Net external migration in Iceland in 2019 was 4,961 compared with 6,556 in 2018. The number of immigrants was 12,006 in 2019 compared with 14,275 the year before.

Denmark the most popular country of destination for Icelandic citizens
Of the 2,635 Icelandic citizens who emigrated in 2019, a total of 1,686 migrated to Norway, Denmark or Sweden. Most of them emigrated to Denmark, or 913. These countries were also the major countries of origin for immigrating Icelandic citizens as 1,709 out of 2,460 immigrants came from these countries.

Most of the foreign citizens emigrating from Iceland migrated to Poland, or 1,436 out of 4,410. Poland was also the largest contributor of immigrants with foreign citizenship, 2,642 persons out of 9,546 foreign immigrants.

Most frequent age of emigrants 26 years
The largest age group among those who emigrated or immigrated in 2019 was 20–29 years old, or 41.9%. However, the modal age of emigrants was 26 years and the modal age of immigrants was 27 years.

Dramatic change in the sex ratio of international migrants
A significant change in the sex ratio of international migrants has taken place in recent years. Up until 2003 more females than males migrated each year to Iceland. This changed dramatically between 2004 and 2008 when 4,215 more males than females immigrated to Iceland. Between 2009 and 2012 respectively, 4,114 more males than females emigrated from Iceland. In 2019 males exceeded females by 987 in net migration.

Most positive internal migration in the South region
When only taking into account internal migration between regions in the year 2019, only two regions had favorable net migration. The South had the most positive internal migration (399) and the Southwest had positive internal migration of 40. Other regions had a negative net migration. When considering external and internal migration, all of the country’s regions experienced positive net migration in 2019.

Statistics
Internal migration
External migration

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