Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Iceland
Iceland: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 was 94.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Iceland, 1000–2025
Source: HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 94.2% for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Iceland peaked at 94.2% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.
Iceland ranks 30th of 238 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 108 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1100s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1400s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 1 |
| 1500s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 1600s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1 |
| 1700s | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 1 |
| 1710s | 6.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 1 |
| 1720s | 8.5% | 8.5% | 8.5% | 1 |
| 1730s | 11.0% | 11.0% | 11.0% | 1 |
| 1740s | 13.5% | 13.5% | 13.5% | 1 |
| 1750s | 15.9% | 15.9% | 15.9% | 1 |
| 1760s | 18.4% | 18.4% | 18.4% | 1 |
| 1770s | 20.9% | 20.9% | 20.9% | 1 |
| 1780s | 23.3% | 23.3% | 23.3% | 1 |
| 1790s | 25.8% | 25.8% | 25.8% | 1 |
| 1800s | 28.3% | 28.3% | 28.3% | 1 |
| 1810s | 30.7% | 30.7% | 30.7% | 1 |
| 1820s | 33.2% | 33.2% | 33.2% | 1 |
| 1830s | 35.7% | 35.7% | 35.7% | 1 |
| 1840s | 38.1% | 38.1% | 38.1% | 1 |
| 1850s | 40.6% | 40.6% | 40.6% | 1 |
| 1860s | 43.1% | 43.1% | 43.1% | 1 |
| 1870s | 45.5% | 45.5% | 45.5% | 1 |
| 1880s | 48.0% | 48.0% | 48.0% | 1 |
| 1890s | 50.5% | 50.5% | 50.5% | 1 |
| 1900s | 52.9% | 52.9% | 52.9% | 1 |
| 1910s | 55.4% | 55.4% | 55.4% | 1 |
| 1920s | 57.9% | 57.9% | 57.9% | 1 |
| 1930s | 59.1% | 59.1% | 59.1% | 1 |
| 1940s | 60.6% | 60.6% | 60.6% | 1 |
| 1950s | 76.4% | 71.9% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 1960s | 82.7% | 80.4% | 84.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 86.6% | 85.0% | 87.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 89.2% | 88.1% | 90.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 91.4% | 90.6% | 92.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 92.4% | 92.0% | 93.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 93.7% | 93.4% | 94.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 94.2% | 94.1% | 94.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More population data for Iceland
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.5% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 13,661 people (2100)
- Population density 3.6 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.5% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.56 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 7,879 people (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.56 births per woman (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.56 births per woman (2024)
- Natural population growth rate 0.4% (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.54 live births per woman (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Iceland?
- Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Iceland was 94.2% in 2025, according to HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 94.2% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
- How does Iceland rank for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
- Iceland ranks 30th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modelled historical data.