Editing Demographics of Iceland (section)

== Urbanisation ==
{{see also|Iceland#Urbanisation}}
According to [[University of Iceland]] economists Davíd F. Björnsson and Gylfi Zoega, "The policies of the colonial masters in Copenhagen delayed urbanisation. The Danish king maintained a monopoly in trade with Iceland from 1602 until 1855, which made the price of fish artificially low – the price of fish was higher in Britain – and artificially raised the price of agricultural products. Instead, Denmark bought the fish caught from Iceland at below world market prices. Although the trade monopoly ended in 1787, Icelanders could not trade freely with other countries until 1855. Following trade liberalisation, there was a substantial increase in fish exports to Britain, which led to an increase in the number of sailing ships used in fishing, introduced for the first time in 1780. The growth of the fishing industry then created demand for capital, and in 1885 Parliament created the first state bank (Landsbanki). In 1905 came the first motorised fishing vessel, which marked an important step in the development of a specialised fishing industry in Iceland. Iceland exported fresh fish to Britain and salted cod to southern Europe, with Portugal an important export market. Fishing replaced agriculture as the country’s main industry. These developments set the stage for the urbanisation that was to follow in the twentieth century."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Björnsson|first1=Davíd F.|last2=Zoega|first2=Gylfi|date=2017-06-26|title=Seasonality of birth rates in agricultural Iceland|journal=Scandinavian Economic History Review|volume=65|issue=3|pages=294–306|doi=10.1080/03585522.2017.1340333|s2cid=157474068|issn=0358-5522|url=https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/19404/1/19404.pdf}}</ref>

A 2017 study looking at individuals going to the capital area for higher education found that "Only about one in three [[University of Iceland]] students from regions beyond commuting distance return after graduation, while about half remain in the capital area and others mostly emigrate."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bjarnason|first1=Thoroddur|author-link1=Thoroddur Bjarnason|last2=Edvardsson|first2=Ingi Runar|date=August 2017|title=University pathways of urban and rural migration in Iceland|journal=Journal of Rural Studies|volume=54|pages=244–254|doi=10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.07.001|url=https://opinvisindi.is/bitstream/20.500.11815/1073/3/Journal%20of%20Rural%20Studies_Thoroddur_2017.pdf|hdl=20.500.11815/1073|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
{{trim|{{#section-h:Iceland|Urbanisation}}}}