Icelanders
Icelanders (Icelandic: Íslendingar) are an ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland. They speak Icelandic, a North Germanic language.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 388,900 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Iceland 321,246a | |
| Canada | 101,795 |
| United States | 42,716 |
| Denmark | 9,308 |
| Norway | 8,274 |
| Sweden | 5,454 |
| United Kingdom | 2,225 |
| Germany | 1,802 |
| France | 1,500 |
| Spain | 1,122 |
| Brazil | 1,046 |
| Australia | 980 |
| Poland | 492 |
| Finland | 223 |
| Other countries combined | c. 3,000 |
| Languages | |
| Icelandic | |
| Religion | |
| Lutheranism (mainly the Church of Iceland); Neo-pagan; Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox minorities among other faiths; secular. Historically Norse paganism, and Catholicism (c. 1000 – 1551). See Religion in Iceland | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Faroe Islanders, Irish, Scottish | |
a Icelandic citizens | |
Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 CE when the Alþingi (parliament) met for the first time. Iceland came under the reign of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish kings but regained full sovereignty from the Danish monarchy on 1 December 1918, when the Kingdom of Iceland was established. On 17 June 1944, Iceland became a republic. Lutheranism is the predominant religion. Historical and DNA records indicate that around 60 to 80 percent of the male settlers were of Norse origin (primarily from Western Norway) and a similar percentage of the women were of Gaelic stock from Ireland and peripheral Scotland.