In the next 50 years Icelanders will have crossed the half million mark, if the high-end projections of Statistics Iceland come true. Currently the population of Iceland is 338,000.
Median model projects 450,000 Icelanders
Statistics Iceland has released its population projections for the next 50 years, according to which the population will be 452,000, according to the median variant of the projection. The high variant puts the population at 531,000, while the low variant puts it at just 361,000. The projection variants are based on different assumptions about economic growth, fertility and migration levels.
The number of births per year will exceed the number of deaths per year during the entire period, for high and medium variants. Statistics Iceland also expects life expectancy at birth for both men and women will continue to grow. Girls born in 2066 can expect to be 88.6 years old and boys 84.4, but average life expectancy in Iceland is now 83.8 years for women and from 79.7 for men.
Immigration rates are expected to exceed emigration rates, which is mainly due to a growth in foreign immigration to Iceland. The number of emigrating Icelandic citizens will continue to be higher than the number of returning citizens.
Icelanders still among youngest European populations
Despite high immigration and more births than deaths the population is expected to grow significantly over the next 50 years. In 2047 the population aged 65 and over will have become more numerous than the population under 20 years old and by 2057 25% of the population will be older than 65.
The Icelandic population is and will still be younger than in most European countries, where more than one third of all people will be over 65 years old in 2060 compared with only a quarter in Iceland.
In the next 50 years Icelanders will have crossed the half million mark, if the high-end projections of Statistics Iceland come true. Currently the population of Iceland is 338,000.
Median model projects 450,000 Icelanders
Statistics Iceland has released its population projections for the next 50 years, according to which the population will be 452,000, according to the median variant of the projection. The high variant puts the population at 531,000, while the low variant puts it at just 361,000. The projection variants are based on different assumptions about economic growth, fertility and migration levels.
The number of births per year will exceed the number of deaths per year during the entire period, for high and medium variants. Statistics Iceland also expects life expectancy at birth for both men and women will continue to grow. Girls born in 2066 can expect to be 88.6 years old and boys 84.4, but average life expectancy in Iceland is now 83.8 years for women and from 79.7 for men.
Immigration rates are expected to exceed emigration rates, which is mainly due to a growth in foreign immigration to Iceland. The number of emigrating Icelandic citizens will continue to be higher than the number of returning citizens.
Icelanders still among youngest European populations
Despite high immigration and more births than deaths the population is expected to grow significantly over the next 50 years. In 2047 the population aged 65 and over will have become more numerous than the population under 20 years old and by 2057 25% of the population will be older than 65.
The Icelandic population is and will still be younger than in most European countries, where more than one third of all people will be over 65 years old in 2060 compared with only a quarter in Iceland.
