PxWeb}}</ref>
|1703 | 50358
|1750 | 48241
|1800 | 46176
|1850 | 59586
|1860 | 67754
|1870 | 69463
|1880 | 71981
|1890 | 70581
|1900 | 77967
|1910 | 84528
|1920 | 92855
|1930 | 106360
|1940 | 120264
|1950 | 141042
|1960 | 173855
|1970 | 204042
|1980 | 226948
|1990 | 253785
|2000 | 279049
|2010 | 317630
|2020 | 354042
|2024 | 383726
}}