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Shetland Islands

Shetland Islands has 22,985 residents in 10,594 households (Scotland's Census 2022); 15% are aged 15–29 and 30% of households rent their home.

Local authority · 7 wards · 658 postcodes · Updated 24 October 2026
22,985residentsScotland's Census 2022
18%homes with gigabit broadbandOfcom, July 2025
8%green within 500 mpostcode average
12services in 15 minutesmedian postcode

Four maps of Shetland Islands.

Every dot is a residential postcode. Each map uses the same colour scale, from lowest to highest.

Green spaceShare of land within 500 m of each postcode that is green space
Map of Shetland Islands: Share of land within 500 m of each postcode that is green space
0%30%+
Everyday servicesEveryday services within a 15-minute walk (1.2 km)
Map of Shetland Islands: Everyday services within a 15-minute walk (1.2 km)
<60240+
Deprivation decileNeighbourhood deprivation decile (IoD 2025 England, WIMD 2025 Wales, SIMD 2020v2 Scotland): 1 = most deprived 10% (context, not a score)
Map of Shetland Islands: Neighbourhood deprivation decile (IoD 2025 England, WIMD 2025 Wales, SIMD 2020v2 Scotland): 1 = most deprived 10% (context, not a score)
110
Gigabit broadbandShare of premises with gigabit-capable broadband (Ofcom, July 2025)
Map of Shetland Islands: Share of premises with gigabit-capable broadband (Ofcom, July 2025)
<20%95%+

Sources: ONS Postcode Directory, Aug 2026 · HM Land Registry Price Paid Data · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2, Scottish Government · Ofcom Connected Nations 2025

All 7 wards at a glance.

Colour shows where each ward sits among Shetland Islands's wards for that measure, from lowest to highest. Select a ward for its full report.

WardGreen 500 mServices 15 minAged 15–29Owner-occupiedFlatsGigabit
Lerwick North and Bressay7%9420%51%26%1%
Lerwick South8%7217%59%11%3%
North Isles23%413%74%1%71%
Shetland Central6%515%76%4%17%
Shetland North1%314%67%2%13%
Shetland South5%314%79%1%18%
Shetland West7%115%76%1%0%

Sources: Scotland's Census 2022 · © OpenStreetMap contributors

Safety.

Police Scotland does not publish street-level crime data on data.police.uk, so Shetland Islands reports leave out the safety block rather than estimate it.

Road safety.

Injury collisions reported to the police in Shetland Islands each year, 2021–2025: 27 of them with a serious or fatal injury.

20218
20226
202318
202412
20258

Counts include only collisions involving personal injury that were reported to the police. Most happen on main roads and at junctions, so a count near a postcode reflects the traffic passing through, not the risk of any one journey.

Source: Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data (Open Government Licence v3.0)

Food hygiene.

Food businesses in Shetland Islands with a published hygiene rating.

177rated food businessesin total
83%passed their last inspectionlatest inspection
30told improvement is requiredlatest inspection

In Scotland, council food safety officers either pass a business or tell it that improvement is required. A result reflects the hygiene standards found on the day of inspection, not the quality of the food.

Source: Food Standards Agency, food hygiene rating data as of 26 October 2026 (Open Government Licence)

Broadband.

Share of homes in Shetland Islands that can get each type of fixed broadband, July 2025.

17.7%gigabit-capablehomes
17.7%full fibrehomes
85.1%superfast (30 Mbit/s+)homes
2.1%below the universal service obligationhomes

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, fixed broadband coverage of residential premises, July 2025. © Ofcom copyright

Deprivation, in context.

0 of Shetland Islands's 30 data zones are in the most deprived tenth of Scotland on the 2020v2 index.

Decile 31
Decile 41
Decile 53
Decile 69
Decile 712
Decile 84

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2 ranks 6,976 data zones in Scotland from 1 (most deprived 10%) to 10 (least deprived). It is ranked within Scotland only and cannot be compared with the English or Welsh indices. It describes areas, not every household in them.

Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2, Scottish Government

Wards of Shetland Islands.

Every ward has its own page with all of its postcodes.