World Factbook
Faroe Islands
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
Faroese 93.8% (derived from Old Norse), Danish 3.2%, other 3% (2011 est.)
note: data represent population by primary language
Religions
Christian 87% (predominantly Evangelical Lutheran), other 0.9%, none 3.7%, unspecified 8.9% (2011 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.12 male(s)/female
total population
1.07 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.93 male(s)/female
Birth rate
14.76 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
8.58 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
36.9 years
total
37 years (2025 est.)
female
36.8 years
Population
male
27,400
total
52,933 (2024 est.)
female
25,533
Nationality
noun
Faroese (singular and plural)
adjective
Faroese
Urbanization
urban population
43% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
20% (male 5,489/female 5,122)
15-64 years
61.5% (male 17,188/female 15,346)
65 years and over
18.5% (2024 est.) (male 4,723/female 5,065)
Ethnic groups
Faroese 83.8% (Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon descent), Danish 8.3%, Filipino 1.2%, other Nordic 0.9%, other 4.5% (includes Polish and Romanian) (2024 est.)
note: data represent respondents by country of birth
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
62.7 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
32.6 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
3.3 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
30.1 (2024 est.)
Physician density
2.62 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.26 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: NA
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: NA
unimproved: rural
rural: NA
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: NA
Education expenditure
7.6% of GDP (2019 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
6.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total
5.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
5.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.62% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.09 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
the island of Streymoy is by far the most populous with over 40% of the population; it has approximately twice as many inhabitants as Eysturoy, the second most populous island; seven of the inhabited islands have fewer than 100 people
Life expectancy at birth
male
79.2 years
female
84.4 years
total population
81.7 years (2024 est.)
Major urban areas - population
21,000 TORSHAVN (capital) (2018)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
52.3% (2021 est.)