How many emigrated?

In his book ‘Vesturfaraskrá’ published in Reykjavík in 1983, Júníus H. Kristinsson records 14,268 Icelanders who emigrated to North America between 1870 and 1914. However, only emigrants for whom there is reliable documentary evidence have been listed. It is agreed that all records of emigration have not been preserved and that many emigrants somehow avoided being registered. Thus, this record is certainly not complete and may in fact exclude thousands of emigrants. It is generally estimated that somewhere between 16,000 and 20,000 Icelanders emigrated; 20 – 25% of the total population of Iceland at the time.