Urban population growth in Iceland
Iceland: Urban population growth 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 215 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.
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
- Population growth 1.5% (2025)
- Population, total 392,404 (2025)
- Urban population 369,715 (2025)
- Urban population 94.2% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.29 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.2% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 20.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 2.9% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 0.5% (2025)
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 215 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.