Administrative division of Iceland

Iceland consists of eight regions ( Icelandic landshlutar , Sing. Landshluti ), which in turn are subdivided into municipal districts. Since 2003 there are also six constituencies in Iceland. Already in 965 Iceland was divided into four districts ( landsfjórðungar ), which were oriented towards the four cardinal points.

The regions of Iceland

Historic district ( landsfjórðungar )

The historic district of Iceland on a map from 1665

The historic districts of Iceland on a map from 1761

Traditionally Iceland was divided into four landsfjórðungar (singular landsfjórðungur ) or districts, which were oriented towards the four cardinal points . These were administrative districts that were set up in 965 for the purpose of organizing regional assemblies ( fjórðungsþing ), as well as for the district courts ( fjórðungsdómar ). Each district was divided into three local assemblies, except for Norðlendingafjórðungur, which had four. Each country also had three quarters Goden ( goðorð ) under the command of a chief ( Godi ). The district courts were competent if the plaintiff and defendant were in the same administrative district, otherwise the Alþingi was competent.

Later administrative divisions related to districts ( sýslur ) and municipalities. Especially from 1874, when the new Icelandic constitution established constituencies on the basis of counties and parishes, the districts gradually lost all official meaning, although they are still in common parlance when referring to parts of the country.

The districts were called:

Vestfirðingafjórðungur (Breiðfirðingafjórðungur), the Westfjords district, encompassed most of the Vesturland region in addition to today's Westfjords region , namely south to the middle of the large Faxaflói bay

Norðlendingafjórðungur (Eyfirðingafjórðungur), the northern quarter, stretched from Hrútafjörður in the west to the Langanes peninsula in the east and thus included the area of today's regions of Norðurland eystra and Norðurland vestra

Austfirðingafjórðungur that Ostfjord section, corresponded to the region of today Austurland as well as the eastern part of the region Suðurland , namely the current vestur-skaftafellssýsla

Sunnlendingafjórðungur (Rangæingafjórðungur), the southern quarter, extended over the southwest of Iceland (today's regions Höfuðborgarsvæðið and Suðurnes ), as well as the rest of the region of Suðurland (namely Árnessýsla and Rangárvallasýsla ), and a small part of the north to the center of Vesturland large bay Faxaflói (today's Borgarfjarðarsýsla on the map )

Regions ( landshlutar )

Play media file

Population Development in Icelandic Regions, 1911–2011

Iceland is divided into eight landshlutar (parts of the country). These are primarily used for statistical purposes. The district court districts also follow this classification. Although these regions no longer have an administrative function either, they are considered to be sub-national units within the meaning of the international standard ISO 3166-2: IS , the codes of which are used as region numbers in the table and map below.

landsvæði	(German)	Capital	Residents (January 1, 2010)	Area (km²)	Ew./km²
Höfuðborgarsvæðið	Capital area	Reykjavík	200.907	1,042	192.81
Suðurnes (formerly Reykjanes )	southwest	Keflavík	21,359	818	26.11
Vesturland	Westland	Borgarnes	15,370	9,522	1.62
Vestfirdir	Westfjords	Ísafjörður	7,362	9,355	0.787
Norðurland vestra	Northwest Country	Sauðárkrókur	7,394	12,592	0.587
Norðurland eystra	Northeast Country	Akureyri	28,900	22,695	1.274
Austurland	Ostland	Egilsstaðir	12,459	21,986	0.567
Southurland	Südland	Selfoss	23,879	24,690	0.967
Ísland	Iceland	Reykjavík	317,630	102,700	3.093

sýsla and kaupstaður

The eight regions were traditionally divided into 22 sýslur (plural of sýsla , see Syssel , about administrative districts) and 20 independent municipalities (eight kaupstaðir , seven bæir , one borg and four others). Until 1996 there was a 23rd district, Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla (code no. 4700), which was then dissolved by incorporating all of its remaining parishes into the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær . A district would then correspond to the Hreppur .

The division into sýslur was mainly based on the geographical division of the country. Eventually these units were further subdivided and by the 20th century they had become 23.

When towns and cities formed in Iceland in the 18th century, one invented, i.e. H. the Danish state administration at that time, a market right similar to mainland European custom, and granted this to independent places which, for their part, did not belong to any such administrative district, even if they were geographically located in one. They were called kaupstaður , plural kaupstaðir .

The chief administrative officers of the districts were called Sýslumaður.

Traditional circle division in Iceland (glacier areas are shown in white), some of the circles have changed in the meantime.

Eyjafarðarsýsla (green) with a newer division

Code no.	area	Inhabitants (2006)	Area (km²)	Administrative headquarters
Höfuðborgarsvæðið region
District-free municipalities
0000	Reykjavíkurborg	116,446	268	Reykjavík
1000	Kópavogsbær	27,536	80	Kópavogur
1100	Seltjarnarnesbær	4,467	2	Seltjarnarnes
1300	Garðabær	9,036	71	Garðabær
1400	Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður	23,674	143	Hafnarfjordur
Circles
1600	Kjósarsýsla	9,960	478	Kópavogur
Suðurnes region
District-free municipalities
2000	Reykjanesbær	11,928	145	Keflavík
2300	Grindavíkurbær	2,697	425	Grindavík
Circles
2500	Gullbringusýsla	4,255	248	Hafnarfjordur
Vesturland region
District-free municipalities
3000	Akraneskaupstaður	5,955	9	Akranes
Circles
3500	Borgarfjarðarsýsla	672	698	Borgarnes
3600	Mýrasýsla	3.713	4,926	Borgarnes
3700	Snæfells- og Hnappadalssýsla	4,003	1,468	Stykkishólmur
3800	Dalasýsla	682	2,421	Búðardalur
Vestfirðir region
District-free municipalities
4100	Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður	905	109	Bolungarvík
4200	Ísafjarðarbær	4,109	2,379	Ísafjörður
Circles
4500	Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla	251	1,090	Patreksfjörður
4600	Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla	1,229	1,515	Patreksfjörður
4800	Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla	229	749	Ísafjörður
4900	Strandasýsla	758	3,513	Hólmavík
Region Norðurland vestra
District-free municipalities
5200	Sveitarfélagið Skagafjörður	4,078	4,180	Sauðárkrókur
Circles
5500	Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla	1,167	2,506	Blönduós
5600	Austur-Húnavatnssýsla	1,985	4,542	Blönduós
5700	Skagafjarðarsýsla	222	1,364	Sauðárkrókur
Region of Norðurland eystra
District-free municipalities
6000	Akureyrarkaupstaður	16,822	133	Akureyri
6100	Norðurþing	3,023	3,729	Húsavík
6250	Fjallabyggð	2,261	364	Ólafsfjörður
6400	Dalvíkurbyggð	1,966	598	Dalvík
Circles
6500	Eyjafjarðarsýsla	1,684	2,674	Akureyri
7600	Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla	2.175	12,709	Húsavík
6700	Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla	624	2,488	Húsavík
Austurland region
District-free municipalities
7000	Seyðisfjarðarkaupstaður	726	213	Seyðisfjörður
7300	Fjarðabyggð	5,705	628	Eskifjörður
Circles
7500	Norður-Múlasýsla	1,382	3,860	Seyðisfjörður
7600	Suður-Múlasýsla	5,351	11.005	Eskifjörður
7700	Austur-Skaftafellssýsla	2,186	6,280	Hofn
Southurland region
District-free municipalities
8000	Vestmannaeyjabær	4,075	17th	Vestmannaeyjar
8200	Sveitarfélagið Árborg	7,280	158	Selfoss
Circles
8500	Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla	981	7,701	Vík í Mýrdal
8600	Rangárvallasýsla	3,378	7,971	Hvolsvöllur
8700	Árnessýsla	7,203	8,843	Selfoss

Sýslumenn

There is also a newer division into 25 sýslumenn , the police districts, each of which is headed by a Sýslumaður.

Constituencies

As of 2003, there are six constituencies in Iceland .

Municipalities ( sveitarfélög )

At the lowest administrative level there are 74 Sveitarfélög (municipalities), including the independent municipalities (as of June 2016). This number has continuously decreased in recent years due to the amalgamation of municipalities (e.g. due to rural exodus and for reasons of administrative efficiency).

The largest municipality is Reykjavíkurborg with 118,326 inhabitants.

Sub-municipal level

At the sub-municipal level, only the capital Reykjavík is divided into ten boroughs ( hverfi ).

Individual evidence

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Web links

Iceland - social, administrative and political

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