The population of Iceland was 318,452 on January 1, 2011, compared with 317,630 on January 1, 2010. In 2010, there were 4,907 births in Iceland, 2,523 boys were born and 2,384 girls—it was the third highest number of births ever recorded.
Mothers on a stroll in Laugardalur, Reykjavík. Photo by Bernhild Vögel.
In 2010, 2,017 persons passed away, 1,063 males and 954 females. The life expectancy for men at birth is estimated at 79.5 years, compared with 79.7 years in 2009. Meanwhile, new-born girls can be expected to reach the age of 83.5 years, up from 83.3 in 2009, Statistics Iceland reports.
Immigrants, that is, residents born abroad whose parents and all grandparents were also born abroad, numbered 25,693 on January 1, 2011. This amounts to 8.1 percent of the total population.
Second-generation immigrants, persons born in Iceland but whose parents were born abroad, numbered 2,582 on January 1, 2011, while persons with one immigrant parent numbered 13,055 January 1, 2011.
Overall, 42,230 persons or 13.3 percent of the total population in Iceland have a foreign background.
Click here to read about the high level of unemployment among foreign citizens in Iceland, here to read more about population developments and here to read more about life expectancy.
