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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 [1] and those boundaries are also recognized by Statistics Iceland to report statistics. [2] 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.
No. | English name | Native name | Population (2024) [3] | Area (km2) | Population density (per km2) | 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 |
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:
Iceland is an island country at the confluence of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the constructive boundary of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The island country is the world's 18th largest in area and one most sparsely populated. It is the westernmost European country when not including Greenland and has more land covered by glaciers than continental Europe. Its total size is 103,125 km2 (39,817 sq mi) and possesses an exclusive economic zone of 751,345 km2 (290,096 sq mi).
Reykjanesbær is a municipality on the Southern Peninsula (Suðurnes) in Iceland, though the name is also used by locals to refer to the suburban region of Keflavík and Njarðvík which have grown together over the years. The municipality is made up of the towns of Keflavík and Njarðvík and the village of Hafnir. The municipality was created in 1994 when the inhabitants of the three settlements voted to merge them into one. Reykjanesbær is the fourth largest municipality in Iceland, with 21.957 citizens (2024).
The Capital Region is a region in southwestern Iceland that comprises the national capital Reykjavík and six municipalities around it. Each municipality has its own elected council. Municipal governments in the region cooperate extensively in various fields: for example waste policy, shared public transport and a joint fire brigade. The region is home to 64% of Iceland's population.
The Central Denmark Region, or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The reform abolished the traditional counties (amter) and replaced them with five new administrative regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the total number of municipalities from 271 to 98. The reform diminished the power of the regional level dramatically in favour of the local level and the national government in Copenhagen. The Central Denmark Region comprises 19 municipalities.
Southern Peninsula is an administrative unit and part of Reykjanesskagi, or Reykjanes Peninsula, a region in southwest Iceland. It was named after Reykjanes, the southwestern tip of Reykjanesskagi.
Álftanes is the name of a town and a collection of small peninsulas in Iceland. It means swan peninsula.
Skagaströnd, previously Höfðakaupstaður, is a municipality and village in the Northwestern Region of Iceland. It is situated on the western side of the Skagi peninsula, along the east coast of the Húnaflói. The municipality was officially named Sveitarfélagið Skagaströnd on 1 September 2007. Skagaströnd is the only locality within the municipality.
This article shows the administrative divisions of Iceland.
Garður is a town in southwestern Iceland on the Southern Peninsula, bordered by the Faxaflói Bay. It is part of the municipality of Suðurnesjabær, formed in 2018 when it merged with Sandgerði.
This article covers road transportation in Iceland.
Brennisteinsfjöll is a minor volcanic system, with crater rows and small shield volcanoes on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland.
Njarðvík is a town in southwestern Iceland, on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400.
Northeast is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Northeastern constituency was merged with the Eastern constituency and Siglufjörður municipality from the Northwestern constituency. Northeast consists of the regions of Eastern and Northeastern. The constituency currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2024 parliamentary election it had 31,071 registered electors.
Northwest is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Northwestern constituency was merged with the Western and Westfjords constituencies. Northwest consists of the regions of Northwestern, Western and Westfjords. The constituency currently elects six of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2024 parliamentary election it had 22,351 registered electors.
South is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Iceland when the Southern constituency was merged with municipalities of Gerðahreppur, Grindavík, Reykjanesbær, Sandgerði and Vatnsleysustrandarhreppur from the Reykjanes constituency and the municipality of Sveitarfélagið Hornafjörður from the Eastern constituency. South consists of the Southern and Southern Peninsula regions. The constituency currently elects nine of the 63 members of the Althing using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2024 parliamentary election it had 41,002 registered electors.
The volcanic system of Krýsuvík, is situated in the south–west of Iceland on the Reykjanes peninsula. It is located in the middle of Reykjanes and on the divergent plate boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland. It was named after the Krýsuvík area which is part of it and consists of a fissure system without a central volcano. However, there are some indications—namely, the discovery by geophysical methods of what scientists interpret as a buried caldera, combined with the well-known, vigorous hydrothermal system above it—that an embryonic central magma chamber may already exist or be actively developing.
Þorbjörn is a 243 m high volcanic mountain next to the town of Grindavík (Gullbringusýsla) on Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland. Blue Lagoon can be easily seen from the summit.
The Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland is the continuation of the mostly submarine Reykjanes Ridge, a part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on land and reaching from Esja in the north and Hengill in the east to Reykjanestá in the west. Suðurnes is an administrative unit covering part of Reykjanes Peninsula.