The population of Vogar village in 2024 is approximately 1500
Although Iceland was an agricultural society throughout history, some areas around the coastline were fishing communities that consisted of fishing farms and fishing posts. This reason was mostly due to the short distance to large and generous fishing grounds and the lack of fertile land. Some of these clusters of fishing farms also had trading posts where they traded stockfish for commodities. The town of Vogar on the Reykjanes peninsula, located between Reykjavík and the International Airport in Keflavík (Reykjanesbær), is such a place.
A fishing town
Even though the town's land area is quite large, it doesn’t have many economic advantages in an agricultural sense since the land consists mostly of lava. Fishing, fish processing, and fish trading have always had a central role in Vogar or Vatnsleysuströnd, the old municipal name. During the winter fishing season throughout the last three to four centuries, people came to those fishing posts from agricultural areas and farms around the country to seek work. At that time, the town was scattered over an area of 15 kilometers.
A municipal with good basic service
Today the municipality of Vogar offers good standard service to its residents of eleven hundred people. There is a kindergarten, elementary school as well as middle school. Notably, one of the first primary schools in Iceland was founded in Vogar by the priest Stefán Thorarensen in 1860. It also has a public library in the school. The town has a fairly new sports center and swimming pool. Most of the homes in Vogar are single-family homes, although a few apartment buildings have popped up in recent years. Like all of the towns and villages on the Reykjanes peninsula, the houses are heated with geothermal heating from the Svartsengi heating and power plant.
Employment of residents connected to the airport and Reykjavík
In recent years fishing and fish processing has declined in the town’s economy. Today only a small portion of the people in Vogar work in fishing or fish processing. The town has an advantage over its two neighbors, Reykjanesbær with the International Airport, and Reykjavík the capital. Many residents of Vogar work in either of these places and find it convenient to live in a small town.
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