The overwhelming majority, 77.7% of people in Scotland, identify themselves as Scottish, with only 9.4%, calling themselves ‘Other British’. The results for Orkney mirror those of Scotland and are included in this article.

The results are the latest to be released from Scotland’s Census 2022. The census is an important barometer of how people see themselves in the Scotland of the 21st Century. The Church of Scotland, which a hundred years ago would have been the main Christian denomination of most Scots, is today in a minority position where over half, 51.1%, of people declare that they have no religion at all.

‘No religion’ increased across all age groups with those who are 65+ years doubling . No religion was the most common response in every council area in Scotland except in Na h-Eileanan Siar and Inverclyde, where ‘Church of Scotland’ (35.3%) and ‘Roman Catholic’ (33.4%) were the most common responses respectively. In Na h-Eileanan Siar the percentage of people with no religion increased from 11.4% in 2001 to 29.9% in 2022. Scotland’s Census 2022

Although Scotland is mostly ‘White’ , the percentage of people with a minority ethnic background increased from 8.2% in 2011 to 12.9% in 2022. 

Scotland’s population is growing driven by immigration. People have come to live in Scotland and are settling here, working and having families. This is important because Scotland’s population is ageing and the number of people living in Scotland who were born in Scotland decreased by 90,400 between 2011 and 2022.

Since the last census in 2011 Scotland has had a referendum on Independence when 55% of the electorate chose to stay in the UK; and a referendum on leaving the EU when every local authority area in Scotland chose to remain in the EU, 62%. It has a minority Scottish National Party (SNP) Government and a majority of members of the Scottish Parliament from political parties supporting Independence. In the UK, there is a Tory elected Government, but Scotland only elected 7 Tories out of a total of 59 MPs and has 43 SNP MPs. At the next General Election which will be held possibly this year, the number of Scottish MPs to be elected is reduced to 57 out of a total in the House of Commons of 650. Are the results about National Identity in the 2022 census an indicator of how Scots might vote in future elections and referenda ?

Orkney’s Census Data

Orkney has a population of 21,958. Of that population, an individual’s country by birth was:

• Scotland: 16,314
• England: 4,449
• Wales: 137
• N. Ireland: 137

Additional places of birth: EU: 407; Europe Non EU: 39; Africa: 143; Middle East/Asia: 142; Americas/Caribbean: 128 (USA 62, Canada 35); Australia: 53; New Zealand: 24.

What nationality did people in Orkney identify themselves as ?

In Orkney the vast majority of islanders identified their nationality as ‘Scottish’ : 14,278. British only: 3,693; Scottish and British: 1,286.

Of course, if there had been the choice of identifying as Orcadian, that might have yielded a different response.

What is the religion of people in Orkney ?: in answering this question most people in Orkney said that they had No Religion, well over half the population

No Religion	12,371
Church of Scotland	5,853
Roman Catholic	586
Other Christian	1,523
Buddhist	50
Hindu	9
Jewish	19
Muslim	36
Sikh	3
Pagan	197
Other Religion	69
Not Stated	1,246
	21,958

Director of Census Statistics Jon Wroth-Smith said:

“These statistics give a fascinating insight into religion, ethnicity, national identity and language use across Scotland and how they have changed over the years.

“It is exciting to publish the first of the topic releases and this, along with our other census data to come, will help local and central government, businesses and charities to plan services in the years ahead.”

Fiona Grahame