Immigrants in Iceland were 77,226 on 1 January 2026 or 19.6% of the total population. The proportion of immigrants is larger than last year when it was 18.9% (73,795). The number of second generation immigrants rose from 7,838 in 2025 to 8,351 in 2026. Combined, first and second generation immigrants, made up 21.7% 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 7.4% 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 2026 as in the previous years, 23,055 or 29.9% of the total immigrant population. The second largest group of immigrants were born in Ukraine (6.1%) followed by people born in Lithuania (4.9%). Polish men were 31.1% of all male immigrants or 13,060 out of 41,711. Lithuanian men were the second most populous (5.8%) followed by men of Romanian origin (5.6%). Polish women were 28.2% of the female immigrants, followed by women from Ukraine (7.0%) and women from the Philippines (5.5%).
The highest proportion of immigrants in the Southwest On 1 January 2026, 64.8% of first and second generation immigrants were living in the Capital region, or 55,467. The highest proportion of immigrants was in the Southwest with 34% of first and second generation immigrants. The second highest proportion was in the Westfjords, whereas 25.4% of the population were immigrants or second generation immigrants. The lowest proportion was in the Northwest where only 11.8% of the population were immigrants or second generation immigrants.
1,085 persons acquired Icelandic citizenship in 2025
A total of 1,085 persons were granted Icelandic citizenship in 2025 compared with 638 in 2024. New Icelandic citizens were mostly of Polish origin (199) and the second largest group previously had Philippine citizenship (79). 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 2025 when 583 women were granted Icelandic citizenship and 502 men.
Fertility rate of women with Icelandic citizenship 1.78 in 2025
The main measure of fertility is the total fertility rate. It is generally assumed that fertility needs to be around 2.1 children to maintain the population in the long term. In 2025, the fertility rate among women residing in Iceland was 1.56, matching the record low observed in 2024 and representing the lowest level since measurements began in 1853. The fertility rate for women with Icelandic citizenship was 1.78 in 2025, up from 1.77 in 2024. The fertility rate for women with foreign citizenship was 1.09 and has never been lower.
Statistics
Background
Births