The population of Eiði Municipality, which consists of the villages Eiði, Ljósá and Svínáir, has passed 800 for the first time ever.
“The population of Eiði Municipality has seen a steady growth for a period of time and for the past five years the number of residents has increased by more than 100 persons,” the Municipal Council of Eiði said earlier this week.
Thus the current population of Eiði amounts to 810, a new record for the municipality.
“At the turn of the century, about 700 people lived in Eiði Municipality, then the population decreased somewhat, and in 2010, when it was at its lowest, it was only 659 people,” we’re told. “Since 2010, however, things have been heading in the right direction, and in 2021, the population grew by more than 30.”
Eiði Municipality has a highly diverse population with people of 20 different nationalities, the council noted.
As per Jóan Pauli Joensen, professor emeritus of ethnology and cultural history at the University of Faroe Islands: “The village of Eiði has its named from the isthmus — in Faroese ‘eiði’ — in which the village is situated at the foot of the peninsula Eiðiskollur, with access to the sea from both sides. Northwest of Eiði you’ll find two legendary sea stacks, Risin (71 meters) and Kellingin (69m) — in English, the Giant and the Witch — who, according to legend, attempted but obviously failed to drag the Faroe Islands to Iceland.”
“Located close to the northern fishing banks of the Faroe Islands, Eiði has always been a good fishing village. Thus the village was the second largest in the Faroe Islands in the late 1800s, with 500 inhabitants at the time.”
