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Publication - Research and analysis

Trends in Rural Scotland: a working paper (2025)

Published
28 January 2025
From
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, +5 more … Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Cabinet Secretary for Transport
Directorate
Environment and Forestry Directorate, +1 more … Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate
Topic
Children and families, Economy, Education, +7 more … Energy, Environment and climate change, Farming and rural, Health and social care, Housing, Marine and fisheries, Transport
ISBN
9781836912354

This compilation of time-series data shows Rural Scotland trends. It is accompanied by a data sheet. Key trends are shown for Agriculture, Marine, Transport, Housing, Population, Skills, Environment, Climate Change, Economy, Digital, Health, Social Care, Culture and Social Justice.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

5. Environment and climate change

Percentage (%) of household waste recycled

The percentage (%) of household waste recycled in Islands & Remote Rural areas in 2023 was behind the national average at 35.4% compared to 43.5% but was ahead of Larger Cities (34.0%). However, between 2011-2023 the increase in the percentage (%) of household waste recycled in Islands & Remote Rural local authorities was the highest of all areas in Scotland, with a 13.5 percentage points difference from 21.9% to 35.4%. Mainly Rural areas follow with a 6.7 percentage point difference. These are much greater increases in recycling rates than the Scottish average of 3.9 percentage points.

Renewable Electricity Generation

Note

Regional totals do not sum to the Scotland total as some local authority data is suppressed to prevent the output of local plants being revealed. The suppressed data makes up a large proportion of the total electricity generated for Scotland from 2019 onwards. Comparisons between regions or trends over time should be made with caution.

Renewable electricity generation is greatest in mainly rural areas and has increased from at least 13 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2014 to at least 18 million MWh in 2023

Clean Seas

The percentage of biographic regions with acceptably low levels of contaminants to meet environmental health thresholds increased from 75% to 79% between 2016 and 2017 and has remained steady since up to 2020. Data beyond 2020 is not yet available.

Contact

Email: Socialresearch@gov.scot

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