Increase In Iceland's Demographic Challenges

Iceland is a Nordic island nation, and is often considered to be a country in the continent of Europe. The island is small with an area of 39,769 miles squared, and a recorded population of 334,252 individuals, as of 2016. Despite its small size, Iceland is one the the world’s most developed countries. However, even the most developed countries have had to face demographic challenges. There are five distinct demographic challenges that Iceland has had to face. Immigration rates in Iceland previously rose during years in the early 2000s. Yet, in years prior to and during the year 2012, immigration rates began to fall. While the immigration rates were falling, emigration rates were rising. Both of these challenges were due to a financial crisis that Iceland was subsisting with that began in 2008, and continued on until 2011. Anyhow, after the resolution of the economic crisis, immigration rates began to increase again. As of the beginning of 2017, immigrants in Iceland accounted for 10.6% of the population. Though it was only for a period of time, immigration rates were not the only rates beginning to fall in Iceland. There was a notable decrease in marriage rates in Iceland, also. Marriage rates have fallen over the course of a few decades. And while …show more content…
This was because there was a significance in acquiring higher levels of education. Due to this, women focused on their own education, and postponed having children until later in their lives. This is similar to Japan, where some women are more focused in seeking higher opportunities in their careers, so they do not focus on the necessity of children. The postponement of motherhood is not the only similarity between Iceland and Japan. Both also have small work forces, and are at a point in which immigration would immensely help the circumstance. Lastly, they are both similar in the fact that they are developed