A Comparison of Demographic Trends in the Faroe and Shetland Islands
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8962034 |
|---|---|
| Authors | James R Coull (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1967 |
| Issue | 41 |
| Pages | 159-159 |
| Publication date | 1967-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-2754 • E-ISSN: 1475-5661 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.2307/621333 |
| OpenAlex | W2325502430 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
A COMPARISON of the demographic trends of the Faroe and Shetland Islands reveals largely divergent developments in modem times, although there are certain significant similarities. Both archipelagos are strongly affected by the accelerating economic development and rural depopulation which are such features of 'western' societies today. In the Faroes these have been superimposed on a rapid increase in total numbers, and the population structure is youthful; but in Shetland the population structure is notably old-aged, and total numbers have been declining for more than a century, after an earlier period of increase. Several factors may be distinguished which have contributed to this situation. There is a greater consciousness among the Faroese of being a distinct community, marked above all by retention of their own language; and this distinctiveness has since World War II also been expressed in a large measure of autonomy in internal affairs, although the islands are still linked to Denmark. Shetland, on the other hand, lost its old Norn language more than two centuries ago, and particularly over the last century has become progressively more integrated into the life and organization of Britain, the first country to establish a modem industrial economy. One of the important consequences of this has been a much greater rate of emigration from Shetland, to make use of the opportunitites in the cities of Britain and in Englishspeaking lands overseas. The economic development of the two island groups also shows a great contrast: the Faroese economy has been built over the last century almost entirely on fishing but while the Shetlander was traditionally a fisherman by occupation, the numbers of fishermen have greatly declined, and the relative importance of fishing in the Shetland economy is but a fraction of what it was half a century ago. The geographical factor of location is of great consequence in a comparison of the two island groups. Shetland has in modern times proved to be both too near and too far from Britain: it is near enough to be reached by overnight steamer from Aberdeen (I85 miles), and for the better employment opportunities in Britain to draw away many Shetlanders; but it has been far enough away to inhibit economic development, largely because of high freight rates. Faroe, on the other hand, has been sufficiently far from Denmark (785 miles to Copenhagen) to be more self-contained, and despite the handicap of isolation, this has resulted in considerably more vigorous economic development in Faroe. Population levels and trends are now related, above all, to employment, and this involves in increasing degree employment for women as well as for men. Faroe has generally had sufficient male employment, whereas for decades Shetland has not, and indeed since World War II unemployment has consistently been a major problem. On the other hand, both island groups lack adequate employment for women, and a greater proportion of young women emigrate
Economic geography · Geography · Shetland · Sociology · Arctic and Russian Policy Studies · Demography · Forestry · Global Energy and Sustainability Research
| Citations per year | 0.06 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1975 - 2013 (39) |
| Highly cited | No |