Migration flows by country of origin are of growing interest in the Nordic Region due to the recent unprecedented in-flows of migrants. There are also interesting differences between the Nordic countries with respect to the dominant countries of origin of migrants and the size of inflows.
The Faroe Islands and Greenland each had one average annual inflow of more than 1000 people from a single country of origin during the measured period, in both cases from Denmark (around 2000 to Greenland, and around 1000 to the Faroe Islands). Iceland had average annual inflows above 1000 people from two countries, Denmark (around 1000) and Poland (around 2000). These flows from Denmark are, to a large degree, due to the historic and political connections between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland. The substantial flow of immigrants from Poland to Iceland during the period can largely be explained by the large numbers of Polish people who sought work in Iceland’s booming economy prior to the economic crisis in 2008.