Statistics Iceland has published a new issue in the Statistical Series on Icelandic population development in 2015. It shows that on the 1st of January 2016 the population of Iceland was 332,529, the population growth with respect to 1st of January 2015 being 1% or 3,429 individuals.
The population declined in three regions, primarily in the Westfjords which lost 1.2% of its population in 2015. Five regions experienced a population increase. The region of Southwest gained proportionally the most (2.2%), a population increase by 483 persons.
Live births in Iceland were 4,129 in 2015, 2,119 boys and 2,010 girls. The number of births has decreased from the previous year when 4,375 children were born. The total fertility rate in 2015 was 1.8, slightly smaller than its previous value (1.9) in 2014.
In 2015, 2,178 individuals died in Iceland, 1,064 men and 1,114 women. The mortality rate was 6.6 per 1,000 inhabitants and the infant mortality rate was 1.9 per 1,000 life births. In 2015, the life expectancy at birth in Iceland was 81 years for men and 83.6 years for women.
The dependency ratio was 68.4% 1 January 2016, same as in the previous year. The dependency ratio is calculated as the ratio of the young and old age population relative to the working age population (defined as 20–64 years of age).
Foreign citizens represented 7.9% of the population on the 1st of January 2016, the highest proportion ever. The number of foreign citizens was 26,486, 46.6% being Polish. In total, there were 40,024 individuals born abroad (12.6% of the population) living in Iceland 1st January 2016.
The number of nuclear families, i.e. couples with or without children under the age of 18 years or parents with children under 18 years, was 79,942 on the 1st of January 2016, compared with 79,354 families at the same date in 2015.
Population development 2015 — Statistical Series