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first census of its kind taken in any country. The nation then numbered
some 50 000, which bad years and plagues during the eighteenth cen-
tury reduced by 3000, so that in 1801 the country had but 47 000
inhabitants. During the nineteenth century the population again increa-
sed, and in 1880 it was rather more than 72000, while between 1880
and 1890 there was again a decline of 1500, caused by the exodus
lo America which in that decade reached its culmination, the number
of emigrants exceeding that of immigrants by 6300. But since 1890
there has been a steady increase as shown by the following figures,
obtained from general decennial census returns:
Number of population in 1890 . . . 70927
- 1901 . . . 78470
1810 . . . 85183
- 1920 . . . 94690
1929 about 106 000
During the last 9 years (1920—1929) the average
has been 1.26 per cent.
annual Increase
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
The population consists almost exclusively of Icelanders. The census
of 1920 shows that only 710 persons, or 0.7 per cent., were born out
of Iceland. Of these, 352 were born in Denmark, 205 in the other
Scandinavian countries, and 153 elsewhere. .
During the last quarter of the nineteenth century there was a con-
siderable emigration from Iceland to America, particularly to Canada.
The highest figures were reached in 1887, when about 2000 persons
emigrated. In this (the 20th) century there was some emigration (avera-
ging about 200 a year) up to the Great War, when it practically
stopped. The exact number of Icelanders resident in America is not
known, but probably it does not exceed 25000, most of them living in
Canada, especially in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while some 5600
are citizens of the United States (cfr. the U. S. census 1920).
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION ACCORDING TO SEX,
AGE AND CONJUGAL CONDITION
As already mentioned, the population of Iceland at the census of 1920
numbered 94 960. Of this total, 46 172 were males, 48 518 females.
To every 1000 males there were thus 1051 females, This difference
is greater than it was in other European countries till the Great War
broke out and reduced the number of males much more than that of
