Annual Report 2023/24 - Monitoring Progress

14% of the Population were Aged 16-29 in 2022. This is a decline from the baseline of 15.5% and is lower than the 2021 target of having at least 18% of the population in this age category. The birth rate for Scotland is lower than the rest of the UK, which could be a factor behind the decreasing trends in the 16-29 population. Similarly the pattern of inward migration may have changed due to Brexit; anecdotal evidence suggests that the prediction that Shetland, like other remote areas, would be disproportionately affected by changes to UK migration legislation, due to the prominence of sectors which previously had a high dependence on EU migrant workers (e.g. hospitality, health, social care, processing, aquaculture) is holding true.