Latest Scottish Islands Survey published

The latest Scottish Islands Survey (2023) has been published.

The survey gathered views about different aspects of island life from Scottish island residents. The results contribute to measuring progress towards the objectives set out in the National Islands Plan (2019).

Building on the approach taken in the National Islands Plan Survey (2020), the questionnaire data analysis and sampling approach aimed to:

• distribute the survey to the maximum number of islands possible, including islands with very small populations;
• maximise the representativeness of the sample population, based on the age, gender and geographical distribution of adult island residents; and
• support the production of representative statistics, which are more realistic as they account for variations in response rates by different population groups.

The survey was co-developed by the research team at the James Hutton Institute, the Scottish Government and the project’s Research Advisory Group.

Respondents to the survey included people who have always lived in their island, people who have returned, and people who moved to their island having never lived there before.

It found most commonly, people move to islands for the lifestyle, work and family.

The report found that an overwhelming majority of islanders say they are likely to stay in their island for the next five years, and young islanders are more likely to stay than previously.

You can find the full report at Scottish Islands Survey 2023: main findings report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)