The article investigates the most severe famines of the 18th- and 19th-centuries affecting all or most parts of Iceland. We use quantitative data to identify famines, construct a famine chronology, and estimate the human fatalities they caused. Famine is defined here as an extreme crisis of access to food that results in a significant number of deaths from starvation. Famine threshold is set at a mortality rate of 1/10,000 inhabitants per day in accordance to Howe’s and Devereux’s magnitude scale. By this definition, Icelanders suffered five famines in the 18th century and two in the 19th century. Comparing the incidence and duration of famines between the Nordic countries during this period we find that Denmark and Iceland had the highest number of famine episodes, seven each, while Icealnd  had the greatest number of famine years, 24 in all compared to between 8 and 12 years in the other Nordic countries.The article investigates the most severe famines of the 18th- and 19th-centuries affecting all or most parts of Iceland. We use quantitative data to identify famines, construct a famine chronology, and estimate the human fatalities they caused. Famine is defined here as an extreme crisis of access to food that results in a significant number of deaths from starvation. Famine threshold is set at an annual mortality rate of 1/10,000 inhabitants per day in accordance to Howe’s and Devereux’s magnitude scale. By this definition, Icelanders suffered five famines in the 18th century and two in the 19th century. Comparing the incidence and duration of famines between the Nordic countries during this period we find that Denmark and Iceland had the highest number of famine episodes, seven each, while Icealnd  had the greatest number of famine years, 24 in all compared to between 8 and 12 years in the other Nordic countries.