The Icelanders of Canada

The Icelanders of Canada, numbering approximately 3,100 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a North Germanic people of the North Atlantic whose culture has been shaped by Norse settlement, geographic isolation, maritime livelihoods, a strong literary tradition, and a close relationship with a dramatic volcanic environment. They mostly adhere to Unaffiliated and Icelandic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Icelander

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Canada
People Cluster: Scandinavian
Primary Language(s): Icelandic (isl)
Primary Religion(s): Unaffiliated
Population: 3,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043410
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Icelanders of Canada

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Unaffiliated
Religious Affiliation: Unaffiliated

—
%
Unaffiliated Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Icelandic
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Icelandic Speakers

Media Resources in Icelandic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Icelandic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Biblián Heilög Ritning✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Icelandic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Icelanders:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Icelanders of Canada

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost will look to Jesus lifted up on the cross and believe in Him, gaining eternal life with God.

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
readLamentations 3:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the goodness of the Lord as they wait on Him to answer their cries for help.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
readPsalm 96:4

Pray that God will raise up believers to declare His glory among the lost, so that they may know that He is great and greatly to be praised, that He is exalted above all gods.

Icelander Across Countries (ROP3 - 103943) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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