Orkney Islands · report
People and new homes in Orkney Islands
In 2025 the population fell by 79 while 73 homes were finished.
- Homes finished, 2025
- 73
- Population change, 2025
- −79
Population change and homes finished in Orkney Islands
The population's yearly change, net migration plus births minus deaths (ONS), against homes finished (MHCLG and the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland statistics).
Population change
Show the numbers
| Year | Population change |
|---|---|
| 2025 | -79 |
| 2024 | -7 |
| 2023 | -13 |
| 2022 | 30 |
| 2021 | 118 |
| 2020 | 106 |
| 2019 | 83 |
| 2018 | 140 |
| 2017 | 116 |
| 2016 | 128 |
| 2015 | 48 |
| 2014 | 39 |
| 2013 | 26 |
| 2012 | 108 |
Homes finished
Show the numbers
| Year | Homes finished |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 73 |
| 2024 | 71 |
| 2023 | 102 |
| 2022 | 82 |
| 2021 | 96 |
| 2020 | 77 |
| 2019 | 60 |
| 2018 | 138 |
| 2017 | 146 |
| 2016 | 105 |
| 2015 | 96 |
| 2014 | 87 |
| 2013 | 135 |
| 2012 | 228 |
Year by year
| Year | Net migration | Births minus deaths | Population change | Homes finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +100 | +8 | +108 | 228 |
| 2013 | +70 | −44 | +26 | 135 |
| 2014 | +80 | −41 | +39 | 87 |
| 2015 | +60 | −12 | +48 | 96 |
| 2016 | +180 | −52 | +128 | 105 |
| 2017 | +170 | −54 | +116 | 146 |
| 2018 | +210 | −70 | +140 | 138 |
| 2019 | +140 | −57 | +83 | 60 |
| 2020 | +150 | −44 | +106 | 77 |
| 2021 | +200 | −82 | +118 | 96 |
| 2022 | +120 | −90 | +30 | 82 |
| 2023 | +110 | −123 | −13 | 102 |
| 2024 | +100 | −107 | −7 | 71 |
| 2025 | +10 | −89 | −79 | 73 |
Births, deaths and moves are ONS's mid-year estimates, each year to 30 June, counting moves to and from the rest of the UK and abroad. Homes finished are new homes completed in the calendar year, from each nation's house-building statistics; England's run below its net additions. A home houses a household, not a person: two or three new residents per new home is roughly one home per new household.
Other reports for Orkney Islands
Sale prices have an 80% chance of landing between £171,605 and £249,475 by August 2027.
- Expected, August 2027
- £210,540
- Chance of a rise
- 42%
At the average sale price, a home costs £216,479. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is £999 a month. The UK sets no cap on the payment; no more than 15% of new mortgages may lend over 4.5 times income.
- Payment, two incomes
- 14%
- Payment, one income
- 28%
Figures for Scotland: Orkney Islands has no reliable figures of its own.
Owning the average home costs less each month than renting it. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the average sale price; rent is the average of all private tenancies. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.
- Rent per month
- £1,011
- Owning per month
- £934
38.8% fewer homes were started in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.
- Started, 12 months
- 49
- Per 1,000 residents
- 2.2
Figures for United Kingdom: Orkney Islands has no reliable figures of its own.
Buyers living abroad bought 1.8% of the homes sold here in the four quarters to Q1 2025.
- Bought by buyers abroad, 12 months
- 1.8%
Sale prices have fallen by 3% or more 21 times since 2004. The deepest began in November 2019.
- Deepest fall
- −27.7%
- Recovery from the low
- 7 months
In 2026, 10% of the homes added came from existing buildings rather than new ones.
- Homes from existing buildings, 2026
- 10%