Immigrants in Iceland were 73,795 on 1 January 2025 or 18.9% of the total population. The proportion of immigrants is larger than last year when it was 18.2% (69,690). The number of second generation immigrants rose from 7,352 in 2024 to 7,839 in 2025. Combined, first and second generation immigrants, made up 21% of the population. The percentage has never been higher. The number of individuals with a foreign background, other than immigrants, also increased slightly between years and amounted to 7.3% of the population.
An immigrant is a person born abroad with both parents and all grandparents foreign born, whereas a second generation immigrant is born in Iceland having immigrant parents. A person with a foreign background has one parent of foreign origin.
People born in Poland the largest group of immigrants
People born in Poland were the largest group of immigrants on 1 January 2025 as in the previous years, 22,925 or 31.1% of the total immigrant population. The second largest group of immigrants were born in Ukraine (5.6%) followed by people born in Lithuania (5.2%). Polish men were 32.7% of all male immigrants or 13,033 out of 39,906. Lithuanian men were the second most populous (6.1%) followed by men of Romanian origin (5.6%). Polish women were 29.2% of the female immigrants, followed by women from Ukraine (6.9%) and women from the Philippines (5.3%).
The highest proportion of immigrants in the Southwest
On 1 January 2026, 64.7% of first and second generation immigrants were living in the Capital region, or 52,834. The highest proportion of immigrants was in the Southwest with 33.1% of first and second generation immigrants. The second highest proportion was in the Westfjords, whereas 24.5% of the population were immigrants or second generation immigrants. The lowest proportion was in the Northwest where only 11.5% of the population were immigrants or second generation immigrants.
638 persons acquired Icelandic citizenship in 2024
A total of 638 persons were granted Icelandic citizenship in 2024 compared with 649 in 2023. New Icelandic citizens were mostly of Polish origin (110) and the second largest group previously had Philippine citizenship (37). In 1991, more men than women received Icelandic citizenship, but every year since then women have been the majority of new Icelandic citizens. This was also the case in 2024 when 351 women were granted Icelandic citizenship and 287 men.