Share of births that are twins in Iceland

Iceland: Share of births that are twins was 1.2% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
1.2%
Change on year
down 22.2%
World rank
20th
of 23 countries
All-time high
2.4%
in 1881
All-time low
0.6%
in 1976
Years of data
165
1850–2020

Share of births that are twins in Iceland, 1850–2020

0.511.522.5185019352020

Source: Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of births that are twins in Iceland is 1.2%, measured in 2020.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 22.2% on the previous year and down 14.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of births that are twins in Iceland peaked at 2.4% in 1881 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1976.

Iceland ranks 20th of 23 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 165 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1850s 1.5% 0.8% 1.9% 9
1860s 1.5% 1.1% 1.9% 10
1870s 1.8% 1.4% 2.1% 5
1880s 1.7% 1.4% 2.4% 10
1890s 1.8% 1.5% 2.2% 10
1900s 1.6% 1.1% 2.3% 10
1910s 1.5% 1.1% 1.9% 10
1920s 1.5% 1.2% 1.8% 10
1930s 1.3% 0.9% 1.6% 10
1940s 1.2% 0.9% 1.8% 10
1950s 1.0% 0.9% 1.2% 10
1960s 1.0% 0.8% 1.4% 10
1970s 0.9% 0.6% 1.1% 10
1980s 0.9% 0.7% 1.2% 10
1990s 1.7% 1.0% 2.0% 10
2000s 1.8% 1.5% 2.1% 10
2010s 1.5% 1.3% 1.7% 10
2020s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 17 New Zealand 1.3% compare
  2. 18 Uruguay 1.3% compare
  3. 19 Finland 1.3% compare
  4. 21 Italy 1.1% compare
  5. 22 Chile 1.1% compare
  6. 23 Japan 1.0% compare

See the full ranking of 23 places →

More reference data data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of births that are twins in Iceland?
Share of births that are twins in Iceland was 1.2% in 2020, according to Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of births that are twins recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 1881.
What is the lowest share of births that are twins recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1976.
How does Iceland rank for share of births that are twins?
Iceland ranks 20th out of 23 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of births that are twins rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Iceland data come from?
The figures come from Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births that are twins. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 165 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of births that are twins
Unit
%
Source
Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
23 places, 2,436 data points, 1815–2022
Last refreshed

The number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.