Wikipedia:WikiProject Scottish Islands/Populated Islands

WikiProject Scottish Islands

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This is a list of inhabited islands in Scotland.

2011 Census

The National Records of Scotland lists 93 inhabited islands in the 2011 census. They list a further 17 islands that are occasionally inhabited and "are included in the NRS statistical geography for inhabited islands but had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses". There are an additional 5 islands that are either occasionally or permanently inhabited but are not listed by the NRS. It is not explicit why this should be the case - all are 'bridged' islands although some larger bridged islands are included. There are therefore a total of 115 Scottish islands that are occasionally or permanently inhabited.

2022 Census

The NRS data has proven difficult to obtain.

RESAS have a listing, which is used below. The Census states that "A total of 121 islands are classified as ‘inhabited islands’ for NRS statistical geography purposes; 19 of these islands had no usual residents at the time of the 2022 Census." The RESAS list squares with this statement as there are 102 inhabited islands on it. However, it is not clear at present exactly what the other 19 are. A tentative list is included below. Furthermore, Rubha nan Gall is not an island - see below. There are therefore 101 inhabited islands as of 2022.

In 2011 there were 93 inabited islands. Three, (Scalpay, Tanera Mor and Inner Holm and as listed below), are no longer recorded as inhabited. 11 'new' islands have been added (excluding Rubha nan Gall) of which 2 were previously inhabited (Papa Stronsay and Lunga), one was on the occasionally inhabited list in 2011 (Eilean Loain) and a further two were clearly of that status at that point but were not on the NRS list (Froach-eilean and Eriska).

The six completely new entries since 2001 are:

• Eilean Buidhe - a bridged islet by Craobh Haven.
• Eilean Leathann and Eilean a' Ghiorr - bridged islets on the North Ford between North Uist and Benbecula.
• Boreray, North Uist
• Killegray in the Sound of Harris
• Buchan Ness by Peterhead - see Buchan Ness lighthouse.

Population density

• Area data for offshore islands is from Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7. pp. 502-503 or the section tables. Islands marked with an asterisk are those for which he does not provide data. Area data for freshwater islands is from the 2011 census.
• (E) Indicates an estimate - no record provided by Census or Haswell-Smith.
• ? Populated but no record provided by Census.

Hoy and South Walls are amalgamated in this list, although an estimate for the latter alone is provided.

In the absence of an existing reference work that provides all of the information in the density column below, great care must be taken in using the information.

The subject was aired at the No Original Research Noticeboard in 2009 and the comment made there was that "this is the kind of case where you can use your own judgment, certainly if these matters are not disputable or disputed" and the subject is marked as "resolved".

With the exception of the items marked "(E)" the population and area data is not disputed (although there are small discrepancies between authorities for the latter). There is thus no reason not to add the density information to an article or infobox (except perhaps in some of those cases).

However, this should be referenced with the source of both the area and population data. Rankings are another matter and statements such as "this is the third most densely populated island in the Outer Hebrides" should be avoided unless a reliable source corroborates the information. The data for very small islands or those with very low numbers of residents may need interpretation.

Inhabited islands

• F = populated freshwater island
• N = no census figure available

Rank	Island	Local Authority	Population (2022 census)	2011 Rank	Population (2011 census)	2001 Rank	Population (2001 census)	Area (hectares)	Density (p/km2)
1	Lewis and Harris	Western Isles	19,680	1	21,031	1	19,918	217,898	9.03
2	Mainland, Shetland	Shetland	18,763	2	18,765	2	17,550	96,700	19.40
3	Mainland, Orkney	Orkney	17,779	3	17,162	3	15,315	53,325	33.98
4	Skye	Highland	10,496	4	10,008	4	9,232	165,625	6.34
5	Bute	Argyll and Bute	6,047	5	6,498	5	7,228	12,217	49.50
6	Arran	North Ayrshire	4,618	6	4,629	6	5,045	43,201	10.69
7	Islay	Argyll and Bute	3,180	7	3,228	7	3,457	61,956	5.13
8	Mull	Argyll and Bute	3,063	8	2,800	8	2,667	87,535	3.50
9	South Uist	Western Isles	1,650	9	1,754	9	1,818	32,026	5.15
10	Great Cumbrae	North Ayrshire	1,293	10	1,376	10	1,434	1,168	110.70
11	Benbecula	Western Isles	1,255	11	1,303	12	1,219	8,203	15.30
12	Barra	Western Isles	1,209	13	1,174	13	1,078	5,875	20.58
13	North Uist	Western Isles	1,208	12	1,254	11	1,271	30,305	3.99
14	Whalsay	Shetland	1,005	14	1,061	14	1,034	1,970	51.02
15	South Ronaldsay	Orkney	984	16	909	16	854	4,980	19.76
16	Yell	Shetland	904	15	966	15	957	21,211	4.26
17	West Burra	Shetland	772	17	776	18	753	743	103.9
18	Tiree	Argyll and Bute	700	18	653	17	770	7,834	8.94
19	Unst	Shetland	644	19	632	19	720	12,068	5.34
20	Seil	Argyll and Bute	580	21	551	21	560	1,329	43.64
21	Westray	Orkney	566	20	588	20	563	4,713	12.01
22	Sanday	Orkney	491	22	494	22	478	5,043	9.74
23	Burray	Orkney	445	24	409	24	357	903	49.28
24	Hoy	Orkney	392	23	419	28	272	14,318	2.74
25	Bressay	Shetland	345	25	368	23	384	2,805	12.30
26	Stronsay	Orkney	321	26	349	25	343	3,275	9.80
27	Shapinsay	Orkney	299	27	307	27	300	2,948	10.14
28	Scalpay	Western Isles	282	28	291	26	322	653	43.19
29	Jura	Argyll and Bute	258	31	196	34	188	36,692	0.70
30	Rousay	Orkney	236	30	216	31	212	4,860	4.86
31	Great Bernera	Western Isles	212	29	252	29	233	2,122	9.99
32	Lismore	Argyll and Bute	190	34	192	36	146	2,351	8.08
33=	Gigha	Argyll and Bute	187	37	163	43	110	1,395	13.41
33=	Raasay	Highland	187	38	161	33	192	6,405	2.92
35=	Luing	Argyll and Bute	178	32	195	30	212	1,543	11.54
35=	Iona	Argyll and Bute	178	35	177	40	125	877	20.30
37	Coll	Argyll and Bute	176	33	195	35	164	7,685	2.29
38	Eriskay	Western Isles	158	40	143	38	133	703	22.48
39	Trondra	Shetland	152	42	135	39	133	275	55.27
40	Grimsay	Western Isles	149	36	169	32	201	833	17.89
41	Berneray	Western Isles	142	41	138	37	136	1,010	14.06
42	Muckle Roe	Shetland	128	43	130	45	104	1,773	7.22
43	Colonsay	Argyll and Bute	117	44	124	44	108	4,617	2.53
44	East Burra	Shetland	105	49	76	52	66	515	20.39
45	Eday	Orkney	102	39	160	41	121	2,745	3.72
46=	Papa Westray	Orkney	95	45=	90	53	65	918	10.35
46=	Eigg	Highland	95	47	83	51	67	3,049	3.12
48	Vatersay	Western Isles	83	45=	90	46	94	960	8.65
49	Flotta	Orkney	77	48	80	48	81	876	8.79
50	Fetlar	Shetland	66	52	61	47	86	4,078	1.62
51=	Kerrera	Argyll and Bute	61	57	34	57	42	1,214	5.02
51=	Easdale	Argyll and Bute	61	53	59	54	58	20	305.00
53	North Ronaldsay	Orkney	59	50	72	49	70	690	8.55
54	Baleshare	Western Isles	53	54	58	56	49	910	5.82
55	Fair Isle	Shetland	44	51	68	50	69	768	5.73
56	Rùm	Highland	31	64	22	63	22	10,463	0.30
57	Muck	Highland	28	61	27	60	30	559	5.01
58	Grimsay, South East Benbecula	Western Isles	27	65	20	65	19	117	23.08
59=	Housay	Shetland	21	55	50	55	50	218	9.63
59=	Eriska	Argyll and Bute	21	n/a		n/a		310	6.77
59=	Graemsay	Orkney	21	60	28	64	21	409	5.13
62=	Foula	Shetland	17	56	38	59	31	1,265	1.34
62=	Holy Isle	North Ayrshire	17	58	31	68	13	253	6.72
62=	Egilsay	Orkney	17	62	26	58	37	650	2.62
65	Bruray	Shetland	16	63	24	61	26	55	29.09
66	Seana Bhaile	Western Isles	15	n/a		n/a		30	50.0
67	Inchmurrin (F)	West Dunbartonshire	10	70=	8	69	13	133	7.52
68=	Papa Stronsay	Orkney	9	n/a		72	10	74	12.16
68=	Eilean Shona	Highland	9	86=	2	74	9	525	1.71
68=	Canna	Highland	9	67	12	78	6	1,130	0.80
71	Wyre	Orkney	8	59	29	66	18	311	2.57
72=	Papa Stour	Shetland	7	66	15	62	23	828	0.85
72=	Oronsay	Argyll and Bute	7	70=	8	83	5	543	1.29
72=	Isle of Ewe	Highland	7	72=	7	70	12	309	2.27
72=	Gometra	Argyll and Bute	7	86=	2	82	5	425	1.65
76=	Ulva	Argyll and Bute	6	68	11	67	16	1,990	0.30
76=	Erraid	Argyll and Bute	6	74=	6	75	8	187	3.21
76=	Gairsay	Orkney	6	80=	3	85	3	240	2.50
76=	Eilean Buidhe	Argyll and Bute	6	na		n/a
80=	Eilean Tioram, Badachro	Highland	5	74=	6	na	0
80=	Danna, Scotland	Argyll and Bute	5	89=	1	81	5	315	1.59
82=	Eilean dà Mhèinn	Argyll and Bute	4	89=	1	na	0
82=	Sanday	Highland	4	69	9	79	6	184	2.17
82=	Flodaigh, Benbecula	Western Isles	4	72=	7	71	11	145	2.76
85=	Vaila	Shetland	3	86=	2	90	2	327	0.92
85=	Inchtavannach (F)	Argyll and Bute	3	80=	3	86	3	52	5.77
85=	Soay, Skye	Highland	3	89=	1	77	7	1.036	0.29
88=	Innis Chonan (F)	Argyll and Bute	2	76	5	97	1	8	25.0
88=	Holm of Grimbister	Orkney	2	80=	3	na	N
88=	Auskerry	Orkney	2	77=	4	80	5	85	2.35
88=	Shuna, Slate Islands	Argyll and Bute	2	80=	3	96	1	451	0.44
88=	South Rona	Highland	2	80=	3	92	2	930	0.22
88=	Eilean Loain	Argyll and Bute	2	n/a		n/a
88=	Rubha Fiola	Slate Islands	2	n/a		n/a
95=	Moncreiffe Island (F)	Perth and Kinross	1	80=	3	87	3	46	2.17
95=	Inchfad (F)	Stirling Council	1	89=	1	93	2	103	0.97
95=	Eilean Leathann	Western Isles	1	n/a		n/a
95=	Killegray	Western Isles	1	n/a		n/a		2,483	0.04
95=	Eilean a' Ghiorr	Western Isles	1	n/a		n/a
95=	Boreray, North Uist	Western Isles	1	n/a		n/a
95=	Buchan Ness	Buchan coast	1	n/a		n/a

RESAS lists Rubha nan Gall with 6 inhabitants. It is clear from OS maps and the holiday cottage website that this is not an island but rather a peninsula (as the name implies).

Occasionally inhabited islands

The following are classified by the National Records of Scotland as "inhabited islands but had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses."

Number	Island	Location	Local Authority
1	Kisimul Castle/Caisteal Chiosmuil	Castlebay, Barra	Western Isles
2	Castle Stalker/Eilean an Stalcaire	Near Port Appin	Argyll and Bute
3	Eilean Horrisdale	Loch Gairloch	Highland
n/a	Eilean Loain	Knapdale	Argyll and Bute
5	Eilean na Cille	Near Benbecula	Western Isles
6	Ensay	Sound of Harris	Western Isles
7	Inch Kenneth	Near Mull	Argyll and Bute
8	Inchlonaig (F)	Loch Lomond	Argyll and Bute
9	Inchcruin (F)	Loch Lomond	Stirling
10	Lamb Holm	Churchill Barriers	Orkney

The following islands were classified as inhabited in the 2001 or 2011 censuses but not in 2022. By implication they are occasionally inhabited.

Number	Island	Local Authority	2001 Rank	Population (2001 census)	Population (2011 census)	Comment
11	Davaar Island	Argyll and Bute	88	2	0	Has a holiday home.
12	Eilean Bàn, Lochalsh	Highland	89	2	0	Has a wildlife centre.
13	Inchcolm	Fife	91	2	0	There is a visitor centre and probably summer habitation.
14	Eilean Donan	Highland	94	1	0	The castle is in regular use.
15	Sanda	Argyll and Bute	95	1	0	The island was for sale and had an occasional caretaker.
16	Scalpay	Highland	73	10	4
17	Tanera Mòr	Highland	84	5	4
18	Inner Holm	Orkney	n/a	0	1

The following islands were not referred to by the National Records of Scotland in 2011. However, it is clear that they all contain residential buildings in occasional or permanent use. It may be that some are excluded as they are bridged (although larger bridged islands are included in their listings). According to the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 "In this Act, “island” means a naturally formed area of land which is (a) surrounded on all sides by the sea (ignoring artificial structures such as bridges, and (b) above water at high tide" and "all islands in Scotland which are enclosed by the sea fall within the definition of “island” – ignoring man-made structures such as bridges... [and] include tidal islands also, such as Oronsay (off Colonsay)." Note that this excludes freshwater islands!

Number	Island	Local Authority	Comment
19	South Walls	Orkney	Was a tidal island until a narrow causeway was constructed over the sandbank connecting it to Hoy.
n/a	Eriska	Argyll and Bute	A bridged tidal island with a hotel and recorded as inhabited in 2022.
n/a	Fraoch-eilean	Western Isles	A bridged tidal island adjoining Grimsay, it has numerous dwellings.Finally recorded as inhabited in 2022 but under the name Seana Bhaile.
20	Contin Island (F)	Highland	A bridged river island with a church and a manse.
21	Eilean Aigas (F)	Highland	A bridged river island with a substantial mansion.
22	Rubh'a Chruidh (off Kerrera)	Argyll and Bute	A tidal island with a large house.

Unnamed islet arguably part of or just off Fraoch-eilean

A University of Notts PhD thesis by Robert Lenfert entitled "Long-Term Continuity and Change within Hebridean and Mainland Scottish Island Dwellings" (downloadable pdf here) has, on page 70, an aerial photo in which the author contrasts "a modern intertidal island dwelling on Grimsay" with two nearby crannogs. He describes it as NE of Loch Hornary, although the image shows a small cluster of buildings NW of there at NF859577 and the causeway is off Fraoch-eilean, not Grimsay itself. This and the image at right suggest it is occasionally inhabited, at the very least. The aerial photo is much more suggestive of the place's original insularity than either this photograph or the Ordnance Survey map, which does not indicate MHWS reaching the causeway.

Notes

• Forewick Holm was added to the inhabited list from June-December 2008 after extensive press coverage of the single inhabitant's activities.

References

• National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.