Net external migration was 1,451 in 2015 compared with 1,119 in 2014. The number of immigrants was 7,461 in 2015 compared with 6,988 in 2014. At the same time the number of emigrants increased from 5,875 in 2014 to 6,010 in 2015.
Denmark the most popular country of destination for Icelandic citizens
Of the 3,763 Icelandic citizens who emigrated in 2015, a total of 2,729 migrated to Norway, Denmark or Sweden. Most of them emigrated to Denmark, or 1,030. Norway has been the most popular destination for Icelandic citizens since 2009. These countries were also the major countries of origin for immigrating Icelandic citizens, as 1,758 out of 2,498 immigrants came from these countries.
Most of the foreign citizens emigrating from Iceland migrated to Poland, or 536 out of 2,247. Poland was also the largest contributor of immigrants with foreign citizenship, 1,596 persons out of 4,963 foreign immigrants.
Most frequent age of emigrants 23 years
The most frequent age group among those who emigrated or immigrated in 2015 was 20–29 years old, 39%. However, the modal age of emigrants was 23 years and the modal ages of immigrants were 24 and 25 years in the year 2015.
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 2015, males exceeded females by 567 in net migration.
Most foreign citizens from Poland
From the year 1996, the highest numbers of foreign immigrants to Iceland have been with Polish citizenship., with the exception of 2004, when people with Portuguese citizenship where the most numerous. In 2015, 1,624 people with Polish citizenship immigrated to Iceland, and individuals with Polish citizenship were also the largest contributors of foreign nationals to emigrate from Iceland in 2015, or 574.
The capital region receives
When only taking into account internal migration between regions in the year 2015, four regions had favorable net migration, where Southwest had most internal migration (157). Four regions had negative net migration and Northwest had negative net migration of only three. When considering external and internal migration, three of the country’s regions experienced negative net migration in 2015, Westfjords (-97), East (-96) and Northwest (-18).
| Migration by regions 2015 | |||
| Net migration | |||
| Total | Internal | External | |
| Total | 1,451 | • | 1,451 |
| Capital region | 938 | 56 | 882 |
| Southwest | 293 | 157 | 136 |
| West | 125 | 28 | 97 |
| Westfjords | -97 | -103 | 6 |
| Northwest | -18 | -3 | -15 |
| Northeast | 12 | -55 | 67 |
| East | -96 | -137 | 41 |
| South | 294 | 57 | 237 |