This article is about the

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

features of the

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, including

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, education level, health of the populace, economic status,

religious affiliations Religious identity is a specific type of identity formation. Particularly, it is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it pertains to one's self-concept. Religious identity is not necessarily the ...

and other aspects of the population. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Faroese, of

North Germanic The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

descent. Ethnic Faroese are, in genetic terms, among the most homogenous groups ever found. A 2004 DNA analysis revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87%

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n. The studies show that

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

, tracing female descent, is 84%

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

. Of the approximately 48,000 inhabitants of the Faroe Islands (16,921 private households (2004)), 98% are Danish realm citizens, meaning Faroese,

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

, or

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

ic. By birthplace one can derive the following origins of the inhabitants: born on the Faroes 91.7%, in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

5.8%, and in

0.3%. The largest group of foreigners are

Icelanders Icelanders ( is, Íslendingar) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland and speak Icelandic. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 AD when the Althing (Parliament) met for ...

comprising 0.4% of the population, followed by

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...

and

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

, 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 fertility rate of 2.6 children

Faroese language, 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. The 2011 census, called Manntal, shows that 10% were not born in the Faroe Islands, but of these only 3% were born outside the Kingdom of Denmark. 6.5% of people older than 15 did not speak Faroese as their mother tongue. 33 persons said that they did not understand Faroese at all. According to the 2011 census, 45 361 Faroese people (people living in the Faroes) spoke Faroese as their first language and 1546 spoke Danish as their first language. The Faroese language is one of the smallest of the

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, Engli ...

. It is most similar to Icelandic and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

. In the twentieth century Faroese became the official language and since the Faroes are a part of the Danish realm

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.

Vital statistics since 1900

Current vital statistics

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the

CIA World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

, unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure

: 0–14 years: 19.89% (male 5,214/female 4,878) : 15–24 years: 14.34% (male 3,738/female 3,538) : 25–54 years: 37.31% (male 10,252/female 8,676) : 55–64 years: 11.69% (male 3,054/female 2,878) : 65 years and over: 16.76% (male 4,111/female 4,391) (2017 est.)

Sex ratio

: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female : 0–14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female : 15–24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female : 25–54 years: 1.18 male(s)/female : 55–64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female : 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female : total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

5.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

: ''total population:'' 79.85 years (2012 est.) : ''male:'' 77.37 years : ''female:'' 82.50 years

Total fertility rate

: 2.4 children born/woman (2012 est.)

Nationality

: ''noun:'' Faroese (singular and plural) : ''adjective:'' Faroese

Ethnic groups

– Faroese (mixed

n –

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

) –

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

Religions

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Languages

The official languages are Faroese language, Faroese (derived from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

), and

People in the Faroe Islands by language in 2011 according to the Faroese census of 2011, named Manntal ''Number of all residents of the Faroe Islands who were asked to reply to the questions from Manntal in November 2011: 48.345'' *Faroese: 45.361 *Danish 1.546 * Other Scandinavian languages, including Icelandic: 411 *Other European languages: 607 *Asian languages: 290 *Languages from the Middle East and North Africa: 40 *Other African languages: 31 *Sign language:18 *No language: 41

Literacy

''definition:'' NA
''total population:'' NA%
''male:'' NA%
''female:'' NA%
''note:'' similar to

proper

Population by island

References

{{Demographics of Europe Society of the Faroe Islands