Net migration in Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands: Net migration was 386 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Net migration in Faroe Islands, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
Analysis
Faroe Islands recorded 386 for net migration in 2025.
That represents a change of down 20.9% on the previous year and down 22.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, net migration in Faroe Islands peaked at 676 in 2018 and was at its lowest, -1,321, in 1993.
That places Faroe Islands 75th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Net migration in Faroe Islands, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | -63 | — |
| 1961 | -119 | +88.9% |
| 1962 | -129 | +8.4% |
| 1963 | -136 | +5.4% |
| 1964 | -133 | -2.2% |
| 1965 | -116 | -12.8% |
| 1966 | -232 | +100.0% |
| 1967 | -285 | +22.8% |
| 1968 | -274 | -3.9% |
| 1969 | -242 | -11.7% |
| 1970 | -155 | -36.0% |
| 1971 | -41 | -73.5% |
| 1972 | -74 | +80.5% |
| 1973 | -86 | +16.2% |
| 1974 | -63 | -26.7% |
| 1975 | -38 | -39.7% |
| 1976 | -13 | -65.8% |
| 1977 | -3 | -76.9% |
| 1978 | 106 | -3633.3% |
| 1979 | 80 | -24.5% |
| 1980 | 119 | +48.8% |
| 1981 | 129 | +8.4% |
| 1982 | 130 | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 124 | -4.6% |
| 1984 | 118 | -4.8% |
| 1985 | 15 | -87.3% |
| 1986 | 16 | +6.7% |
| 1987 | 31 | +93.8% |
| 1988 | 22 | -29.0% |
| 1989 | 28 | +27.3% |
| 1990 | -1,203 | -4396.4% |
| 1991 | -1,256 | +4.4% |
| 1992 | -1,280 | +1.9% |
| 1993 | -1,321 | +3.2% |
| 1994 | -1,310 | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 61 | -104.7% |
| 1996 | 51 | -16.4% |
| 1997 | 81 | +58.8% |
| 1998 | 109 | +34.6% |
| 1999 | 70 | -35.8% |
| 2000 | 301 | +330.0% |
| 2001 | 342 | +13.6% |
| 2002 | 327 | -4.4% |
| 2003 | 325 | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 319 | -1.8% |
| 2005 | -188 | -158.9% |
| 2006 | -179 | -4.8% |
| 2007 | -189 | +5.6% |
| 2008 | -206 | +9.0% |
| 2009 | -187 | -9.2% |
| 2010 | -780 | +317.1% |
| 2011 | 32 | -104.1% |
| 2012 | 8 | -75.0% |
| 2013 | 48 | +500.0% |
| 2014 | 85 | +77.1% |
| 2015 | 499 | +487.1% |
| 2016 | 541 | +8.4% |
| 2017 | 634 | +17.2% |
| 2018 | 676 | +6.6% |
| 2019 | 670 | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 548 | -18.2% |
| 2021 | 662 | +20.8% |
| 2022 | 614 | -7.3% |
| 2023 | 599 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 488 | -18.5% |
| 2025 | 386 | -20.9% |
Faroe Islands compared with similar countries
- Faroe Islands's 386 is below the median for high income countries, which is 843, 46% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Faroe Islands's 386 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 166, 2.3× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Net migration in Faroe Islands changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | -4396.4% | 28 | -1,203 |
| 1978 | +3633.3% | -3 | 106 |
| 2013 | +500.0% | 8 | 48 |
| 2015 | +487.1% | 85 | 499 |
| 2000 | +330.0% | 70 | 301 |
| 2010 | -317.1% | -187 | -780 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | -172.9 | -285 | -63 | 10 |
| 1970s | -28.7 | -155 | 106 | 10 |
| 1980s | 73.2 | 15 | 130 | 10 |
| 1990s | -599.8 | -1,321 | 109 | 10 |
| 2000s | 66.5 | -206 | 342 | 10 |
| 2010s | 241.3 | -780 | 676 | 10 |
| 2020s | 549.5 | 386 | 662 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Faroe Islands
- 72 Curacao 470 compare
- 73 Bhutan 455 compare
- 74 New Caledonia 440 compare
- 76 Belize 360 compare
- 77 Liechtenstein 194 compare
- 78 Turks and Caicos Islands 177 compare
More financial sector data for Faroe Islands
- Net migration, annual growth rate -20.9 % change on previous year (2025)
- Official exchange rate 6.62 LCU per US$, period average (2025)
- GDP deflator: linked series 135.45 base year varies by country (2024)
- Inflation, GDP deflator: linked series 2.0% (2024)
- GDP deflator: linked series (base year varies by country), annual 2 % change on previous year (2024)
- Banking crisis dummy 0 1=banking crisis, 0=none (2017)
- Remittance inflows to GDP 0.0% (2019)
- Total current account credit/revenue, Credit/Revenue 1.68 billion (2011)
- Services balance (credit less debit), Net (credits less debits) -187.40 million (2011)
- Secondary income balance (credit less debit), Net (credits less) 202.96 million (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is net migration in Faroe Islands?
- Net migration in Faroe Islands was 386 in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest net migration recorded in Faroe Islands?
- The highest recorded value was 676 in 2018.
- What is the lowest net migration recorded in Faroe Islands?
- The lowest recorded value was -1,321 in 1993.
- How does Faroe Islands rank for net migration?
- Faroe Islands ranks 75th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is net migration rising or falling in Faroe Islands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Faroe Islands data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Net migration. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens.