Shetland is a fairly large island group: the archipelago covers about 1,466–1,468 km² (around 566–567 square miles) of land and stretches roughly 110–120 km (about 70–75 miles) from north to south.

Basic size facts

  • The total land area of Shetland is about 1,466–1,468 km² (roughly 566–567 sq mi).
  • The islands run for about 70 miles (around 110–120 km) from Sumburgh Head in the south to Muckle Flugga in the north.
  • The coastline is very indented, adding up to roughly 1,670–1,700 miles of shore.

Main island vs whole group

  • The largest island, called Mainland, is about 967 km² (373 sq mi) on its own.
  • Altogether, Shetland is made up of around 100 islands , with about 15–16 inhabited.

How that compares

  • In UK terms, Shetland is about the same land area as a medium-sized English county.
  • One popular comparison notes that if you laid Shetland over a UK map, it would stretch roughly from around Cambridge down towards the English Channel coast , which surprises many people who imagine it as tiny.

Information gathered from public data available on the internet and portrayed here.