Scottish Islands Data Overview (2025)
The Scottish Islands Data Dashboard has been updated following a review of available data. This report summarises the findings. It highlights changes between data available in 2025 and data first collated in 2023 and gives an overview of longer term trends in Scotland's Islands.
Highlights
This report summarises updated data relating to Scotland’s islands and is collated in the Scottish Islands Data Dashboard (2025). It was first published in 2023.
Why was the research needed?
The Scottish Islands Data dashboard was originally compiled due to a growing demand for Scottish islands data since the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018. The Scottish Islands Data Dashboard delivers specifically on the commitment to help gather better island-level data. Scottish islands-level data is required for Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIAs), which are a statutory requirement under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, as well as to monitor progress on the National Islands Plan strategic objectives. This dashboard also responds to the desire from the Scottish Government’s Rural Affairs and Islands (RAI) committee to see greater detail on progress and performance against the Plan.
What did we do?
The Scottish Islands Data Dashboard (2023) has been updated in 2025 to reflect updated data sources, including the Scottish Islands Survey (2023). This report summarises messages from the data dashboard.
The Rural Scotland Data Dashboard, published alongside a separate report, also gives a detailed picture of evidence on rural Scotland.
What did we learn?
The data presented on this dashboard demonstrates the diversity within and across Scottish islands. Compiling the available Scottish islands level data gives evidence of both positive island attributes as well as challenges across each of the 12 strategic objectives outlined in the National Islands Plan. Since the dashboard’s initial publication in 2023, there have been increases/improvements in some metrics and reductions/declines in others.
Examples of changes from the 2023 dashboard:
- In 2020 Gross Value Added was declining across island regions. However the latest data show that, across most island regions, GVA is now increasing.
- Perceptions of the reliability and quality of public transport and access to information about transport have broadly declined.
- Rates of house building increasing across most island local authorities however Islanders continue to have less positive perceptions of both housing availability and affordability than the Scottish average.
- After increasing in a steady trend across all island regions from 2019 to 2022, in 2025 house prices had decreased in three of the nine Scottish Island Regions.
- Digital connectivity is improving in island regions.
- Life expectancies have seen some fluctuation but remain predominantly higher in the islands than the Scottish average.
- Recycling rates are slightly increasing in island local authorities; however, most areas still fall significantly below the Scottish average.
- Sense of community belonging is strong but has declined between 2020 and 2023.
Next steps
The Scottish Government will continue to develop island-level data sources and use these to monitor progress on the National Islands Plan strategic objectives and contribute to Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIAs).