Population and housing on the Faroe Islands

Population trends in the Faroe Islands 1966‑2021 and forecast 2022‑42. Index: 1966 = 100. HAGSTOVA FOROYA IB08010 & DST 1966‑1984

In 2017, the Faroe Islands reached a population of 50,000, and in 2021, the figure was 53,000. This is a result of the population trend changing in a positive direction from the mid-2010s with a large annual increase of more than 800 people, corresponding to about 1.5 %.

The figure shows the population trend since 1966 with a 20-year projection period. The graph shows the consequences of the economic collapse of the early 1990s, a partial recovery after the crisis until 2004, then a ten-year period of stagnation until 2014, and a new period of growth that is expected to continue, albeit more subdued. The positive trend in population size came after a ten-year period in which a large excess of births over deaths was offset by an equally large annual net emigration, especially among the young people. The reason was mainly the lack of higher education opportunities, lack of jobs outside the traditional professions and a cultural conservatism. Popularly, this period was called ‘Exit the Faroe Islands’.

The stagnant trend during the period 2004‑13 changed significantly from 2014. Emigration fell sharply and immigration increased, resulting in an increasing annual net immigration. ‘Exit the Faroe Islands’ turned into ‘Enter the Faroe Islands’. A number of positive factors contributed to this. Extensive growth in export industries such as fishing, salmon farming and the fish processing industry was followed by a general recovery where new jobs were created in all industries, major construction and infrastructure works were initiated, new jobs in tourism, restaurants and in new IT and research-based industries were established. In addition, a professionalisation was seen within art and culture, design and other creative subjects and in sports.

Targeted investment was made in the field of education with increased opportunities for higher education in the Faroe Islands, and research and technological development were given higher priority. Investments in cultural and leisure life at the same time made the Faroe Islands a more open and modern society. This made the country more attractive both for young people in the Faroe Islands and for many young Faroese living abroad, and many families with young children increasingly moved back.

From insular community to fragmented urbanisation

The Faroe Islands have a scattered settlement on 17 of the 18 islands. It was formerly an insular community, where 120 villages were separated by fjords, sounds and high mountains, and where it took hours or even days to get from one village to another. This is reflected in the exodus previously seen from the small islands and small villages in the outer areas to the large villages and the capital area.

In recent decades, the Faroe Islands have changed from an insular society to a more urbanised society at an ever-increasing pace. However, population growth has not only been concentrated in the capital area, but also in a more fragmented urbanisation, where islands, towns and villages have been linked together by the massive investments in infrastructure. This has led to a more even population increase in the capital and in the connected areas. For the same reason, strong commercial growth has also been seen in the connected areas.

Total fertility: children per woman of childbearing age (15‑49 years). The figures for Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are from 2020, the other figures are from 2019. NORDICSTATISTICS.ORG LIFE01 AND HAGSTOVA FØROYA

High fertility and average life expectancy

Across Europe, fertility has been decreasing for decades to a general level of well below two children per woman of childbearing age (15‑49 years), which is the requirement for maintaining a stable population in society. The average for the EU is about 1.5 and for the Nordic countries almost 1.7 children. The Faroe Islands are the exception with about 2.3‑2.4 children per woman over the last three decades, which is the highest figure in Europe.

In addition to the high fertility, the Faroe Islands also have an everincreasing average life expectancy. In 2020, women lived an average of 86 years and men 81 years. In Denmark, the corresponding figures are about two and one year lower, respectively, for women and men.

The high average life expectancy and the high fertility result in a relatively high excess of births over deaths, which is the first prerequisite for the natural reproduction and growth of a population. The excess of births over deaths in the Faroe Islands is about six per 1,000 inhabitants, which is slightly more than in Iceland and significantly more than in the other Nordic countries.

Migration – The Faroe Islands’ demographic Achilles’ heel

Population pyramids for the Faroe Islands 1989, 1996 and 2021; number of people by gender and age. HAGSTOVA FØROYA IB01020

Excess of births over deaths and net migration 1970‑2020. HAGSTOVA FØROYA

In addition to fertility and excess of births over deaths, migration (the annual movement between the Faroe Islands and abroad, including Denmark) is the decisive factor for population trends. In larger continental communities, the majority of migrations take place between domestic regions, while migrations in the Faroe Islands largely take place across national borders. Therefore, migration has a far greater influence on population trends here than in the other Nordic countries.

Over the years, large fluctuations have been seen in the migration pattern between the Faroe Islands and abroad. Such a small community is extremely sensitive to economic fluctuations. With failing earning and job opportunities, an immediate reaction in the form of emigration typically follows. In good times, a greater immigration is seen, which will mostly be a return migration of Faroese youth and families with children.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, with major business and employment difficulties, a large annual net emigration of about 250 people per year was seen. During the period of recovery and growth in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a small net immigration of about 90 people annually. In the years 1989‑95, Faroese society experienced a total collapse of private and public finances. Businesses went bankrupt and thousands lost their homes; unemployment rose from being negligible to over 20 % during that period. The result was a massive net emigration of a total of 7,250 people, corresponding to more than 15 % of the population. In Danish terms, this would correspond to a net emigration of 750,000 people during these years. This massive emigration caused a strong distortion of the age structure, as illustrated by the figure, for 1989 and 1996, i.e. immediately before and after the crisis. The figure shows a drastic reduction of the young age groups up to 40 years in just seven years.

Since then, population composition has partially recovered as far as age groups are concerned. With increased immigration and population growth, the young generations have become significantly larger, thereby also creating a better basis for natural reproduction. On the other hand, the same demographic features are seen as in other European countries with growing older generations.

Positive effects of return migration

Immigrants with their own and another citizenship in 2019. NORDICSTATISTICS.ORG CHIL02 AND HAGSTOVA FØROYA

Changes in the age distribution in the exit period 2004‑13 and the enter period 2014‑20. HAGSTOVA FØROYA

The biggest positive changes in population numbers and structure are the result of immigration since the mid-2010s. For most Nordic and other European countries, the large number of immigrants are people of foreign nationality. For the Faroe Islands, however, most immigration is return migration of their own people who have lived abroad for a short or long time. Since the mid-2010s, almost 70 % of immigration to the Faroe Islands has been people of their own (Faroese-Danish) nationality. For the other Nordic countries, the proportion is 20‑25 %.

Compared to the so-called exitperiod 2004‑13, the enter period from 2014 has seen significantly higher growth in the younger age groups than in the older ones: In the years 2004‑13, the group of inhabitants under 40 years of age was reduced by more than 2,700 people, while the group of inhabitants over 40 years of age increased accordingly. The development during the years 2014‑20 was quite the opposite, as the group of inhabitants under 40 increased by about 2,600 people, while the group of inhabitants over 40 increased by about 2,200.

If the high level of employment can be maintained and major setbacks avoided in the future, it might be possible to keep emigration at this relatively low level. The return migration to the Faroe Islands is expected to slow down, as the pool of previously emigrated Faroese is limited, and only a small part of the immigration is people with a nationality other than Faroese-Danish. Therefore, falling net immigration is expected, meaning that a fair balance between immigration and emigration will be created. In that case, population growth will consist only of the natural excess of births over deaths, and annual growth rates at a level corresponding to about a third of the level in the latter half of the 2010s will be seen. Added to this is the contribution to population growth from an increasingly longer life expectancy, which will increase the number of people in the older generations.

According to the forecasts, the future will therefore see subdued population growth, approaching 57,000 inhabitants in the late 2030s. The ability to maintain positive population growth will be decisive for the further trend.

Housing conditions, housing types and household sizes

Average prices for houses sold in small and large villages and towns and in Tórshavn 1985‑2020. HAGSTOVA FØROYA IP04010

Over time, many summer houses have become at least as big as traditional houses for permanent habitation. The picture illustrates a new summer house area in the village of Gjógv where the guests will soon outnumber the permanent residents. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN, 2018

Most homes are detached houses or farmhouses. This is due to a long tradition of families buying a plot of land, often parcelled out by the municipality, on which they build the house. Most families therefore own their own home. In 1977, 85 % of homes were owner-occupied, while this figure had fallen to 80 % at the last census in 2011. A slow development is seen towards more rental housing.

In addition to detached houses and farmhouses, there are also terraced, linked and semi-detached houses, and, especially in recent years, actual multi-storey housing or blocks of flats have been built, especially in the Tórshavn area. In 2010, there were about 500 homes in southern Streymoy consisting of terraced houses or flats, while the number had almost doubled by 2020. Construction of flats, in particular, has contributed to this growth. On Norðoyggjar (the Northern Islands) a similar growth in the number of flats can be seen, but the numbers are still quite small compared to the detached houses and represent only one twentieth of the total housing construction on the national scale. In 2020, about 95 % of the housing stock was still single-family homes. In 2010, this figure was 98 %.

The development of the road network, where mountain tunnels and undersea tunnels have reduced travel times, has affected the housing pattern. In particular, this has opened up new opportunities for working in the capital area and living in nearby areas where the rent is lower. This has affected the development of housing prices for houses in Tórshavn, where prices are more than twice as high as outside Tórshavn and are also rising faster than in other regions.

The average household size was 2.9 people in 2020. This number is slightly lower on Sandoy and Suðuroy, while otherwise there are only small regional differences. However, the household size has fallen significantly compared to the 1977 census, when it was 3.7 and on southern Eysturoy over four. By comparison, the average household size in Denmark was 2.1 in 2020.

In 2020, about 9 % of the population lived in single-person dwellings, and this figure has more than doubled since the 1977 census. The corresponding figure in Denmark was 18 % in 2020. Large regional differences are seen in the proportion of single-person dwellings: from 7 % on southern Eysturoy to 13 % on Sandoy.

Trends in regional population

New housing blocks in Hoyvík by Tórshavn in 2021. Housing construction in Hoyvík has developed explosively in recent decades. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN/TRAP FAROE ISLANDS

The maps above show the trends in regional population from 1966 to 2021. During this 55-year period, the population increased from about 37,000 to around 53,000, corresponding to 43 %. The Tórshavn area has experienced the biggest growth with the southern part of Streymoy doubling its population with a growth of over 10,000 inhabitants. To this should be added the neighbouring areas, especially southern Eysturoy. Here, the population has grown by 62 %, corresponding to some 4,000 people, reinforcing the area’s position as the most densely populated in the Faroe Islands.

Other growth areas are northern Streymoy with 39 % and Vágar with the airport with 34 % during the period. Growth is more moderate in the second largest urban area, the Klaksvík area, which has increased its population by around 1,100 people or 25 % during the period.

The southern islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy, whose population has been reduced by around 20 %, pull in the other direction. The same decline is seen on the northern islets, and an even greater decline can be seen in the southwestern islets, where the population has been more than halved.