Good to know
Good to Know
- Reykjavik's immigrant population is concentrated in the capital region (64.2% of all first and second-generation immigrants in Iceland), making it the cultural and economic hub for newcomers.
- Polish immigrants form the largest and most visible foreign community, with established bakeries, cultural events, and strong presence in construction, fishing, tourism, and healthcare sectors.
- The tech startup ecosystem is young and export-focused, with founders deliberately building for global markets despite Iceland's small domestic population—venture capital and accelerator programs actively support this.
- International talent is actively recruited into Reykjavik's tech sector; several notable tech professionals have relocated from Scandinavia, North America, and elsewhere, drawn by startup growth potential.
- Gróska Creative Community in the university area has become the de facto center for startup activity, hosting both companies and investment teams in a coworking model.
- Startup sectors span fintech, renewable energy, gaming, and creative tech, with strong support from government-backed seed funds (Kría, NSA) and young venture capital firms founded mostly in the 21st century.
Notable Nationalities
- Primary Source
- Poles form the largest immigrant group
Top Groups
Polish
- Percentage Of Iceland
- 5.6
- Industries
- construction, fishing, tourism, healthcare
- Estimated Count
- ~22,400
Lithuanian
- Percentage Of Iceland
- 2.5
- Estimated Count
- ~8,000-12,000
Nordic, Historically Present
- Nationality
- Danish
Ukrainian
- Note
- second largest group of newcomers in 2023, increase tied to Russia-Ukraine conflict
Recent Newcomers 2023
- Poland
- Ukraine
- Romania
Accelerators
Startup Reykjavik
- Type
- Accelerator
- Focus
- early-stage mentorship and follow-on funding access
Startup SuperNova
- Type
- Six-week accelerator
- Partners
- KLAK (Icelandic Startups), Nova, Huawei
- Supported
- 80+ early-stage teams since launch
Startup Energy
- Type
- Accelerator
Startup Tourism
- Type
- Accelerator
Key Vc Firms
Crowberry Capital
- Focus
- software, devtools, deep tech
- Stage
- Seed/early-stage
Brunnur Ventures
- Focus
- B2B software, fintech, health, industrial tech
- Stage
- Early-stage
Frumtak Ventures
- Focus
- SaaS, healthtech, fintech, industrial tech
- Stage
- Seed–Series A
NSA Ventures (New Business Venture Fund)
- Focus
- Export-driven tech companies
- Stage
- Early stage
Eyrir Venture Management
- Focus
- industrial tech, software
- Stage
- Growth & venture
Innovation Hubs
Gróska Creative Community
- Location
- university area
- Description
- Unofficial epicenter of Reykjavik startup life, coworking space and community engine
Innovation House
- Description
- Soft landing space for early-stage startups founded by Jon von Tetzchner
Hafnar.haus
- Description
- Co-working space and rentable studios for creative entrepreneurs
Reykjavik Science City
- Description
- Connects universities, companies, researchers in sustainable tech
Top Funded Startups
Arctic Green Energy
- Focus
- zero-emission cities, geothermal/renewable energy export
- Funding
- ~€390 million
Lucinity
- Focus
- AI-powered financial crime detection
- Funding
- $25.1 million
Oculis
- Focus
- drug delivery platform for ophthalmology
Reykjavik Population
- Percentage Of Iceland Total
- 61.95
- Year Reference
- 2026
- Metropolitan Area
- 249228
Foreign Born Percentage
- Year Reference
- 2024
- Regional Concentration
- Capital region holds 64.2% of all first and second-generation immigrants in Iceland
- First Generation Immigrants
- 18.2
- Second Generation Immigrants
- 1.9
- Combined First And Second Generation
- 20.1
Startup Count
~177 tracked startups as of June 2026
Talent And Workforce
- Education
- High-quality talent from Iceland's education system; University of Iceland and Reykjavik University spinouts in engineering, computer science, sustainability
- Labor Sectors
- Tourism, construction, healthcare—primary sectors attracting foreign workers; tech sector expanding
- International Attraction
- Growing influx of international tech workers from Denmark, Netherlands, Canada and other countries seeking growth opportunities
Primary Startup Sectors
Primary Startup Sectors
- Fintech and blockchain (e.g., Monerium, Lucinity)
- Renewable energy and green tech (Arctic Green Energy, IceWind)
- Creative tech and music production (Genki, Overtune, Treble)
- Gaming (CCP Games, EVE Online)
- SaaS and productivity (Activity Stream, Meniga, GRID)
- Travel and tourism tech (Bókun, TripCreator, Dohop)
Startup Ecosystem Ranking
Reykjavik ranks #180 globally, #1 in Iceland
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Reykjavík
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.