On 1 January 2009 immigrants in Iceland were 28,644, or 9% of the population. This is a different picture from 1996 when immigrants were 5,357, or 2% of the population. An immigrant in Iceland is a person born abroad with two foreign born parents and four foreign born grandparents.
| Immigrants by country of birth 1 January 2009 (main countries) | |||
| Total | Males | Females | |
| Total | 28,644 | 15,499 | 13,145 |
| Poland | 11,575 | 7,158 | 4,417 |
| Lithuania | 1,572 | 937 | 635 |
| Germany | 1,325 | 500 | 825 |
| Philippines | 1,313 | 422 | 891 |
| Thailand | 887 | 209 | 678 |
In 2009 immigrants coming from the neighbouring Nordic countries were 6.3%. This is a marked drop from 1996, when 30% of all immigrants were from one the Nordic countries. In 2009 most immigrants originate from Europe outside the Nordic countries, or 72.9% compared with 39.8% in 1996. Immigrants from Poland are by far the most numerous. In 2009 11,575 immigrants or 40.4% of the total immigrant population were born in Poland. Other large immigrant groups were born in Lithuania (1,572) and in Germany (1,325). The number of immigrants from the Nordic countries has not changed much since 1996. They were 1,793 in 2009 compared with 1,618 in 1996.
