What is the family structure like
in Iceland?
The
traditional family structure in Iceland has changed throughout the years,
specifically within the last 50 or so years. Iceland actually leads the list of
countries with unwed mothers, where in 2016, 67% of babies born in Iceland were
born to parents who were not married. Bill Weir, a CNN reporter, sat down with
an Iceland native, Bryndis Asmundottir and discussed how Iceland views
marriage. Weir writes it best, stating:
“’You have this horrible term in English,
‘broken families,’ ” Bryndis Asmundottir says over coffee. “Which basically
means just if you get divorced, then something’s broken. But that’s not the way
it is in Iceland at all. We live in such a small and secure environment, and
the women have so much freedom. So you can just, you can choose your life.’ Bryndis
has three kids with two partners and not a drop of shame or regret. She explains that since few
Icelanders are religious, there is no moral stigma attached to unwed pregnancy.
And her country guarantees some of the most generous parental leave in the
world: nine months at 80% pay (three months for mom, three for dad and another
three to be divvied up).” (Weir, CNN 2017).
As shown
in the quote above, we see that it is not frowned upon to not be married and
have children, where in some other cultures, such as in the United States, that
is sometimes looked down or frowned upon. The Icelandic government even gives a
very generous parental leave payment, where in other countries there is note
even any payment at all.
In
Iceland, we see that family is obviously important to their culture, especially
since they are such a small population. Housework is shared by the entire
family, and the children are taught to be self-sufficient and clean their
bedrooms, clean the floors, do laundry, etc. As teenagers, they again have a
lot of independence, and many of them make sure to set time in their schedules
to do sports or hanging out with their friends. Overall, Iceland strongly
stresses the importance of individual independence, and the development of
social skills by allowing the time for socialization.
With those
who are older in age, we see that there is ageism and discrimination among
older individuals.. Citing a study titled Intergenerational Support
Contributions of Older People in Iceland to Their Families and Society, they
discuss “ Research has confirmed negative attitudes toward older people, and
negative images of older people are more common than positive ones … In a
recent Icelandic survey, only 52% of people over 67 years of age reported
positive attitudes toward older people.” (Hardardottir and Bjornsdottir, 2019).
However, in the same paragraph, the researchers have noted that positive
attitudes towards aging also do exist, and they give an example talking about usually
associating older people with being wise or having wisdom.
Globilization and Migration Effects
On Iceland
The New
York Times in September of 2025 has given us a recent look into what globilzation
and mass tourism has done for the country in the last 15 years. Sefano Montali wrote,
“Since 2010, the percentage of foreign citizens living in Iceland has risen to
nearly 17 percent of the total population, up from 6 percent”. (Monali NYT
2025). There have also been large amounts of criticism from Iceland natives,
discussing the rise in tourism and attraction to the country, and I feel that Montali
really summed up the discussion of how mass tourism is affecting Iceland. He sat
down with an individual, Mr. Dori, and wrote the following:
” To Mr. Dori, and to many Icelanders
interviewed, their qualms about tourism were nuanced. ‘Love-hate is too strong,’
one man said at a bar downtown, ‘but it can be frustrating.’ Still, they
recognize its worth in the country’s economic vitality.
The issue
seemed to be with mass tourism and how, if consistently unchecked, it could
deplete Iceland’s unique spirit. “’We love to have people from all over the
world,’” Mr. Dori said, ‘“but we can’t do it at the cost of culture.”’ (Montani,
NYT 2025).
References and Sources
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/wonder-list-bill-weir-iceland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_policy_in_Iceland
https://www.afsusa.org/countries/iceland/#afs-nav-language
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