Icelandic People

Iceland was first inhabited by Nordic and Irish people in the 9th century AD – tradition says that the first permanent settler was Ingólfur Arnarson, a Norwegian Viking who made his home where Reykjavik now stands. It is thought that Irish monks had temporarily inhabited the island some years prior to this. The Icelanders still basically speak the language of the Vikings. Iceland has received a great number of immigrants over the last 10 years. In the last 5 years the population of immigrants has doubled. Most of these people (from Eastern Europe and South East Asia) come for employment. Immigrants in Iceland are now well over 10% of the population, giving Iceland a larger proportion of immigration than Norway, Sweden etc. Icelanders also continue to use the old Norse patronymic system, which was formerly in use in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Faroe Islands well into the 19th century, until their governments decided that their people should adopt a surname.

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