Orkney

Orkney (or the Orkney Islands) is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, located off the north coast of Great Britain. There are about 70 islands in Orkney, about 20 of which are inhabited. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness. The largest island, called the Mainland, is 523 square kilometers (202 square miles) in size, making it the sixth-largest island in Scotland and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Kirkwall is the largest city on Orkney and the seat of government. 

Orkney is not only a historic county, but also a constituency in the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a council area of Scotland. Orkney Islands Council is the local governing body; it's one of only three in all of Scotland where independents make up a simple majority of the council's elected officials.

Mesolithic and Neolithic peoples, and later the Picts, have lived on the islands for at least 8,500 years. In 875, the Norsemen colonized and eventually annexed Orkney, making it part of the Kingdom of Norway. After the family of James III of Scotland's bride, Margaret of Denmark, failed to pay the dowry promised to the king, the Parliament of Scotland absorbed the Earldom of Orkney into the Kingdom of Scotland in 1472. 

North Isles and South Isles are the two main classifications for the remaining islands, both of which are distinct from the Mainland. Most of the land is farmed because of the mild climate and rich soils; agriculture is the country's primary industry. A growing portion of Orkney's electricity comes from renewable sources like the island's plentiful wind and marine energy, which means that the island produces more electricity each year than it consumes.

Orcadians are the native inhabitants of the islands; they have their own unique dialect of Scots and a long tradition of folklore. The "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is one of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe. Both marine and avian life abound on Orkney.

Geography

The Pentland Firth is a ten-kilometer-wide (6-mile-wide) seaway between Brough Ness on the island of South Ronaldsay and Duncansby Head in Caithness, which separates Orkney from the mainland of Scotland. Orkney is located at 58°41′–59°24′ north, 2°22′–3°26′ west, and has an area of 975 km2 (about 80 km/50 mi northeast–southwest and 47 km/29 mi east–west) (376 sq mi).

The Fair Isle Channel separates Orkney from the Shetland Islands, which are located further away.

The islands are mostly flat, but they do have some rugged cliffs on their western shores and some sharply rising sandstone hills on Mainland, Rousay, and Hoy (including Orkney's highest point, Ward Hill). Almost every island has a loch, but the rivers and streams that connect them are merely drainage channels. The islands are separated from one another and the mainland by narrow channels, or "sounds" or "firths," which run along the indented coastlines. 

Many of the islands are surrounded by swift tidal currents that are prone to whirlpools and are known locally as "roosts." The strong winds are partially to blame for the islands' lack of trees.

Economy

Orkney's soil is rich and productive, so farming takes up the majority of the island's space and accounts for a quarter of the population's income and employment in 2008. Grazing animals take up more than 90% of farmland, with only 4% (or 4,200 ha) used for cereal production and only 134% (or 340 ha) used for woods (330 acres).

In 2001, 345 people were employed in the fishing industry, which accounts for about 3.5% of the economically active population of the islands. The modern fishing industry focuses on herring, white fish, lobsters, crabs, and other shellfish as well as salmon fish farming.

According to a 2009 study, traditional industries are responsible for the export of beef, cheese, whisky, beer, fish, and other seafood. Other industries like tourism, food and drink production, jewelry and knit goods, as well as construction and oil transportation via the Flotta oil terminal, have also seen expansion in recent years. Of all the jobs in the islands, 17.5% are in retail; the public sector employs about a third of the people who live there. Orkney is home to two different distilleries that produce Scotch whisky (Scapa distillery and the Highland Park distillery).

In 2007, out of the 1,420 businesses that were registered for VAT, 55% were engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 12% were engaged in manufacturing and construction; 12% were engaged in wholesale and retail trade; and 5% were engaged in the hotel and restaurant industry. An additional 5% pertained to some sort of public service. About half of these companies (55%) have between 5 and 49 employees. 

An updated report on the economy's most crucial factors was released in September of 2020.

It's estimated that there are 1,500 different establishments on the island. Over 90% of these businesses have fewer than 10 workers. Around 5,000 of these jobs are estimated to be part-time, for a total of around 11,000. There isn't much industry aside from the processing of food and drink (think cheese and whisky), and there aren't any major private employers besides the Flotta oil terminal. Off the coast of Orkney, fishing contributes about half as much to employment as agriculture does in Shetland.

The report voiced concern over the decline in "business activity, travel and tourism" caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish government unveiled a new plan on 1 February 2021, following the conclusion of previous funding programs. To "provide the equivalent of Level 4 support to eligible businesses in Orkney and other island areas," the Island Equivalent Payment Fund was established.