Languages of the Faroe Islands of tourism. Norwegian is occasionally heard too, due to the islands' geographical proximity to Norway. Languages of the Faroe Islands The official language of the Faroe Islands is Faroese. The Faroese language is a Germanic language which is descended from Old Norse. Faroese is similar in grammar to Icelandic and Old Norse, but closer in pronunciation to Norwegian. In the twentieth century Faroese became the official language and, because the Faroe Islands are a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark, Danish is taught in Faroese schools. The first recorded settlers of the Faroe Islands were Irish monks (papar), so
Demographics of the Faroe Islands Demographics of the Faroe Islands This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Faroe Islands, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Recent DNA analysis have revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87% Scandinavian. The studies show that mitochondrial DNA, tracing female descent, is 84% Scottish / Irish. Of the approximately 48,000 inhabitants of the Faroe Islands (16,921 private households (2004)), 98% are Danish realm citizens, meaning Faroese, Danish, or Greenlandic. By birthplace one can derive the following origins of the