Historic county of Scotland
Shetland
Sealtainn / Zetland / County of Zetland
Voes cutting deep into rocky islands between Atlantic and North Sea.
Shetland is Britain’s northernmost geographic county, an archipelago of more than a hundred islands, islets and skerries set between the Atlantic and the North Sea. Mainland forms the largest island and contains Lerwick and Scalloway; northwards lie Yell, Unst and Fetlar, while Fair Isle and other outliers extend the county far across the surrounding seas.
Unlike generally low-lying Orkney, Shetland is more rugged and deeply indented. Long voes cut far into the islands, rocky headlands fall into open water and treeless moorland occupies much of the interior. No part of the county ever feels far removed from the sea.
- Norse ‘Hjaltland' 9th Century
- Scottish crown from 1472
- Lerwick = county town
- Area: 551 sq miles
- Population: 23,167
- County Top: Ronas Hill
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
Scotland Census 2022. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 40.5 people per sq mi (15.65 people per km²)
A coast cut by voes
Shetland’s extraordinary coastline is its defining geographical feature. Sea inlets penetrate so deeply that narrow necks of land repeatedly separate one voe from another.
Fishing, harbours, ferries and settlement naturally developed around these sheltered waters. In Shetland, the sea does not surround the county from outside — it reaches into almost every part of it.
Mainland and the North Isles
Mainland provides Shetland’s principal north–south spine. Beyond it, Yell and Unst continue the island chain towards Britain’s northernmost reaches.
Outer islands such as Fair Isle, Foula and the Out Skerries make the county still more dispersed, yet sea routes have always linked these apparently remote territories into a single archipelago.
Norse country
Shetland’s cultural geography is profoundly Norse. Place names, dialect vocabulary and maritime traditions preserve centuries of Scandinavian rule, and Norn — a North Germanic language descended from Old Norse — survived here long after the islands became attached to Scotland.
That inheritance gives Shetland a cultural identity distinctly different from the Gaelic Highlands further south and west.
County questions
Questions about Shetland
Are Shetland and Zetland different places?
No. Zetland is a historical spelling and documentary form of the name Shetland. Both refer to the same geographic county.
Is the Shetland Islands council area what makes Shetland a county?
No. Shetland is the geographic county. The council area is a separate local-government area and does not define the geographic county.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Shetland
- Local name
- Sealtainn
- Alternative name
- Zetland
- County day
- 21 June
- Foundation
- Scottish crown 1472
Shetland, County of Shetland, Zetland and County of Zetland are established forms associated with the county; Sealtainn is its Gaelic form. The older Norse name Hjaltland lies behind the modern name.