Highland Profile

This page contains some of the key facts and figures about Highland. You can view a wide variety of other information by visiting the pages listed in the "In This Section" to the right.

Population

Population
in 2009
% change
1999-2009
Badenoch & Strathspey 12,649 11.8
Caithness 25,199 -2.1
Inverness 73,476 13.2
Lochaber 19,193 -2.2
Nairn 12,207 10.7
Ross & Cromarty 51,631 2.0
Skye & Lochalsh 12,655 5.6
Sutherland 13,480 3.1
Highland 220,490 5.9
Source: GRO(S) mid-year estimates, 2009 & 1999

The latest General Register Office - Scotland (GRO(S)) population projection for Highland states that by 2028, the population of Highland will be 251,953 (a 14.8% increase from 2008).

Population density/area

Area (in square kilometres -
excluding inland water)
Population density
(number of people per square kilometre)
Badenoch & Strathspey 2,356 5.4
Caithness 1,805 14.0
Inverness 2,961 24.8
Lochaber 4,634 4.1
Nairn 424 28.8
Ross & Cromarty 5,108 10.1
Skye & Lochalsh 2,732 4.6
Sutherland 6,071 2.2
Highland 25,659 8.6
Scotland 77,925 66.7
Source: GRO(S) mid-year estimates, 2009

Population by settlement

Settlement Population
Inverness (incl. Culloden) 60,890
Nairn 10,948
Fort William 9,857
Wick 7,853
Thurso 7,733
Dingwall 5,813
Alness 5,469
Invergordon 4,220
Tain 4,069
Muir of Ord 3,056
Grantown-on-Spey 2,998
Aviemore 2,989
Conon Bridge 2,737
Portree 2,194
Source: GRO(S) 2009 mid-year estimates for settlements

Employment by Sector, Highland

Sector Number of employees % of total employees
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 1,900 1.7
Energy and water 900 0.8
Manufacturing 8,700 8.0
Construction 7,300 6.7
Distribution, hotels and catering  27,900 25.5
Transport and communications  6,500 5.9
Banking, finance and insurance  16,200 14.8
Public administration, education and health  34,000 31.1
Other services  5,800 5.3
Total  109,300 100.0
Source: Nomis/Annual Business Inquiry, 2008

Car ownership, 2001 – 75% of households own 1 or more cars or vans (2001 Census)

Number of households, 2009 – 99,721 (GRO(S) Household Estimates, 2009)

Projected number of households by 2028 – 124,430(GRO(S) Household Projections, 2008-Based)

Total land area – including all islands at low water is 26,484 square kilometres. This is 33% of Scotland and 11.4% of Great Britain. It is 10 times larger than Luxembourg, 20% larger than Wales, and nearly the size of Belgium.

Length of coastline – including islands (low water) is 4,905 kilometres, 21% of the Scottish total and excluding islands is 1,900 kilometres (49% of Scotland). Argyll and Bute has the next biggest coastline with 3,723 kilometres, then Western Isles with 3,716 kilometres.

Length of road network  - you can view the latest roads return here, giving full details of the Highland road network.

Forested land cover - approximately 15% of Highland is forested, including over 300,000 hectares of commercial forest.

Nature Conservation Designations

Designation Land area
(hectares)
% of Highland
land area
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) 537,551 20.3
Special Area of Conservation (SAC) 409,356 15.5
Special Protection Area (SPA) 294,145 11.1
National Nature Reserve (NNR) 86,397 3.3
National Scenic Area (NSA) 539,774 20.4
Source: Scottish Natural Heritage, August 2010

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