Demographics of the Faroe Islands
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The vast majority of the population are ethnic Faroese, of Norse and Celtic descent.[1]
Recent DNA analysis have revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87% Scandinavian.[2] The studies show that mitochondrial DNA, tracing female descent, is 84% Scottish / Irish.[3]
Of the approximately 48,000 inhabitants of the Faroe Islands (16,921 private households (2004), 98% are realm citizens, meaning Faroese, Danish, or Greenlandic. By birthplace one can derive the following origins of the inhabitants: born on the Faroes 91.7%, in Denmark 5.8%, and in Greenland 0.3%. The largest group of foreigners are Icelanders comprising 0.4% of the population, followed by Norwegians and Polish, each comprising 0.2%. Altogether, on the Faroe Islands there are people from 77 different nationalities. The Faroe Islands have the highest rate of adoption in the world, despite a relatively high birth rate of 2.6 children. [1]
Faroese is spoken in the entire country as a first language. It is not possible to say exactly how many people worldwide speak the Faroese language. This is for two reasons: Firstly, many ethnic Faroese live in Denmark and few who are born there return to the Faroes with their parents or as adults. Secondly, there are some established Danish families on the Faroes who speak Danish at home.
The Faroese language is one of the smallest of the Germanic languages. It is most similar to Icelandic and Old Norse. In the twentieth century Faroese became the official language and since the Faroes are a part of the Danish realm Danish is taught in schools as a compulsory second language.
Faroese language policy provides for the active creation of new terms in Faroese suitable for modern life.
[edit] Population statistics
Population: 48,700 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 23% (male 5,233; female 5,163)
15-64 years: 63% (male 15,270; female 13,382)
65 years and over: 14% (male 2,788; female 3,460) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.83% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 13.58 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.43 years
male: 74.96 years
female: 81.92 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.32 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Faroese (singular and plural)
adjective: Faroese
Ethnic groups: Faroese (mixed Scandinavian - British), Danish
Religions: Lutheran
Languages: Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%
note: similar to Denmark proper
| Name | Area | Inhabitants | People per km² | Main places | Regions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streymoy | 373.5 | 21,717 | 57.4 | Tórshavn and Vestmanna | Tórshavn and rest of Streymoy |
| Eysturoy | 286.3 | 10,738 | 37 | Fuglafjørður and Runavík | North Eysturoy and South Eysturoy |
| Vágar | 177.6 | 2,856 | 15.7 | Míðvágur and Sørvágur | Vágar |
| Suðuroy | 166 | 5,074 | 30.9 | Tvøroyri and Vágur | Suðuroy |
| Sandoy | 112.1 | 1,428 | 12.4 | Sandur | Sandoy |
| Borðoy | 95 | 5,030 | 52.4 | Klaksvík | Klaksvík and rest of northern Faroes (Norðoyar) |
| Viðoy | 41 | 605 | 15 | Viðareiði | Norðoyar |
| Kunoy | 35.5 | 135 | 3.8 | Kunoy | Norðoyar |
| Kalsoy | 30.9 | 136 | 4.8 | Mikladalur and Húsar | Norðoyar |
| Svínoy | 27.4 | 58 | 2.7 | Svínoy | Norðoyar |
| Fugloy | 11.2 | 46 | 4 | Kirkja | Norðoyar |
| Nólsoy | 10.3 | 262 | 26.1 | Nólsoy | Streymoy |
| Mykines | 10.3 | 19 | 2 | Mykines | Vágar |
| Skúvoy | 10 | 61 | 5.7 | Skúvoy | Sandoy |
| Hestur | 6.1 | 40 | 7.1 | Hestur | Streymoy |
| Stóra Dímun | 2.7 | 7 | 1.9 | Dímun | Sandoy |
| Koltur | 2.5 | 2 | 0.8 | Koltur | Streymoy |
| Lítla Dímun | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | – | Sandoy |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Highly discrepant proportions of female and male Scandinavian and British Isles ancestry within the isolated population of the Faroe Islands, http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v14/n4/full/5201578a.html, Thomas D Als, Tove H Jorgensen, Anders D Børglum, Peter A Petersen, Ole Mors and August G Wang, 25 January 2006
- ^ The origin of the isolated population of the Faroe Islands investigated using Y chromosomal markers, http://www.springerlink.com/content/4yuhf5m7a22gc4qm/, Tove H. Jorgensen , Henriette N. Buttenschön, August G. Wang, Thomas D. Als, Anders D. Børglum and Henrik Ewald1, April 8 2004.
- ^ Wang, C. August. 2006. Ílegur og Føroya Søga. In: Frøði pp.20-23
