Scottish Islands Survey 2023: main findings report

1. Introduction

The first National Islands Plan Survey, conducted in 2020, filled a gap in our understanding of Scotland's island communities. It provided baseline data about how people are experiencing life in Scotland's islands, the highlights and challenges of island life and how they vary across regions and demographic groups. This follow-up survey – the Scottish Islands Survey (2023) – builds the evidence base further by enabling change to be measured and collecting evidence on questions of current relevance.

The Scottish Islands Survey 2023 explored experiences of wide-ranging aspects of island life among island residents in na h-Eileanan Siar, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands and islands in the local authority areas of Argyll and Bute, Highland and North Ayrshire.

An island is defined in Scottish legislation. The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 specifically covers inhabited islands which are “(a) surrounded on all sides by the sea (ignoring artificial structures such as bridges), and (b) above water at high tide”. Using the Inhabited Islands Report as a starting point,^[4] but excluding islands in fresh water and recognising Walls in Orkney as an island in its own right, means that the Act covers 89 inhabited islands according to 2011 census data.

Many of the survey questions are comparable to those asked in the National Islands Plan Survey, conducted in 2020, enabling improvements and deteriorations in perceptions of island life to be charted between 2020 and 2023. Some new questions were added to address issues that are more prevalent today than they were in 2020, such as the cost-of-living crisis. In addition, the wording of some existing questions was changed to reflect the wording used in other national surveys, enabling comparison with other datasets. These changes are detailed in Annex 4.

Where comparisons between 2020 and 2023 are provided in this report, these have been selected based on: the robustness of the comparison (which may be affected, for example, by changes in question wording or in who was asked to answer the question); tests of significant difference between the two datasets^[5]; the extent of any change between 2020 and 2023; and the importance of the indicator for the given section of the report. A full set of 2020/2023 comparisons are provided in Annex 6.

The questions asked in the survey relate to the strategic objectives set out in the Scottish Government's National Islands Plan (2019),^[6] which aim to improve outcomes for island communities across Scotland.

The strategic objectives are as follows:

1. To address population decline and ensure a healthy, balanced population profile

2. To improve and promote sustainable economic development

3. To improve transport services

4. To improve housing

5. To reduce levels of fuel poverty

6. To improve digital connectivity

7. To improve and promote health, social care and wellbeing

8. To improve and promote environmental wellbeing and deal with biosecurity

9. To contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation and promote clean, affordable and secure energy

10. To empower diverse communities and different places

11. To support arts, culture and language

12. To promote and improve education for all throughout life

This report outlines the methods, main findings and conclusions of the Scottish Islands Survey (2023). Where possible, comparisons are made with findings from the National Islands Plan Survey (2020) and with relevant national or regional statistics.

This report is accompanied by spotlight reports and an interactive data explorer which will be published later.