Editing Shetland (section)

== Settlements ==
{{Location map+|Scotland Shetland
 |caption={{left|The largest settlements in Shetland.}}
 |float=right
 |width=400
 |places =
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|60.155|-1.145}}|position=top|label={{pad|2.8em}}{{nowrap|'''[[Lerwick]]'''}}|label_size=}}
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|60.137|-1.281}}|position=left|label='''[[Scalloway]]'''|label_size=}}
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|60.396|-1.351}}|position=top|label='''{{pad|2.5em}}[[Brae]]'''|label_size=}}
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|59.997|-1.223}}|position=right|label='''[[Sandwick, Dunrossness|Sandwick]]'''|label_size=}}
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|60.284|-1.379}}|position=right|label='''[[Aith]]'''|label_size=}}
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|60.599|-1.067}}|position=bottom|label='''[[Mid Yell]]'''|label_size=}}
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|60.759|-0.861}}|position=left|label='''[[Baltasound]]'''|label_size=}}
  {{Location map~|Scotland Shetland|coordinates = {{coord|60.341|-1.022}}|position=right|label='''[[Symbister]]'''|label_size=}}

<!-- Nearest council area (to the southwest) -->
  {{Location map~|Scotland Orkney|coordinates = {{coord|58.752|-2.505|}}|position=left|label=''[[Orkney#Settlements|Orkney→]]''|marksize=0|label_size=120}}
}}

There are only three settlements with a population over 500, being the town of Lerwick and the villages of Scalloway and Brae.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Settlement
!Population <br>({{Scottish settlement population citation|year}})<ref>{{Scottish settlement population citation}}</ref>
|-
|[[Lerwick]]
|{{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Lerwick}}
|-
|[[Scalloway]]
|{{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Scalloway}}
|-
|[[Brae]]
|{{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Brae}}
|}

For [[town planning]] purposes, Shetland Islands Council has identified eight 'Tier 1' settlements, being areas with the greatest concentration of services and facilities. They are the three settlements in the table above, plus [[Aith]], [[Baltasound]], [[Mid Yell]], [[Sandwick, Dunrossness|Sandwick]], and [[Symbister]].<ref name="SMIR-2020">{{Cite web|title=Shetland Main Issues Report 2020|author=Shetland Islands Council|page=17|url=https://www.shetland.gov.uk/downloads/file/4785/main-issues-report-2022|access-date=2023-09-01}}</ref>

List of inhabited islands and their populations:
{| class="wikitable sortable" style=text-align:right
|+
!rowspan=2 | Island
!colspan=3 style="background:#eaecf0ff; text-align: center;" | Population<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/media/oksbv0u5/rel1c2sb.pdf |title= 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland – Release 1C (Part Two)|access-date=2023-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/statistics/occasional-papers/occ-paper-10-inhabited-islands.pdf|title=Scotland's Census 2001 Statistics for Inhabited Islands|access-date=2023-09-01|archive-date=1 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901125719/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/statistics/occasional-papers/occ-paper-10-inhabited-islands.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! style="background:#eaecf0ff;" | 1991
! style="background:#eaecf0ff;" | 2001
! style="background:#eaecf0ff;" | 2011
|-
|style="text-align: left"| [[Mainland, Shetland|Shetland Mainland]]
|17,562
|17,550
|18,765
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Whalsay]]
|1,041
|1,034
|1,061
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Yell, Shetland|Yell]]
|1,075
|957
|966
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[West Burra]]
|817
|753
|776
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Unst]]
|1,055
|720
|632
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Bressay]]
|352
|384
|368
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Trondra]]
|117
|133
|135
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Muckle Roe]]
|115
|104
|130
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[East Burra]]
|72
|66
|76
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Fair Isle]]
|67
|69
|68
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Fetlar]]
|90
|86
|61
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Housay]]
|58
|50
|50
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Foula]]
|40
|31
|38
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Bruray]]
|27
|26
|24
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Papa Stour]]
|33
|23
|15
|-
|style="text-align: left"|[[Vaila]]
|1
|2
|2
|-
|}