Iceland: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 143,000 people, so the population is now 2.8 times as large.

The UN projects 4,350 births and 2,680 deaths in 2026, 1,660 more births than deaths.

The UN projects the first year with more deaths than births in 2045.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 2,030.

The median age is 36.6, which is 5.5 years above the world’s 31.1.

17% of the people are under 15 and 16% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

The UN projects that people aged 65 and over will outnumber children under 15 from 2029.

Women have 1.5 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 3.9 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 83.3 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 71.0.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 433,000 people, 7.6% more than now, with a median age of 44.9.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 82.7 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 21.7 more years for women and 19.8 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 24.3 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 38.0.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 363,000, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 144,000 to 757,000.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 98,800 international migrants lived here, 25.1% of the population.

In mid-2024, 23,300 people from here lived in other countries.