Regions of Iceland
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The regions of Iceland are 8 and mainly used for statistical purposes. The district court jurisdictions also follow this division. The postal code system follows the regions as well with a few exceptions. Before 2003 the regions were also used as constituencies for elections to Alþingi. These usages (except for the statistical ones) are however based upon an older version of the regions where Reykjavík proper was a special region and the surrounding municipalities in the current Capital region were a part of the Reykjanes region, currently known as Suðurnes.
Formerly, Iceland was divided into four farthings. These were: Vestfirðingafjórðungur (Westfjord farthing), which included the Westfjords but reached down to the middle of Faxaflói, so it also included most of today's west region; Norðlendingafjórðungur (north farthing), which reached from Hrútafjörður in the west to Langanes in the east (the same as today's northeast and northwest regions); Austfirðingafjórðungur (Eastfjord farthing) which was almost the same as today's east region but also included what is now Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla and Sunnlendingafjórðungur (south farthing) which was really only the south-west part of the country, including the southern peninsula, what is today the capital region and what was left of the south farthing, Árnessýsla and Rangárvallasýsla.
[edit] Comparison of the Regions
| landsvæði | (English) | Capital | Population | Area in km² | Pop./km² | ISO 3166-2:IS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austurland | East | Egilsstaðir | 11 798 | 22 721 | 0.52 | IS-7 |
| Höfuðborgarsvæði | Capital Region | Reykjavík | 178 000 | 1 062 | 167.61 | IS-1 |
| Norðurland eystra | Northeast | Akureyri | 26 618 | 21 968 | 1.21 | IS-6 |
| Norðurland vestra | Northwest | Sauðárkrókur | 9 310 | 12 737 | 0.73 | IS-5 |
| Suðurland | South | Selfoss | 21 326 | 24 526 | 0.87 | IS-8 |
| Suðurnes (formerly Reykjanes) | Southern Peninsula | Keflavík | 16 727 | 829 | 20.18 | IS-2 |
| Vestfirðir | Westfjords | Ísafjörður | 8 014 | 9 409 | 0.85 | IS-4 |
| Vesturland | West | Borgarnes | 14 457 | 9 554 | 1.51 | IS-3 |
| Total | Reykjavík | 286 250 | 102 928 | 2.78 |
[edit] See also
 |
Regions and Counties of Iceland |  |
|---|---|---|
| Statistical Region | Traditional County | |
| Capital Region: | Kjósarsýsla | |
| Southern Peninsula: | Gullbringusýsla | |
| Western Region: | Borgarfjarðarsýsla | Dalasýsla |Mýrasýsla | Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla | |
| Westfjords: | Austur-Barðastrandarsýsla | Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla | Strandasýsla Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla | Vestur-Ísafjarðarsýsla |
|
| Northwestern Region: | Austur-Húnavatnssýsla | Skagafjarðarsýsla | Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla | |
| Northeastern Region: | Eyjafjarðarsýsla | Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla | Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla | |
| Eastern Region: | Austur-Skaftafellssýsla | Norður-Múlasýsla | Suður-Múlasýsla | |
| Southern Region: | Árnessýsla | Rangárvallasýsla | Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla | |
