Population in Shetland Islands

Population in Shetland Islands was 22,710 in 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is down 0.4% from 2024.

2025, persons22,710
Change on 2024-0.4%
Series high23,3702015
Series low22,7102025

Population in Shetland Islands, 2011 to 2025

22.6K22.8K23K23.2K23.4K201120142017202020252011: 23,240 persons2012: 23,200 persons2013: 23,180 persons2014: 23,330 persons2015: 23,370 persons2016: 23,240 persons2017: 23,110 persons2018: 23,000 persons2019: 22,910 persons2020: 22,890 persons2021: 22,960 persons2022: 23,020 persons2023: 22,890 persons2024: 22,800 persons2025: 22,710 persons
persons. Source: Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age: all ages, both sexes, mid-year (ONS, Nomis NM_2002_1). Retrieved 2026-10-11, published 2026-07-29.
All 15 values
Periodpersons
202522,710
202422,800
202322,890
202223,020
202122,960
202022,890
201922,910
201823,000
201723,110
201623,240
201523,370
201423,330
201323,180
201223,200
201123,240

Compared with Scotland

Place2025
Shetland Islands22,710
Scotland5,545,500

Rankings

Definition

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January. United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

How to cite

Office for National Statistics. Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age: all ages, both sexes, mid-year (ONS, Nomis NM_2002_1). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/api/v01/dataset/NM_2002_1.data.json?geography=TYPE480,TYPE424&gender=0&c_age=200&measures=20100&time=2011,latest. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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Questions

What is the population in Shetland Islands?

Population in Shetland Islands was 22,710 in 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). That is down 0.4% from 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom). Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age: all ages, both sexes, mid-year (ONS, Nomis NM_2002_1). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-11.

What was the highest population in Shetland Islands?

23,370 in 2015, the highest value since 2011 in this series.

Population elsewhere in Scotland

Related statistics for Shetland Islands

All statistics for Shetland Islands