Over the last decade, there were constantly more men than women living in Iceland. Moreover, the gap increased from 2013 to 2023. While there were around 1,000 more men than women in 2013, this number had increased to over 10,000 by 2023. That year, there were around 200,000 men and 188,000 women living in Iceland. The total number of inhabitants in the country was 387,758 at the beginning of 2023.

This statistic shows Iceland's total male and female populations from 1769 to 2020. The number of men and women has remained relatively similar throughout all of Iceland's history. The largest differences in the number of men and women appear further back in Iceland's history, with the largest gap being 4 thousand people in the late 1800s. This difference in earlier times may be attributed to the fact that more men migrated to the New World in search of work in the nineteenth century, although records make this difficult to confirm. As the years progress the numbers remain similar, and while the gender with the most people fluctuates, the difference is never more than 2 thousand people from 1930 onwards. In 2020 Iceland is expected to have a total of 170 thousand men and 171 thousand women.

Iceland IS: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data was reported at 1.053 Ratio in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.053 Ratio for 2015. Iceland IS: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data is updated yearly, averaging 1.053 Ratio from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2016, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.066 Ratio in 1972 and a record low of 1.042 Ratio in 1997. Iceland IS: Sex Ratio at Birth: Male Births per Female Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iceland – Table IS.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Sex ratio at birth refers to male births per female births. The data are 5 year averages.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;

In the Nordic countries, there were more women than men in Denmark and Finland, while there were more men than women in Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Sweden has the largest population of the five countries, while Iceland has the smallest. In 2024, there were **** million men and **** million women living in Sweden, compared to ******* men and ******* women in Iceland.

Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) in Iceland was reported at 1.06 in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Iceland - Sex ratio at birth (male births per female births) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Iceland: Ratio of female to male students in tertiary level education: The latest value from 2022 is 1.51 percent, unchanged from 1.51 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 1.21 percent, based on data from 117 countries. Historically, the average for Iceland from 1971 to 2022 is 1.23 percent. The minimum value, 0.36 percent, was reached in 1971 while the maximum of 1.51 percent was recorded in 2021.

Iceland IS: Labour Force Participation Rate: Modeled ILO Estimate: Ratio of Female to Male data was reported at 89.054 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 88.897 % for 2016. Iceland IS: Labour Force Participation Rate: Modeled ILO Estimate: Ratio of Female to Male data is updated yearly, averaging 87.700 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 90.998 % in 2012 and a record low of 83.127 % in 1991. Iceland IS: Labour Force Participation Rate: Modeled ILO Estimate: Ratio of Female to Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iceland – Table IS.World Bank.WDI: Labour Force. Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically active: all people who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate is calculated by dividing female labor force participation rate by male labor force participation rate and multiplying by 100.; ; Derived using data from International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database. Data retrieved in September 2018.; Weighted average; Data up to 2016 are estimates while data from 2017 are projections. National estimates are also available in the WDI database. Caution should be used when comparing ILO estimates with national estimates.

Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (modeled ILO estimate) in Iceland was reported at 89.14 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Iceland - Ratio of female to male labor participation rate - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

Actual value and historical data chart for Iceland Ratio Of Female To Male Labor Force Participation Rate Percent National Estimate

Actual value and historical data chart for Iceland Ratio Of Female To Male Primary Enrollment Percent

What percentage of the parliament of Iceland is female? The share of women in the national parliament of Iceland, Althingi, was **** percent in 2021. This was as high as the record set in 2016. Despite having a high share of women in its parliament, it has never passed ** percent in Iceland. Still no European country has a parliament with more than ** percent of women.

Of the Nordic countries, Iceland had the highest employment-to-population ratio among men between 2010 and 2021. In 2021, over ** percent of the country's men aged 15 years or more were employed. Sweden had the second highest from 2014 to 2020, but were overtaken by Norway after their rate dropped by fiver percentage points in 2021. Finland, on the other hand, had the lowest employment-to-population ratio among men. Employment-to-population ratios were higher among men than among women in the Nordic countries.

Actual value and historical data chart for Iceland Ratio Of Female To Male Secondary Enrollment Percent

Iceland IS: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data was reported at 1.792 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.742 Ratio for 2014. Iceland IS: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 1.461 Ratio from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.922 Ratio in 2005 and a record low of 0.357 Ratio in 1971. Iceland IS: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iceland – Table IS.World Bank: Education Statistics. Gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in tertiary education is the ratio of women to men enrolled at tertiary level in public and private schools.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Islande: Ratio of female to male students in tertiary level education: Pour cet indicateur, UNESCO fournit des données pour la Islande de 1971 à 2022. La valeur moyenne pour Islande pendant cette période était de 1.23 pour cent avec un minimum de 0.36 pour cent en 1971 et un maximum de 1.51 pour cent en 2021.

The social video platform YouTube was as popular with male users in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland as it was with female users. Denmark had an equal ratio of men and women from the region accessing YouTube.

The global gender gap index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education, and health-based criteria. In 2025, the country offering the most gender equal conditions was Iceland, with a score of 0.93. Overall, the Nordic countries make up 3 of the 5 most gender equal countries worldwide. The Nordic countries are known for their high levels of gender equality, including high female employment rates and evenly divided parental leave. Sudan is the second-least gender equal country Pakistan is found on the other end of the scale, ranked as the least gender equal country in the world. Conditions for civilians in the North African country have worsened significantly after a civil war broke out in April 2023. Especially girls and women are suffering and have become victims of sexual violence. Moreover, nearly 9 million people are estimated to be at acute risk of famine. The Middle East and North Africa have the largest gender gap Looking at the different world regions, the Middle East and North Africa have the largest gender gap as of 2023, just ahead of South Asia. Moreover, it is estimated that it will take another 152 years before the gender gap in the Middle East and North Africa is closed. On the other hand, Europe has the lowest gender gap in the world.

As of August 2023, all five Nordic countries had a share of around ** percent of women on their parliaments. Iceland was the Nordic country with the highest share of women in the parliament, slightly edging Sweden and Finland at ** percent. Denmark had the lowest share of female parliamentarians. Although there has generally been more male prime ministers than female prime ministers in the Nordic countries, in August 2023, two of five of the prime ministers were women.

The highest position of executive power has been held by a woman in just 65 countries since 1960. Since Sirimavo Bandaranaike was first elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960, the number of women in power has grown slowly, with the fastest growth coming in the past 15 years. As of July 2025, there were 14 countries led by women, with Liechtenstein, Namibia, and Suriname electing their first women leaders in 2025; while Thailand's prime minister was suspended in July following an ethics scandal. Despite this number growing in recent decades, there have never been more than 17 countries with women in the highest positions of power in a single year, which is less than 10 percent of the number of men who have held these positions (as today, there are 193 UN member states). Records The women who have served the longest consecutive terms in these positions are Angela Merkel of Germany (16 years, 16 days), Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica (14 years, 328 days), and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (12 years, 6 days). The longest combined non-consecutive terms were held by Indira Gandhi of India (16 years, 15 days) and Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina (20 years, 234 days). Just 15 countries have had more than one woman in the highest position of executive power, and most of these countries can be found either in the Indian sub-continent or in Europe. Of these 14, Finland, Iceland, Moldova, New Zealand, and the UK are the only countries to have had three female leaders, although the unique federal system of Switzerland has had five women serve in nine annual-terms as President of the Swiss Confederation. The first woman Prime Minister The first democratically elected female Prime Minister was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, who took over the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party when her husband was assassinated in 1959. Bandaranaike successfully led her party to victory in three elections, in 1960, 1970 and 1994, however constitutional changes in the 1980s meant that her final term as Prime Minister was spent in a more ceremonial role, while the President now held the real executive power (although the President at this time was also a woman; Bandaranaike's daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga).

In 2020, the country wherein women-led startups where able to outperform their male counterparts by the largest margin, was Finland. Here, the median funds raised by female founders surpassed that of male founders, as women raised *** percent of the funds men raised. This was followed by Ireland, where female-founded startups raised *** percent of funds that male-founded startups did. In Iceland, the funds raised by female founders matched the median funds raised by male founders.