SCOTLAND is home to more than 900 islands with around 101 permanently inhabited, with 89 of these being classed as offshore.

While this may seem a lot, it pales into insignificance compared to Sweden’s 267,570 islands, which is the most of any country anywhere in the world.

But for decades, like their counterparts elsewhere, Scotland’s islands have faced a myriad of challenges, with the main one being depopulation.

Back in the 19th Century of course, many islands became uninhabited following the notorious Highland Clearances, with the impact still being felt to do this day as people never returned.

Now it appears there may be a second clearance of sorts after new figures revealed island communities are facing a deepening depopulation crisis.

The working-age population in sparsely populated parts of the Western Isles is projected to fall by almost a third by 2043, while the number of children across the islands is forecast to plunge over the next decade.

According to Scottish Government commissioned analysis the population is projected to fall by 32% between 2018 and 2043.

Orkney faces a 13% decline, while in Shetland, the population aged 0 to 15 is forecast to fall by almost 20% over the same decade, according to National Records of Scotland (NRS) analysis.

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This has led MPs to warn that poor transport links are compounding the difficulties facing island communities and is arguing that bridges and tunnels could transform the prospects of some places by making it easier to travel, work and do business.

The UK Parliament Scottish Affairs Committee, in a new report on fixed-link connectivity, says: “These connectivity challenges are exacerbating depopulation and demographic decline, which threatens the long-term sustainability........

© Herald Scotland