Iceland sees sharp rise in people with a foreign parent

The number of people registered in Iceland who have one foreign parent has risen sharply since 2000, in line with a major increase in the number of foreign citizens in the country, mbl.is reports.

In 2000, 6,433 people born in Iceland had one foreign parent. The figure passed 10,000 for the first time in 2010 and had risen to nearly 17,000 at the beginning of 2026, an increase of almost 70 per cent.

The number of people born abroad who have one foreign parent more than doubled over the same period, from 2,509 in 2000 to 5,483 at the beginning of this year.

Statistics Iceland data also show that the number of immigrants in Iceland rose from 8,425 in 2000 to 77,226 in 2026, while the number of people classified as second-generation immigrants increased from 478 to 8,351.

The number of foreign citizens has grown faster than the number of Icelandic citizens. In 2000, Iceland had 271,778 citizens with Icelandic nationality and 7,271 foreign citizens. At the beginning of this year, the corresponding figures were 323,769 and 70,555.

A total of 15,937 people were granted Icelandic citizenship between 2000 and 2025.

The increase in immigration has coincided with strong growth in Iceland’s economy. Economist Þórður Gunnarsson highlighted the trend during a debate on Iceland’s European Union membership in Reykjavík last Tuesday, saying cumulative economic growth in Iceland since 2000 had reached 80 per cent. He said the next-highest growth in Europe, in the Netherlands and Denmark, was about 40 per cent.

During Iceland’s economic expansion from 2005 to 2007, demand for workers in the construction industry rose sharply. Many of those jobs were filled by Polish workers, who became the largest immigrant group in Iceland.

After the financial collapse and the subsequent economic recovery, another substantial increase in foreign citizens followed. Their number rose from 18,964 at the beginning of 2012 to 70,555 at the beginning of 2026, an increase of 270 per cent.

Many foreign citizens found work in construction and tourism, both of which are labour-intensive industries. The number also includes asylum seekers, particularly from Ukraine, although they represent only a fraction of the total. Most foreign citizens moved to Iceland for employment opportunities, with wages in Iceland considered high.

About 700 more foreign citizens moved to Iceland than left in the second quarter, according to figures reported by Morgunblaðið on August 4. In total, 1,150 more foreign citizens moved to Iceland than left during the first half of the year. Between 2000 and 2025, an average of 2,854 more foreign citizens moved to Iceland than left each year.