Urban population growth (annual %) in Iceland
Iceland: Urban population growth (annual %) was 1.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Iceland, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population growth in Iceland is 1.6%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 520.3% on the previous year and up 34.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Iceland peaked at 2.8% in 2018 and was at its lowest, -0.1%, in 2010.
Iceland ranks 91st of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.7% | — |
| 1962 | 2.5% | -7.2% |
| 1963 | 2.4% | -6.2% |
| 1964 | 2.5% | +6.8% |
| 1965 | 2.4% | -6.2% |
| 1966 | 2.1% | -11.2% |
| 1967 | 2.0% | -3.4% |
| 1968 | 2.0% | -3.9% |
| 1969 | 1.3% | -31.3% |
| 1970 | 0.9% | -36.0% |
| 1971 | 1.1% | +32.4% |
| 1972 | 2.0% | +71.1% |
| 1973 | 2.0% | +4.0% |
| 1974 | 1.7% | -16.4% |
| 1975 | 1.7% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 1.4% | -19.9% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | -23.7% |
| 1978 | 1.0% | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 1.2% | +16.0% |
| 1980 | 1.3% | +6.6% |
| 1981 | 1.4% | +10.4% |
| 1982 | 1.6% | +14.4% |
| 1983 | 1.6% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 1.3% | -18.8% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | -23.2% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | -3.6% |
| 1987 | 1.4% | +42.2% |
| 1988 | 1.9% | +35.3% |
| 1989 | 1.5% | -18.4% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | -34.7% |
| 1991 | 1.5% | +47.3% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 1.2% | -22.5% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | -12.5% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | -27.4% |
| 1996 | 0.8% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 1.0% | +33.7% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -31.2% |
| 1999 | 1.4% | +94.7% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +13.3% |
| 2001 | 1.4% | -8.1% |
| 2002 | 1.0% | -27.5% |
| 2003 | 0.9% | -15.9% |
| 2004 | 1.0% | +16.2% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | +51.5% |
| 2006 | 2.1% | +41.7% |
| 2007 | 2.7% | +26.1% |
| 2008 | 2.6% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -71.4% |
| 2010 | -0.1% | -117.2% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | -298.0% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | +152.9% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +64.0% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +5.8% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | +24.9% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | +61.5% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | +18.4% |
| 2019 | 2.3% | -15.6% |
| 2020 | 1.8% | -23.1% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +44.3% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | -62.7% |
| 2024 | 0.3% | -72.9% |
| 2025 | 1.6% | +520.3% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 1.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.6%, 2.4× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 1.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.5%, 2.9× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in Iceland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +520.3% | 0.3% | 1.6% |
| 2011 | +298.0% | -0.1% | 0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.2% | 1.3% | 2.7% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.4% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.4% | 1.0% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 0.7% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | -0.1% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 0.3% | 2.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More climate change data for Iceland
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 16.80 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 462.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 110.24 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 352.21 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 12.58 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 92.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.3504 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) 92.72 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Iceland?
- Urban population growth in Iceland was 1.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 2018.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1% in 2010.
- How does Iceland rank for urban population growth?
- Iceland ranks 91st out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.