Publication - Research and analysis

Scottish Islands Data Overview (2025)

Published: 9 September 2025
From: Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
Directorate: Environment and Forestry Directorate, +1 more … Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate
Topic: Arts, culture and sport, Children and families, Communities and third sector, +11 more … Cost of living crisis, Economy, Education, Energy, Environment and climate change, Farming and rural, Health and social care, Housing, Marine and fisheries, Transport, Work and skills
ISBN: 9781806431328

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.

Supporting documents

1 Introduction

The Scottish Islands Data Dashboard collates existing data on the Scottish Islands in order to enable policymakers and other stakeholders to easily access key Scottish Islands data on a variety of topics. Data for each of the strategic objectives outlined in the National Plan for Scotland's Islands (2019) has been compiled. Within each strategic objective, key data sources have been selected to allow for monitoring of progress towards achieving these objectives. The dashboard was initially published in 2023 and has been updated in 2025 with updated islands-level data. Notably, the dashboard now includes data from the Scottish Islands Survey (2023). This report briefly presents and summarises some of the key information located within the Scottish Islands Data Dashboard.

1.1 Scotland’s Islands

Our islands contribute to national life in a variety of ways. As well as playing a key role in how we understand ourselves as a nation, they also influence the way international audiences see Scotland. As such, they are integral to our national identity while also preserving and promoting strong local identities. The people and communities in Scotland’s inhabited islands, both those born in the islands and those who have moved there, are key to this.

The National Islands Plan consultation, carried out in 2018, identified that those living in Scotland’s islands value the strong sense of community, freedom and safety that life in the islands offers. The islands’ important economic role, their spectacular natural environment, and their rich cultural heritage mean that they are both valued by the nation and are a draw for visitors and investors from around the world who hold a special affection for our islands. Islands and island communities in Scotland are innovative and resilient, often developing examples of community-based solutions in estate management, energy, and digital connectivity, or pioneering health delivery, arts provision, and support for language and culture. This not only benefits local communities but can also produce ideas and solutions that can be then exported to the mainland.

While there are many positive aspects of life in Scotland’s islands, the communities and individuals who live there can experience specific challenges. Many of these challenges are related to geographical location, higher costs, reliance on ferries, and distances from services. This has often led to islanders and island communities feeling that they are on the periphery of public policy. In particular, island communities have previously often felt that decisions which directly affect them were taken by people not living in the island who were detached from the reality of life away from the mainland. In addition, depopulation has been identified as a key issue affecting many island areas. While most islands have in the past experienced much stronger population levels, a pattern of long-term out-migration from the islands has affected many island communities, leading to challenges with service provision and community sustainability. It is in this context that the Scottish Government has developed proactive policies to address the challenges faced by island communities and build sustainable island futures for local and national benefit.

1.2 Policy context

Scotland’s first ever National Islands Plan was published in 2019 as a provision of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which set out the Scottish Government’s objective of ensuring that there is a sustained focus across the Scottish Government and the public sector to meet the needs of islanders, now and in the future, with the aim of improving outcomes for communities. The Act received Royal Assent on 6 July 2018, the first Commencement Regulations were laid on 20 September 2018, and the act came into force on 4 October 2018. The Act is an historic piece of place-based legislation that carries the promise of improving island governance and policy in Scotland. It included a duty on Scottish Ministers to prepare a National Islands Plan.

The National Islands Plan addressed the requirement in the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 to “set out the main objectives and strategy of the Scottish Ministers in relation to improving outcomes for island communities that result from, or are contributed to by, the carrying out of functions of a public nature”. In preparing the plan, Scottish Ministers were required to consider the distinctive geographical, natural heritage and cultural characteristics (including the linguistic heritage) of each of the areas inhabited by island communities. The initial five-year plan is currently under review, as required by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and the Scottish Government is working with local authorities, island communities and relevant sectors and partners to ensure this process is as thorough and effective as possible. The review will provide vital feedback from those most impacted by the first National Islands Plan and a new National Islands Plan is expected to publish in Winter 2025.

1.3 Improving island-level data

Strategic objective 13 of the National Islands Plan focuses on supporting the effective implementation of the plan. In relation to this objective, the plan sets out a commitment to “review the availability, usefulness of, and the wider barriers to, island level data both at an individual island level, groups of islands and consider the creation of a ‘Scottish islands’ data level in order to better understand the challenges faced by island communities” and a range of work has been undertaken to support this. This has included gathering new data through two Scottish Islands surveys, producing island level data from national sources, and compiling data sources in a dashboard which is the subject of this report.

1.3.1 The Scottish Islands surveys

Owing to the lack of existing island level data at the time of publication of the National Islands Plan, the first National Islands Plan Survey (2020) was conducted to gather evidence for the Plan. The survey team produced the James Hutton Institute Scottish Island Regions (2020) geography, which grouped the islands into subregions. This addressed the issue of small population counts on several of the Scottish Islands whilst still providing data on island areas that shared similar characteristics.

Following a question review a second survey, the Scottish Islands Survey (2023), was conducted. It focused on gathering island-specific data that was not available from national data sources. Data from this survey is included in the 2025 update to the Scottish Islands Data Dashboard. A comparison of islanders perceptions of island life from the two surveys is available here: Scottish Islands Survey (2023), Comparing perceptions of island life in 2020 to 2023.

1.3.2 The Scottish Island Region geographies

Building on the James Hutton Institute Scottish Island Regions (2020) geography, the Scottish Government produced the Scottish Islands Region Geography (2023). This official statistical geography has facilitated the production of new island-level evidence from existing national data sources, including i) the National Records of Scotland (NRS)’s Scottish Island Regions population dashboard, and mid-2022 population estimates ii) Household estimates outlining occupied and vacant dwellings in Scottish Island Regions, and iii) the Sub-Scotland Economic Statistics database. Charts on households (including second homes and vacant properties) have now been added to the NRS Island regions interactive dashboard. In addition, Registers of Scotland now publishes house price information covering residential property sales in Scottish Island regions and also monthly updates showing calendar year estimates with the latest file showing revisions up to June 2025^[2]. Financial year data is available from the Registers of Scotland annual property market report.^[3]

Sources such as these were used in the development of the Scottish Islands Data Dashboard in 2023 in conjunction with some other data sources where island level data was not available.

Since the dashboard’s initial release, work has continued using the Scottish Islands Region Geography in more data sources. The Health and Care Experience Survey and the Scottish Household Survey can both now provide regular data on the Scottish islands as a whole as well as for some of the larger island groupings.^[4] Additionally, the Scottish Household Survey can now produce islands time series data.

1.3.3 The Scottish Islands Data Dashboard

The Scottish Islands Data dashboard was first published in 2023. It brings together all the available islands level data in one place with the aim of facilitating the monitoring and evaluation of the National Islands Plan and carrying out Islands Community Impact Assessments. It was initially published following a review of data conducted in 2022/23 to identify islands level data. It uses exiting datasets organised around the strategic objectives of the National Islands plan 2019. The dashboard has been updated as and when data have become available, however a complete review of available data was conducted in Spring 2025 leading to the publication of this update report.

1.4 The Scottish Islands Data Dashboard 2025 update

The Scottish Islands Data Dashboard (2025) offers a comprehensive update to the available data sources. The dashboard itself follows the same structure and format. The available data are organised around the strategic objectives of the National Islands Plan 2019. The update was prompted by the publication of data from the Scottish Islands Survey (2023) which has been added. This introduces some new indicators and updates some from the National Islands Plan Survey (2020). It also includes updates to other data sources following a comprehensive review of the data available in the dashboard in Spring 2025. Data has been added or replaced for surveys that can now produce islands-level data, including The Health and Care Experience Survey and the Scottish Household Survey. It should be noted that all the island region level data is not available from these other surveys, apart from the larger island regions.

Where possible, data is published using the Scottish Islands Regions (2023) geography. However, some data are published using the James Hutton Institute Scottish Island Regions (2020) geography^[5], as data using the more recent classification is unavailable. Furthermore, some data are only available at local authority level. Where local authority level data has been used this has been clearly highlighted in the dashboard. Three of the six local authorities which contain islands also include substantial mainland areas. These data should therefore be interpreted with caution. Where possible, updated data has been added to existing sources as and when it has become available.

The data sources used in the Scottish Islands Data Dashboard and Scottish Islands Data Overview all update at different times. Updated data was not available from all data sources included in the dashboard in this update. Annex 1 contains a list of which data sources have been updated and the dates for when other sources will be updated.

The following chapters provide a more detailed explanation of Scottish Island geographies, a summary of the key changes in the data between the 2023 and 2025 dashboard publications and an updated summary of the what the data show in 2025 for each strategic objective of the National islands Plan (2019). Full detail is available in the dashboard itself as well as in the supporting list of tables for the 2025 update, which can be compared to the Scottish Islands Data Overview 2023 tables published in 2023.