Municipalities Of Iceland
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The municipalities of Iceland ( is, Sveitarfélög ) are local administrative areas in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
that provide a number of services to their inhabitants such as
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
s,
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
s,
waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
, social services,
public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
,
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
, services to
senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...
s and
disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
people. They also govern
zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...
and can voluntarily take on additional functions if they have the budget for it. The autonomy of municipalities over their own matters is guaranteed by the Icelandic constitution.


History

The origin of the municipalities can be traced back to the commonwealth period in the 10th century when rural communities were organized into
communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...
(''hreppar'' ) with the main purpose of providing help for the poorest individuals in society. When
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
began in Iceland during the 18th and 19th centuries, several independent
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
s (''kaupstaðir'' ) were created. The role of municipalities was further formalized during the 20th century and by the end of the century there was no longer any official distinction between urban and rural municipalities. The trend in recent years has been to transfer more functions and power from the state to the municipalities. This has called for larger municipalities. The government encourages municipalities to merge but has taken a different approach to the issue than governments in other
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
where forced amalgamation is regularly carried out (such as the
municipal reform The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945 ...
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 ...
that took effect in 2007). Instead, the process is voluntary. Municipalities negotiate possible mergers among themselves, and any merger must first receive approval from the relevant municipality's constituent voting electorate in a referendum. A similar approach is used by the Faroese government. However, municipalities having a population of below 50 may be forced to merge. The number of municipalities peaked in the mid-20th century. There were 229 of them in 1950. By 1995, their number had been reduced to 170. In the year 2000, only 124 municipalities remained in Iceland, and since 2022 there are 64.


Government

The municipalities are governed by municipal councils which are directly elected every four years. Municipal elections were last held on 14 May 2022. The sizes of these councils vary from five members in the smallest municipalities to fifteen in the largest one. Most municipalities except for the very small ones hire an executive manager who may or may not be a member of the municipal council. These managers are usually referred to as
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
s (''bæjarstjóri'' or ''borgarstjóri'' ) in the mostly urban municipalities but "municipal manager" (''sveitarstjóri'' ) in the rural or mixed municipalities. It is common for these executive managers to be professionally hired and politically independent.


List of municipalities


History

Over the years, the number of municipalities in Iceland changed from 229 in 1953 to 64 in 2022: *14 May 2022 (reduced to 64) **
Skútustaðahreppur Skútustaðahreppur (, regionally also ) is a former rural municipality located in East Iceland, in Northeastern Region. Its seat is in the village of Reykjahlíð. In 2022 the municipality merged with Þingeyjarsveit under the name of the latte ...
merged with
Þingeyjarsveit Þingeyjarsveit () is a municipality located in Iceland. The Vaglaskógur Vaglaskógur () is a 300-hectare forest in Fnjóskadalur, Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arc ...
. ** Stykkishólmsbær and Helgafellssveit merged (name pending). **
Svalbarðshreppur Svalbarðshreppur () is a former municipality in northeastern Iceland, between Norðurþing and Langanesbyggð. The municipality was administered from Þórshöfn in the neighbouring Langanesbyggð municipality. The area is known for its salmo ...
merged with
Langanesbyggð Langanesbyggð () is a municipality in northeastern Iceland, just north of Eastern Region. The main village is Þórshöfn, in the north there is the Langanes Langanes () is a peninsula in northeast Iceland. The name literally means "long penins ...
. **
Akrahreppur Akrahreppur (, regionally also ) is a former municipality situated in the Northwestern Region of Iceland. It is divided into a range of villages, including Ábær. In February 2022, residents of Akrahreppur and the neighboring municipality of S ...
merged with
Skagafjörður Skagafjörður () is a deep fjord and its valley in northern Iceland. Location Skagafjörður, the fjord, is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi Peninsula to the west. There are t ...
. ** Blönduósbær and
Húnavatnshreppur Húnavatnshreppur () is a former rural municipality located in northwestern Iceland. History The municipality was formed on 1 January 2006 by the union of the former municipalities of Sveinsstaðahreppur , Torfalækjarhreppur , Svínavatnsh ...
merged to form
Húnabyggð Húnabyggð is a municipality in the north of Iceland, which was formed with the merger of Blönduós and Húnavatnshreppur. An vote was held in February 2022 where 97.8% of Blönduós inhabitants and 62.3% of Húnavatnshreppur inhabitants voted w ...
*17 February 2020 (reduced to 69) **
Borgarfjarðarhreppur Borgarfjarðarhreppur () is a municipality in Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital ...
, Djúpavogshreppur,
Fljótsdalshérað Fljótsdalshérað () was a municipality located in eastern Iceland. In 2020 it merged with three neighbouring Municipalities to form Múlaþing Múlaþing () is a municipality in eastern Iceland which was formed in 2020 from the merger of Fljó ...
, and Seyðisfjarðarkaupstaður merged to form
Múlaþing Múlaþing () is a municipality in eastern Iceland which was formed in 2020 from the merger of Fljótsdalshérað, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarfjarðarhreppur and Djúpavogshreppur. It is the largest municipality in the country by area. The bigges ...
. *24 January 2019 ** Akureyrarkaupstaður renamed into Akureyrarbær. *7 January 2019 **Sandgerði/Garður renamed into Suðurnesjabær. *26 May 2018 (reduced to 72) **
Breiðdalshreppur Breiðdalshreppur () is a former municipality in Iceland. In 2018, it merged with a larger municipality, the neighboring Fjarðabyggð Fjarðabyggð () is a municipality located in eastern Iceland, in the Eastern Region. History The municipality ...
merged with
Fjarðabyggð Fjarðabyggð () is a municipality located in eastern Iceland, in the Eastern Region. History The municipality was formed in 1998 with the union of the former municipalities of Eskifjörður, Neskaupstaður and Reyðarfjörður. Austurbyggð, Fá ...
. **
Sandgerði Sandgerðisbær () is a former Icelandic municipality located in southwestern Iceland on the Southern Peninsula (Iceland), Southern Peninsula. In 2018 it merged with Garður to create the new municipality of Suðurnesjabær.Garður Garður () is a former municipality and town located in southwestern Iceland, bordered by the Faxaflói, Faxaflói Bay on the Southern Peninsula (Iceland), Southern Peninsula. In 2018 it merged with Sandgerði to create the new municipality of Su ...
merged to form Sandgerði/Garður. *13 August 2013 **Seltjarnarneskaupstaður renamed into Seltjarnarnesbær. *1 January 2013 (reduced to 74) **
Álftanes Álftanes () is the name of a town and a collection of small peninsulas in Iceland. It means ''swan peninsula''. The best known of these peninsulas extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes with the town of the same name in the Capital Regio ...
merged with
Garðabær Garðabær () is a municipality in the Capital Region of Iceland. History Garðabær is a growing town in the Capital Region. It is the sixth largest town in Iceland with a population of 13,872 (Sept 1, 2013). The site of Garðabær has been in ...
. *1 January 2012 (reduced to 75) **Bæjarhreppur merged with
Húnaþing vestra Húnaþing vestra () is a municipality located in northern Iceland by Húnaflói gulf. It was founded on 7 June 1998 by the merging of all 7 of the old rural municipalities of Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla. They were: Staðarhreppur, Fremri-Torfustaðahr ...
*11 June 2010 (reduced to 76) **Arnarneshreppur merged with Hörgárbyggð. *1 June 2009 (reduced to 77) **Grímseyjarhreppur merged with Akureyrarkaupstaður. *15 July 2008 (reduced to 78) **Aðaldælahreppur merged with
Þingeyjarsveit Þingeyjarsveit () is a municipality located in Iceland. The Vaglaskógur Vaglaskógur () is a 300-hectare forest in Fnjóskadalur, Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arc ...
. *12 September 2007 **Höfðahreppur renamed into
Skagaströnd Skagaströnd (), previously Höfðakaupstaður (), is a municipality and village in the Northwestern Region of Iceland. It is situated on the western side of the Skagi peninsula, along the east coast of the Húnaflói ('Húna Bay'). The mun ...
. *8 April 2006 (reduced to 79) **Þórshafnarhreppur and Skeggjastaðahreppur merged to form
Langanesbyggð Langanesbyggð () is a municipality in northeastern Iceland, just north of Eastern Region. The main village is Þórshöfn, in the north there is the Langanes Langanes () is a peninsula in northeast Iceland. The name literally means "long penins ...
. *11 March 2006 (reduced to 80) **Áshreppur merged with
Húnavatnshreppur Húnavatnshreppur () is a former rural municipality located in northwestern Iceland. History The municipality was formed on 1 January 2006 by the union of the former municipalities of Sveinsstaðahreppur , Torfalækjarhreppur , Svínavatnsh ...
. **Hólmavíkurhreppur and Broddaneshreppur merged to form
Strandabyggð Strandabyggð () is a municipality located in northwestern Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Icel ...
. *20 February 2006 (reduced to 82) **Saurbæjarhreppur merged with
Dalabyggð Dalabyggð () is a municipality located in western Iceland. Its main settlement is Búðardalur. Dalabyggð is an agricultural area. The farm of Hvammur í Dölum, where the poet, historian, and politician Snorri Sturluson was born, belongs ...
. *11 February 2006 (reduced to 83) ** Gaulverjabæjarhreppur, Hraungerðishreppur, and Villingaholtshreppur merged to form Flóahreppur. *28 January 2006 (reduced to 85) ** Ólafsfjarðarbær and Siglufjarðarkaupstaður merged to form
Fjallabyggð Fjallabyggð () is a municipality located in northern Iceland. The former municipalities of Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður Siglufjörður () is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the northern coast of Iceland. The ...
. *21 January 2006 (reduced to 86) ** Húsavíkurbær, Kelduneshreppur, Öxarfjarðarhreppur, and Raufarhafnarhreppur merged to form
Norðurþing Norðurþing () is a municipality located in northern Iceland. Norðurþing was formed in 2006 when the municipalities of Húsavík, Öxarfjörður, Raufarhöfn, and Kelduneshreppur were merged after special elections in January 2006 and the regio ...
. *10 January 2006 **Vatnsleysustrandarhreppur renamed into Vogar. *8 October 2005 (reduced to 89) **Mjóafjarðarhreppur, Fáskrúðsfjarðarhreppur, and Austurbyggð merged with
Fjarðabyggð Fjarðabyggð () is a municipality located in eastern Iceland, in the Eastern Region. History The municipality was formed in 1998 with the union of the former municipalities of Eskifjörður, Neskaupstaður and Reyðarfjörður. Austurbyggð, Fá ...
. *23 April 2005 (reduced to 92) **Borgarfjarðarsveit, Hvítársíðuhreppur, and Kolbeinsstaðahreppur merged with
Borgarbyggð Borgarbyggð () is a municipality in the west of Iceland. The biggest township in the municipality is Borgarnes, with a population of 1,887 inhabitants. Other densely populated areas in the municipality include Bifröst, Hvanneyri, Kleppjárnsre ...
. *20 November 2004 (reduced to 95) **Bólstaðarhlíðarhreppur, Sveinsstaðarhreppur, Svínavatnshreppur, and Torfalækjarhreppur merged to form
Húnavatnshreppur Húnavatnshreppur () is a former rural municipality located in northwestern Iceland. History The municipality was formed on 1 January 2006 by the union of the former municipalities of Sveinsstaðahreppur , Torfalækjarhreppur , Svínavatnsh ...
. **Hvalfjarðarstrandarhreppur, Innri-Akraneshreppur, Leirár- og Melahreppur, and Skilmannahreppur merged to form
Hvalfjarðarsveit Hvalfjarðarsveit () is a municipality in Vesturland in Iceland. The municipality derives its name from the fjord Hvalfjörður, which forms its southern border. The municipality formed on 1 June 2006, by the union of the former municipalities of ...
. *1 November 2004 (reduced to 101) **Austur-Hérað, Fellahreppur, and Norður-Hérað merged to form
Fljótsdalshérað Fljótsdalshérað () was a municipality located in eastern Iceland. In 2020 it merged with three neighbouring Municipalities to form Múlaþing Múlaþing () is a municipality in eastern Iceland which was formed in 2020 from the merger of Fljó ...
. *1 August 2004 (reduced to 103) **Hríseyjarhreppur merged with Akureyrarkaupstaður. *17 June 2004 **Bessastaðahreppur renamed into
Álftanes Álftanes () is the name of a town and a collection of small peninsulas in Iceland. It means ''swan peninsula''. The best known of these peninsulas extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes with the town of the same name in the Capital Regio ...
. *28 January 2004 **Gerðahreppur renamed into
Garður Garður () is a former municipality and town located in southwestern Iceland, bordered by the Faxaflói, Faxaflói Bay on the Southern Peninsula (Iceland), Southern Peninsula. In 2018 it merged with Sandgerði to create the new municipality of Su ...
. *10 May 2003 (reduced to 104) **Stöðvarhreppur and Búðahreppur merged to form Austurbyggð. *9 June 2002 (reduced to 105) **Kirkjubólshreppur merged with Hólmavíkurhreppur. *16 March 2002 (reduced to 106) **Holta- og Landsveit, Djúpárhreppur, and Rangárvallahreppur merged to form Rangárþing ytra. *12 March 2002 (reduced to 108) **Húsavíkurkaupstaður and Reykjahreppur merged to form Húsavíkurbær. *11 February 2002 (reduced to 109) **Þingvallahreppur, Laugardalshreppur, and Biskupstungnahreppur merged to form
Bláskógabyggð Bláskógabyggð ( ) is a municipality located in western Iceland. Its major settlements are Laugarás and Laugarvatn Laugarvatn () is the name of a lake and a small town in the south of Iceland. The lake is smaller than the neighbouring Apavat ...
. *21 January 2002 (reduced to 111) **Gnúpverjahreppur and Skeiðahreppur merged to form Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahreppur *31 December 2001 (reduced to 112) **Vindhælishreppur merged with Skagabyggð. *20 November 2001 (reduced to 113) **Austur-Eyjafjallahreppur, Vestur-Eyjafjallahreppur, Austur-Landeyjahreppur, Vestur-Landeyjahreppur, Fljótshlíðarhreppur, and Hvolhreppur merged to form
Rangárþing eystra Rangárþing eystra () is a municipality located in southern Iceland in the Southern Region, between Eystri Rangá in the west and Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi in the east. The largest settlements are Skógar and Hvolsvöllur Hvolsvöllur () ...
. *15 November 2001 (reduced to 118) **Hálshreppur, Ljósavatnshreppur, Bárðdælahreppur, and Reykdælahreppur merged to form
Þingeyjarsveit Þingeyjarsveit () is a municipality located in Iceland. The Vaglaskógur Vaglaskógur () is a 300-hectare forest in Fnjóskadalur, Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arc ...
. *26 April 2001 (reduced to 121) **Engihlíðarhreppur merged with Blönduósbær. *1 January 2001 (reduced to 122) **Skriðuhreppur, Öxnadalshreppur, and Glæsibæjarhreppur merged to form Hörgárbyggð. *7 June 1998 (reduced to 124) **Kjalarneshreppur merged with Reykjavíkurborg. **Skriðdalshreppur, Vallahreppur, Egilsstaðabær, Eiðahreppur, and Hjaltastaðarhreppur merged to form Austur-Hérað. **Dalvíkurkaupstaður, Svarfaðardalshreppur, and Árskógshreppur merged to form
Dalvíkurbyggð Dalvíkurbyggð (, regionally also ) is a small municipality in northern Iceland. Dalvíkurbyggð is on Tröllaskagi and west of Eyjafjörður. History The municipality of Dalvíkurbyggð was formed in 1998 by the merger of three districts of oute ...
. **
Neskaupstaður Neskaupstaður () is a town located on the fjord Norðfjörður on the eastern side of Iceland. It is part of the municipality of Fjarðabyggð and, as of 2016, it has a population of 1,481. Neskaupstaður is the third largest town in Eastern Re ...
, Eskifjarðarkaupstaður and Reyðarfjarðarhreppur merged to form
Fjarðabyggð Fjarðabyggð () is a municipality located in eastern Iceland, in the Eastern Region. History The municipality was formed in 1998 with the union of the former municipalities of Eskifjörður, Neskaupstaður and Reyðarfjörður. Austurbyggð, Fá ...
. **Staðarhreppur, Fremri Torfustaðahreppur, Ytri Torfustaðahreppur, Hvammstangahreppur, Kirkjuhvammshreppur, Þverárhreppur, and Þorkelshólshreppur merged to form
Húnaþing vestra Húnaþing vestra () is a municipality located in northern Iceland by Húnaflói gulf. It was founded on 7 June 1998 by the merging of all 7 of the old rural municipalities of Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla. They were: Staðarhreppur, Fremri-Torfustaðahr ...
. **Selfosskaupstaður, Stokkseyrarhreppur, Eyrarbakkahreppur, and Sandvíkurhreppur merged to form
Árborg Sveitarfélag ið Árborg () is the biggest municipality in southern Iceland founded in 1998. The biggest town in the municipality is Selfoss. Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri are two communities on the southern coast and Sandvíkurhreppur is a rural ...
. **Lundarreykjardalshreppur, Reykholtsdalshreppur, Hálsahreppur, and Andakílshreppur merged to form Borgarfjarðarsveit. *6 June 1998 (reduced to 145) **Sauðárkrókskaupstaður, Skefilsstaðahreppur, Skarðshreppur, Staðarhreppur, Seyluhreppur, Lýtingsstaðahreppur, Rípurhreppur, Viðvíkurhreppur, Hólahreppur, Hofshreppur, and Fljótahreppur merged to form
Skagafjörður Skagafjörður () is a deep fjord and its valley in northern Iceland. Location Skagafjörður, the fjord, is about 40 km long and 15 km wide, situated between Tröllaskagi to the east and the Skagi Peninsula to the west. There are t ...
. **Bæjarhreppur, Borgarhafnarhreppur, Hofshreppur, and Hornafjarðarbær merged to form
Hornafjörður Hornafjörður () is a small fjord in southeastern Iceland. The town Höfn Höfn () or Höfn í Hornafirði () is an Icelandic fishing town in the southeastern part of the country. It lies near Hornafjörður fjord. The town, the second large ...
. *1 June 1998 (reduced to 155) **Grímsneshreppur and Grafningshreppur merged to form
Grímsnes- og Grafningshreppur Grímsnes- og Grafningshreppur () is a municipality in the south-western part of Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated cou ...
. *14 February 1998 (reduced to 158) **Þverárhlíðarhreppur, Borgarhreppur, and Álftaneshreppur merged with
Borgarbyggð Borgarbyggð () is a municipality in the west of Iceland. The biggest township in the municipality is Borgarnes, with a population of 1,887 inhabitants. Other densely populated areas in the municipality include Bifröst, Hvanneyri, Kleppjárnsre ...
. *1 January 1998 (reduced to 161) **Skógarstrandarhreppur merged with
Dalabyggð Dalabyggð () is a municipality located in western Iceland. Its main settlement is Búðardalur. Dalabyggð is an agricultural area. The farm of Hvammur í Dölum, where the poet, historian, and politician Snorri Sturluson was born, belongs ...
. *27 December 1997 (reduced to 163) **Hlíðarhreppur, Jökuldalshreppur, and Tunguhreppur merged to form Norður-Hérað. *1 June 1996 (reduced to 165) **Ísafjarðarkaupstaður, Þingeyrarhreppur, Mýrahreppur, Mosvallahreppur, Flateyrarhreppur, and Suðureyrarhreppur merged to form
Ísafjarðarbær Ísafjarðarbær () is a municipality of Iceland in the Westfjords region, created in 1996 from Flateyrarhreppur, Ísafjarðarkaupstaður, Mosvallahreppur, Mýrahreppur, Suðureyrarhreppur and Þingeyrarhreppur. Geography The principal settl ...
. *19 April 1995 (increased to 170) **Helgafellssveit split from Stykkishólmur. *1 January 1995 (reduced to 169) **Ögurhreppur and Reykjarfjarðarhreppur merged with Súðavíkurhreppur. *12 June 1994 (reduced to 171) **Höfn, Nesjahreppur, and Mýrahreppur merged to form Hornafjarðarbær. *11 June 1994 (reduced to 173) **Suðurdalahreppur, Haukadalshreppur, Laxárdalshreppur, Hvammshreppur, Fellsstrandarhreppur, and Skarðshreppur merged to form
Dalabyggð Dalabyggð () is a municipality located in western Iceland. Its main settlement is Búðardalur. Dalabyggð is an agricultural area. The farm of Hvammur í Dölum, where the poet, historian, and politician Snorri Sturluson was born, belongs ...
. **Staðarsveit, Breiðuvíkurhreppur, Neshreppur utan Ennis, and Ólafsvíkurbær merged to form
Snæfellsbær Snæfellsbær () is a municipality located in western Iceland, in the southwestern part of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula Its administrative centre is Hellissandur and the majority of the residents live in Ólafsvík then Hellissandur and Rif. Twin t ...
. **Hafnahreppur, Keflavíkurbær, and Njarðvíkurbær merged to form
Reykjanesbær Reykjanesbær () is a municipality on the Southern Peninsula (''Suðurnes'') in Iceland, though the name is also used by locals to refer to the suburban region of Keflavík and Njarðvík which have grown together over the years. The municipalit ...
. **Norðfjarðarhreppur merged with
Neskaupstaður Neskaupstaður () is a town located on the fjord Norðfjörður on the eastern side of Iceland. It is part of the municipality of Fjarðabyggð and, as of 2016, it has a population of 1,481. Neskaupstaður is the third largest town in Eastern Re ...
. **Barðastrandarhreppur, Rauðasandshreppur, Patrekshreppur, and Bíldudalshreppur merged to form
Vesturbyggð Vesturbyggð () is a municipality located in the Westfjords in Iceland. Geography In Vesturbyggð, there are Patreksfjörður with 721 inhabitants, Bíldudalur with 238 inhabitants and Krossholt with 19 inhabitants. Transport The municipality i ...
. **Sauðaneshreppur merged with Þórshafnarhreppur. **Norðurárdalshreppur, Stafholtstungnahreppur, Borgarnesbær, and Hraunhreppur merged to form
Borgarbyggð Borgarbyggð () is a municipality in the west of Iceland. The biggest township in the municipality is Borgarnes, with a population of 1,887 inhabitants. Other densely populated areas in the municipality include Bifröst, Hvanneyri, Kleppjárnsre ...
. **Eyjarhreppur and Miklaholtshreppur merged to form Eyja- og Miklaholtshreppur. **Nauteyrarhreppur í Norður-Ísafjarðarsýslu and Hólmavíkurhreppur í Strandasýslu merged to form Hólmavíkurhreppur. **Snæfjallahreppur í Norður-Ísafjarðarsýslu merged with Ísafjarðarkaupstaður. **Helgafellssveit merged with Stykkishólmur. *1 January 1994 (reduced to 195) **Fjallahreppur merged with Öxarfjarðarhreppur. *1 July 1993 (reduced to 196) **Landmannahreppur and Holtahreppur merged to form Holta- og Landsveit. *1 October 1992 (reduced to 197) **Beruneshreppur, Búlandshreppur, and Geithellnahreppur merged to form Djúpavogshreppur. *1 January 1992 (reduced to 199) **Hörðudalshreppur merged with Miðdalahreppur to form Suðurdalahreppur. **Fellshreppur í Strandasýslu merged with Óspakseyrarhreppur to form Broddaneshreppur. *17 February 1991 (reduced to 201) **Presthólahreppur merged with Öxarfjarðarhreppur. *1 January 1991 (reduced to 202) **Hrafnagilshreppur, Saurbæjarhreppur, and Öngulsstaðahreppur merged to form
Eyjafjarðarsveit Eyjafjarðarsveit () is a municipality located in northern Iceland. Most of Eyjafjarðarsveit is located inland, but the northern tip borders a fjord. The major villages are Hrafnagil Hrafnagil (; also known as Hrafnagilshverfi and formerly Rey ...
. *10 June 1990 (reduced to 204) **Hofsóshreppur and Fellshreppur merged with Hofshreppur. **Hörglandshreppur, Kirkjubæjarhreppur, Skaftártunguhreppur, Leiðvallahreppur, and Álftavershreppur merged to form
Skaftárhreppur Skaftárhreppur () is a municipality in southern Iceland. The largest settlement is Kirkjubæjarklaustur Kirkjubæjarklaustur ( Icelandic for "church farm cloister", pronounced ; often referred to locally as just Klaustur) is a village in the ...
. *1 April 1990 (reduced to 210) **Fróðárhreppur merged with Ólafsvíkurkaupstaður. **Auðkúluhreppur merged with Þingeyrarhreppur. **Seyðisfjarðarhreppur merged with Seyðisfjarðarkaupstaður. *1 January 1989 (reduced to 213) **Selvogshreppur merged with
Ölfus Ölfus () is a municipality located in Iceland. The major town is called Þorlákshöfn. The bottled water brand Icelandic Glacial is manufactured in this area, at the Ölfus spring. Geography In Ölfus several lava tubes can be visited. ''Rauf ...
hreppur. *1 April 1988 (reduced to 214) **Haganeshreppur merged with Holtshreppur to form Fljótahreppur. *1 January 1988 (reduced to 215) **Helgustaðahreppur merged with Eskifjarðarkaupstaður. *4 July 1987 (reduced to 216) **Geiradalshreppur, Gufudalshreppur, Múlahreppur, and Flateyjarhreppur merged with Reykhólahreppur. *1 July 1987 (reduced to 220) **Ketildalahreppur merged with Suðurfjarðarhreppur to form Bíldudalshreppur. *1 January 1987 (reduced to 221) **Hrófbergshreppur merged with Hólmavíkurhreppur. *30 July 1986 (reduced to 222) **Klofningshreppur merged with Fellsstrandarhreppur. *1984 (reduced to 223) **Dyrhólahreppur merged with Hvammshreppur to form Mýrdalshreppur. *1972 (reduced to 224) **Flateyjarhreppur merged with Hálshreppur. ** Loðmundarfjarðarhreppur merged with
Borgarfjarðarhreppur Borgarfjarðarhreppur () is a municipality in Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital ...
. *1971 (reduced to 226) ** Eyrarhreppur merged with Ísafjarðarkaupstaður. *1 January 1964 (reduced to 227) **Grunnavíkurhreppur merged with Snæfjallahreppur. *1953 (229 municipalities reduced to 228) **Sléttuhreppur is deserted and included in Ísafjarðarkaupstaður, but not officially merged until 1995.


See also

*
List of cities and towns in Iceland Most municipalities in Iceland include more than one settlement. For example, four localities ( Selfoss, Stokkseyri, Eyrarbakki, and Tjarnabyggð) can all be found in the municipality of Árborg. A number of municipalities only contain a single ...
*
Constituencies of Iceland Iceland is divided into 6 constituencies for the purpose of selecting representatives to parliament.National Electoral Commission of Iceland 2013, p. 4 History The current division was established by a 1999 constitution amendment and was an at ...
* List of the most populated municipalities in the Nordic countries


References


External links


Maps of the municipalities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipalities Of Iceland Subdivisions of Iceland
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
Iceland, Municipalities Iceland 2 Municipalities, Iceland Iceland geography-related lists