Contents List

Statistics

A summary of the evidence base on crofting is available through the following link

Table 1: Socio Economic Characteristics of Crofting

Statistics	Estimate	Source	Comments
Number of crofts	17,778 registered crofts of which [33% of all agricultural holdings]	Crofters Commission
Number of owner occupied crofts	3,886 registered crofts are owner occupied [21% of registered crofts]	Crofters Commission
Absenteeism	1,754 [10% of registered crofts]	Crofters Commission	Similar rate between owner occupied and tenanted.[1]
Population	33,000 [11% of population of remote rural areas]	Crofters Commission	Remote rural areas are settlements with a population of less than 3,000 more than a 30 minute drive time from a settlement of 10,000 or more [2004 figures]
Households	11,500 [10% of all households in remote rural areas]	Spice Briefing[2]	Remote rural areas are settlements with a population of less than 3,000 more than a 30 minute drive time from a settlement of 10,000 or more [2001 figures]
Household incomes	Majority earn between £10,001 and £20,000	SEERAD	Income data from Crofting Building Grants and Loans Scheme Based on a sample of 189 crofters and 27 spouses. See Annex A.

Table 2: Land Use and Agriculture Characteristics of Crofting

Statistics	Estimate	Source	Comments
SEERAD registered LFA-croft holdings	14,693	SEERAD	SEERAD registered means that a croft has a parish and holding number. [2004 figures]
LFA Croft holdings with livestock	7,601 [52% of all registered LFA croft holdings] 2004	SEERAD	SEERAD registered means that a croft has a parish and holding number. [2004 figures]
Number of cattle	81,561 in 2002 to 80,356 in 2004 [1.5% decline]	EKOS study[3]
Number of sheep	1,103,809 in 2002 to 1,046,884 in 2004 [5% increase]	EKOS study
Employment in agriculture	-		Difficult to get accurate estimates.
Cropping area	46% decline between 1982 and 2004	SEERAD Agricultural census	Holdings of under 30 hectares in the Agricultural Census are taken to be proxies for crofts
Permanent Grassland area	56% increase between 1982 and 2004.	SEERAD Agricultural census	Holdings of under 30 hectares in the Agricultural Census are taken to be proxies for crofts
Agricultural perceptions, intentions, incomes	20% of crofters' household disposable income from farming	Small Farm Survey 2004[4]	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/09/2391747/17485 30% of sample were crofts as defined by self reported answer to 'is your business based on a croft'.
Contribution of crofting agriculture to the local economy	-		Difficult to get accurate estimates.

[3]Study conducted for the Crofters Commission by EKOS consultancy company.

[4]A small farm survey for 2005 has also been conducted but the results have not yet been published