Scotland's Marine Economic Statistics 2022
Statistics on the economic contributions of Scotland’s marine sectors. Includes a time series of approximate Gross Value Added (aGVA), turnover and employment for industrial categories defined as part of the marine sector.
This sector includes both passenger and freight water transport. Inland water transport is not included. Sea and coastal water transport is an essential part of Scotland's transport network. It is key for connectivity and supports island and mainland communities. Travel in Scotland in 2020 was significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Scottish Annual Business Statistics provides the economic and employment data. See Data and Methodology for more information.
Supplementary information comes from the Scottish Transport Statistics publication, and the Department of Transport statistics.
Passenger water transport: key points
In 2022, passenger water transport generated £148 million in aGVA, 0.09% of Scottish and 3% of marine economy aGVA. Passenger water transport employed 1,200 people, 0.05% of Scottish employment and 2% of marine economy employment.
From 2021 to 2022, the aGVA from passenger water transport increased by 55%. The longer term aGVA trend fluctuated by year, but increased by 34% from 2013 to 2022. From 2013 to 2022, employment decreased by 25%.
Transport Scotland report passenger journeys by operator rather than location. In 2022, around 53% of the passenger journeys were on the Caledonian MacBrayne services in the West of Scotland. These services travel between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast.
Freight water transport: key points
In 2022, freight water transport generated £102 million aGVA, 0.06% of Scottish and 2% of marine economy aGVA. Freight water transport employed 400 people, 0.02% of Scottish employment and 1% of marine economy employment.
From 2021 to 2022, freight water transport aGVA fell by 38%. In the longer term, from 2013 to 2022, aGVA increased by 14%. This is a small sector so the figures can fluctuate from one year to the next.
Transport Scotland report by freight traffic by port. The highest freight traffic in 2022 was through Forth ports. This accounted for 36% of tonnage through the top 11 ports.
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