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			{{Short description\|Administrative divisions of Iceland}}
	{{Refimprove\|date=January 2017}}
	{{Politics of Iceland}}		{{Politics of Iceland}}
			The '''regions of ]''' are eight areas of Iceland that roughly follow the arrangement of ] as they were between 1959 and 2003. These regions are not incorporated ] but rather recognized groupings of municipalities. Iceland only has two levels of administration, the national government and 62 ]. The municipalities have organized themselves into eight regional associations<ref>{{cite web \|title=Landshlutasamtök \|url=https://www.samband.is/sveitarfelogin/#tab4 \|publisher=Icelandic Association of Local Authorities \|access-date=10 June 2021}}</ref> and those boundaries are also recognized by ] to report statistics.<ref>{{cite web \|title=Iceland in figures 2018 \|date=12 June 2018 \|url=https://issuu.com/hagstofa/docs/iceland_in_figures_2018 \|publisher=Statistics Iceland \|access-date=10 June 2021}}</ref> Since 2014, ] and commissioner ('']'') districts have followed the eight region model with the exception that ] form a special district and are not part of the South region. The divisions of Iceland for the purposes of health care and district courts diverge more from the commonly used eight region model.
	The '''regions of ]''' are mainly used for statistical purposes. The district court jurisdictions also follow these divisions. The ] system follows the regions as well, with a few exceptions. Prior to 2003, the regions were also used as overall constituencies in certain ]. Excluding its usage in collecting national statistics, particularly census data, these definitions rely upon the discontinued ] proper.

			The ] system also roughly corresponds with the regions with the first digit of the three digit codes usually being the same as on the map below.
	In addition, the borders of the previous ] region, as defined by the government and regional authorities, have shifted, resulting in the loss of many municipalities to the newly formed ] area. Other major changes have also been included, such as the redistribution of over twenty subdivisions, most notably the change in location of the city of ] to the ].

	These regions are not defined by law and have no official standing or administrative function, but are used to divide Iceland for certain purposes. The country's ] program is divided into seven districts. These regions mostly correspond to those detailed below, although a few updates have yet to be fully implemented. For example, settlements in the ] have suffered minor effects from the merger of the Northwest and Northeast into a single group.

	==Overview==		==Overview==
		⚫	]
	{\|class="~~sortable~~ wikitable" style="text-align: right;"		{\| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;”
⚫	!English ~~Name~~
			\|-
⚫	!Native ~~Name~~
			!No.
	!Population (2016)<ref></ref>
		⚫	!English name
⚫	!Area (km²)
		⚫	!Native name
	!Population Density (people per sq. km.)
			!Population
			(2024)<ref></ref>
		⚫	!Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
			!style="width: 8.5em;" \| Population density (per km<sup>2</sup>)
	!]		!]
			!style="width: 7.0em;" \| Number of municipalities
	!Seat
			!style="width: 7.0em;" \| Largest town
	!The regions of Iceland
	\|-		\|-
			\|1
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Höfuðborgarsvæðið		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Höfuðborgarsvæðið
	\|~~213~~,~~619~~		\|244,177
	\|1,~~062~~		\|1,046
	\|~~201~~.14		\|233.44
	\|IS-1		\|IS-1
			\|7
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
⚫	~~\|rowspan='9' style="text-align: center;"\|~~]
	\|-		\|-
			\|2
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Suðurnes		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Suðurnes
	\|22,~~509~~		\|30,933
	\|~~829~~		\|813
	\|27.15		\|38.05
	\|IS-2		\|IS-2
			\|4
⚫	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
			\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|-		\|-
			\|3
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Vesturland		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Vesturland
	\|15,~~766~~		\|17,419
	\|9,~~554~~		\|9,527
	\|1.65		\|1.83
	\|IS-3		\|IS-3
			\|9
⚫	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
		⚫	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|-		\|-
			\|4
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Vestfirðir		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Vestfirðir
	\|6,~~883~~		\|7,168
	\|9,~~409~~		\|8,842
	\|0.73		\|0.81
	\|IS-4		\|IS-4
			\|8
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|-		\|-
			\|5
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Norðurland vestra		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Norðurland vestra
	\|7,~~128~~		\|7,294
	\|12,~~737~~		\|13,108
	\|0.56		\|0.56
	\|IS-5		\|IS-5
			\|4
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|-		\|-
			\|6
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Norðurland eystra		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Norðurland eystra
	\|29,~~361~~		\|31,574
	\|21,~~968~~		\|22,677
	\|1.33		\|1.39
	\|IS-6		\|IS-6
			\|11
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|-		\|-
			\|7
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Austurland		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Austurland
	\|12,~~452~~		\|11,085
	\|22,~~721~~		\|15,706
	\|0.55		\|0.71
	\|IS-7		\|IS-7
			\|4
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|-		\|-
			\|8
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|Suðurland		\|style="text-align: left;"\|Suðurland
	\|24,~~811~~		\|34,076
	\|24,~~526~~		\|30,983
	\|1.01		\|1.10
	\|IS-8		\|IS-8
			\|15
	\|style="text-align: left;"\|]		\|style="text-align: left;"\|]
	\|-		\|-
		⚫	!
	!style="text-align: left;" \|Iceland		!style="text-align: left;" \|Iceland
	!style="text-align: left;" \|Ísland		!style="text-align: left;" \|Ísland
	!style="text-align: right;"\|~~332~~,~~529~~		!style="text-align: right;"\|383,726
	!style="text-align: right;"\|102,~~806~~		!style="text-align: right;"\|102,702
	!style="text-align: right;"\|3.23		!style="text-align: right;"\|3.74
	!style="text-align: right;"\|IS		!style="text-align: right;"\|IS
			!style="text-align: right;"\|62
⚫	!
			!style="text-align: right;"\|Reykjavík
	!
	\|}		\|}

			==Differences from the 1959-2003 constituencies==
			]
			Until 1957, the parliamentary constituencies used in Iceland had been based on its ] and ]. The reform of constituency borders in 1957 would group these counties and towns together into eight larger areas that form the basis for the modern regional division of Iceland. The differences between the 1957 boundaries and the modern ones are:
			* The southwestern part of the country was previously divided into Reykjavík on one hand and Reykjanes on the other which encompassed all other municipalities in the vicinity of Reykjavík and on the ]. The same area is currently divided into the Capital region on one hand and the ] on the other
			* The ] decided in 2008 to leave the association for municipalities in the Eastern region and join the Southern region.<ref>{{cite news \|title=Hornfirðingar vilja samstarf með Sunnlendingum \|url=https://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/1212654/ \|access-date=10 June 2021 \|publisher=Morgunblaðið \|date=8 May 2008 \|language=Icelandic}}</ref> ] updated its definition of the statistical regions to reflect this on 1 December 2020.<ref>{{cite web \|title=Landsmönnum fjölgaði um 1,3% á milli ára \|url=https://hagstofa.is/utgafur/frettasafn/mannfjoldi/mannfjoldinn-1-januar-2021/ \|publisher=Statistics Iceland \|access-date=10 June 2021 \|language=Icelandic \|date=22 March 2021}}</ref>
			* The area of the former town of ] was transferred from the Northwestern region to the Northeastern region when the town merged across the regional boundary with ] to form ] in 2006.
			* The area of the former municipality of ] was transferred from the Eastern region to the Northeastern region when the municipality merged across the regional boundary with ] to form ] in 2006.
			* The area of the former municipality of ] was transferred from the Westfjords region to the Northwestern region when the municipality merged across the regional boundary with ] under the name of the latter in 2012.


	==See also==		==See also==
			*]
	*]		*]
	*]		*]
	*]		*]
	*]		*]
			*]

	==References==		==References==
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	{{Iceland topics}}		{{Iceland topics}}
	{{Europe topic\|~~List of regions~~ of}}		{{Europe topic\|Regions of}}
	{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of European countries}}		{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of European countries}}

	]		]
	]		]
	]		]
	]		]
	]		]

Latest revision as of 03:14, 4 January 2025

Administrative divisions of Iceland

Politics of Iceland


Government Constitution of Iceland Law Taxation Constitutional reform
Legislature Althing Speaker Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir (S) Members of Parliament Constituencies
Executive President of Iceland Halla Tómasdóttir (I) Prime Minister of Iceland Kristrún Frostadóttir (S) Cabinet
Judiciary Supreme Court of Iceland President Benedikt Bogason Justices of the Court
Elections Presidential Parliamentary 2012 referendum
Political parties List of political parties
Administrative divisions Regions (Landshlutar) Municipalities (Sveitarfélög) Localities (Kaupstaðir)
Foreign relations Diplomatic missions of Iceland in Iceland Iceland and the European Union Cod Wars (1950s / 1970s)
Iceland portal Other countries
v t e

The regions of Iceland are eight areas of Iceland that roughly follow the arrangement of parliamentary constituencies as they were between 1959 and 2003. These regions are not incorporated polities but rather recognized groupings of municipalities. Iceland only has two levels of administration, the national government and 62 municipalities. The municipalities have organized themselves into eight regional associations and those boundaries are also recognized by Statistics Iceland to report statistics. Since 2014, police and commissioner (sýslumaður) districts have followed the eight region model with the exception that Vestmannaeyjar form a special district and are not part of the South region. The divisions of Iceland for the purposes of health care and district courts diverge more from the commonly used eight region model.

The postal code system also roughly corresponds with the regions with the first digit of the three digit codes usually being the same as on the map below.

Overview

No.	English name	Native name	Population (2024)	Area (km)	Population density (per km)	ISO 3166-2	Number of municipalities	Largest town
1	Capital Region	Höfuðborgarsvæðið	244,177	1,046	233.44	IS-1	7	Reykjavík
2	Southern Peninsula	Suðurnes	30,933	813	38.05	IS-2	4	Reykjanesbær
3	Western Region	Vesturland	17,419	9,527	1.83	IS-3	9	Akranes
4	Westfjords	Vestfirðir	7,168	8,842	0.81	IS-4	8	Ísafjörður
5	Northwestern Region	Norðurland vestra	7,294	13,108	0.56	IS-5	4	Sauðárkrókur
6	Northeastern Region	Norðurland eystra	31,574	22,677	1.39	IS-6	11	Akureyri
7	Eastern Region	Austurland	11,085	15,706	0.71	IS-7	4	Egilsstaðir
8	Southern Region	Suðurland	34,076	30,983	1.10	IS-8	15	Selfoss
	Iceland	Ísland	383,726	102,702	3.74	IS	62	Reykjavík

Differences from the 1959-2003 constituencies

Until 1957, the parliamentary constituencies used in Iceland had been based on its counties and market towns. The reform of constituency borders in 1957 would group these counties and towns together into eight larger areas that form the basis for the modern regional division of Iceland. The differences between the 1957 boundaries and the modern ones are:

The southwestern part of the country was previously divided into Reykjavík on one hand and Reykjanes on the other which encompassed all other municipalities in the vicinity of Reykjavík and on the Reykjanes peninsula. The same area is currently divided into the Capital region on one hand and the Southern Peninsula on the other
The municipality of Hornafjörður decided in 2008 to leave the association for municipalities in the Eastern region and join the Southern region. Statistics Iceland updated its definition of the statistical regions to reflect this on 1 December 2020.
The area of the former town of Siglufjörður was transferred from the Northwestern region to the Northeastern region when the town merged across the regional boundary with Ólafsfjörður to form Fjallabyggð in 2006.
The area of the former municipality of Skeggjastaðahreppur was transferred from the Eastern region to the Northeastern region when the municipality merged across the regional boundary with Þórshafnarhreppur to form Langanesbyggð in 2006.
The area of the former municipality of Bæjarhreppur was transferred from the Westfjords region to the Northwestern region when the municipality merged across the regional boundary with Húnaþing vestra under the name of the latter in 2012.

References

"Landshlutasamtök". Icelandic Association of Local Authorities. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
"Iceland in figures 2018". Statistics Iceland. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
Population by municipality, age and sex 1998-2024 - Division into municipalites [sic] as of 1 January 2024
"Hornfirðingar vilja samstarf með Sunnlendingum" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
"Landsmönnum fjölgaði um 1,3% á milli ára" (in Icelandic). Statistics Iceland. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

Iceland articles

History

By topic	Economic Military Nationality Prohibition Rulers
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Geography

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Politics

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Society

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Culture	Anthem Architecture Art Chess Cinema Coat of arms Cuisine Flag Literature Mass media Music Names National costume Public holidays Sport Television

v t e Regions of Europe
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Kosovo Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria
Dependencies and other entities	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Svalbard

v t e First-level administrative divisions in European countries
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Kosovo Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria
Table of administrative divisions by country Spans the conventional boundary between Europe and another continent. Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia.

Categories:

Latest revision as of 03:14, 4 January 2025

Overview

Differences from the 1959-2003 constituencies

See also

References