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Demography of Scotland

The demography of Scotland includes all aspects of population, past and present, in the area that is now Scotland. Scotland had a population of 5,463,300 in 2019. The population growth rate in 2011 was estimated as 0.6% per annum according to the 2011 GROS Annual Review.[3]

Demographics of Scotland
Population pyramid of Scotland in 2020
Population5,463,300 (2019)
Population cartogram of Scotland
Map of population density in Scotland at the 2011 census
Historical population
YearPop.±%
18011,608,420—    
18111,805,864+12.3%
18212,091,521+15.8%
18312,364,386+13.0%
18412,620,841+10.8%
18512,888,742+10.2%
18613,062,269+6.0%
18713,360,018+9.7%
18813,735,573+11.2%
18914,033,103+8.0%
19014,472,103+10.9%
19114,760,904+6.5%
19214,888,407+2.7%
19314,842,989−0.9%
19515,095,969+5.2%
19615,179,000+1.6%
19715,229,000+1.0%
19815,035,000−3.7%
19915,083,000+1.0%
20015,062,011−0.4%
20115,295,403+4.6%
20225,436,600+2.7%
Source:[1][2]

Covering an area of 78,782 square kilometres (30,418 sq mi), Scotland has a population density of 67.2/km2 (174/sq mi). Around 70% of the country's population (3.5 million) live in the Central Belt —a region stretching in a northeast–southwest orientation between the major Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and including the major settlements of Paisley, Stirling, Falkirk, Perth and Dundee, in the Central Lowlands (80%). Other concentrations of population include the northeast coast of Scotland, principally the regions around the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, and the west coast around the town of Ayr. The Scottish Highlands and the island group of Eilean Siar have the lowest population densities at 9/km2 (23/sq mi). Glasgow has the highest population density at 3,289/km2 (8,520/sq mi).[4]

Until April 2011, responsibility for estimating the population of Scotland, as well as recording births, deaths and marriages, was overseen by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), headed by the Registrar-General for Scotland. From 1 April 2011 onwards, the GROS merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland. The new organisation is still required under the terms of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965, to present a Registrar-General's annual report of demographic trends to Scottish Ministers. (Prior to devolution it was to the Secretary of State for Scotland). In conjunction with the rest of the United Kingdom, the National Records for Scotland is also responsible for conducting a decadal census of population. The most recent one took place in March 2022.[5]

Population of Scotland over time

Historical population edit

Population change over time edit

In the United Kingdom, a census was taken every ten years from 1801 onwards; with the exception of 1941 due to the Second World War. Population data for years prior to that is provided from directories and gazetteers[6][7][1]

Year Population
1500 500,000
1600 800,000
1707 1,000,000
1755 1,265,380
1801 1,608,420
1811 1,805,864
1821 2,091,521
1831 2,364,386
1841 2,620,184
1851 2,888,742
1861 3,062,294
1871 3,360,018
1881 3,735,578
1891 4,025,647
1901 4,472,103
1911 4,760,904
1921 4,882,407
1931 4,842,989
1939a 5,006,700
1951 5,095,969
1961b 5,179,000
1971 5,229,000
1981 5,035,000
1991c 5,083,000
2001 5,062,000
2011 5,295,000
2022 5,436,000

Notes

a. There was no census in 1941 however there was a National Register of the Civilian Population in 1939

b. Data for 1961 onwards rounded to nearest thousand

c. Data for 1991 mid-year estimate

Age distribution edit

[8][9]

Ages 1901 1931 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2022
0–14 years 33 27 25 26 25.9 21.4 18.9 17.9 16.1 15.3
15–64 years 62 66 65 64 61.8 64.5 65.8 66.2 67.1 64.6
65 years and over 5 7 10 11 12.3 14.1 15.3 15.9 16.8 20.1
Total (%) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Vital statistics edit

 
Life expectancy in Scotland over time

Table of birth and mortality since 1900

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Fertility rate
1900 4,437,000 131,401 82,296 49,105 29.6 18.5 11.1
1901 4,479,000 132,192 80,107 52,085 29.5 17.9 11.6
1902 4,507,000 132,267 77,941 54,326 29.4 17.3 12.0
1903 4,536,000 133,525 76,002 57,523 29.4 16.8 12.7
1904 4,564,000 132,603 77,981 54,622 29.1 17.1 12.0
1905 4,593,000 131,410 74,536 56,874 28.6 16.2 12.4
1906 4,621,000 132,005 75,635 56,370 28.6 16.4 12.2
1907 4,650,000 128,840 77,296 51,544 27.7 16.6 11.1
1908 4,680,000 131,362 77,838 53,524 28.1 16.6 11.4
1909 4,709,000 128,669 74,632 54,037 27.3 15.8 11.5
1910 4,739,000 124,059 72,268 51,791 26.2 15.2 11.0
1911 4,751,000 121,850 71,732 50,118 25.7 15.1 10.6
1912 4,741,000 122,790 72,340 50,450 25.9 15.3 10.6
1913 4,728,000 120,516 73,069 47,447 25.5 15.5 10.0
1914 4,747,000 123,934 73,557 50,377 26.1 15.5 10.6
1915 4,771,000 114,181 81,631 32,550 23.9 17.1 6.8
1916 4,795,000 109,942 70,640 39,302 22.9 14.7 8.2
1917 4,810,000 97,441 69,483 27,958 20.2 14.4 5.8
1918 4,812,000 98,554 78,372 20,182 20.5 16.3 4.2
1919 4,820,000 106,268 75,149 31,119 22.1 15.6 6.5
1920 4,864,000 136,546 68,179 68,367 28.1 14.0 14.1
1921 4,882,000 123,201 66,210 56,991 25.2 13.6 11.7
1922 4,898,000 115,085 72,905 42,180 23.5 14.9 8.6
1923 4,888,000 111,902 63,283 48,619 22.9 13.0 9.9
1924 4,862,000 106,900 70,357 36,543 22.0 14.5 7.5
1925 4,867,000 104,137 65,507 38,630 21.4 13.5 7.9
1926 4,864,000 102,449 63,780 38,669 21.1 13.1 7.9
1927 4,853,000 96,672 65,830 30,842 19.9 13.6 6.4
1928 4,848,000 96,822 65,271 31,551 20.0 13.5 6.5
1929 4,832,000 92,880 70,917 21,963 19.2 14.7 4.6
1930 4,828,000 94,549 64,285 30,264 19.6 13.3 6.3
1931 4,843,000 92,220 64,229 27,991 19.0 13.3 5.8
1932 4,883,000 91,000 66,045 24,955 18.6 13.5 5.1
1933 4,912,000 86,546 64,848 21,698 17.6 13.2 4.4
1934 4,934,000 88,836 63,741 25,095 18.0 12.9 5.1
1935 4,953,000 87,928 65,331 22,597 17.8 13.2 4.6
1936 4,966,000 88,928 66,749 22,179 17.9 13.4 4.5
1937 4,977,000 87,810 68,942 18,868 17.6 13.9 3.8
1938 4,993,000 88,627 62,953 25,674 17.8 12.6 5.1
1939 5,007,000 86,913 64,413 22,500 17.4 12.9 4.5
1940 5,065,000 86,392 72,775 13,617 17.1 14.9 2.2
1941 5,160,000 89,748 72,558 17,190 17.4 14.6 2.8
1942 5,174,000 90,703 64,963 25,740 17.5 13.2 4.3
1943 5,189,000 94,669 66,733 27,936 18.2 13.9 4.4
1944 5,210,000 95,920 64,603 31,317 18.4 13.5 4.9
1945 5,187,000 86,924 62,655 24,269 16.8 13.1 3.7
1946 5,167,000 104,413 64,605 39,808 20.2 13.0 7.2
1947 5,120,000 113,147 66,200 46,947 22.1 12.9 9.2
1948 5,150,000 100,344 60,979 39,365 19.5 11.8 7.6
1949 5,156,000 95,674 63,488 32,186 18.6 12.3 6.2
1950 5,168,000 92,530 63,996 28,534 17.9 12.4 5.5
1951 5,102,000 90,639 65,778 24,861 17.8 12.9 4.9
1952 5,101,000 90,422 61,510 28,912 17.7 12.1 5.7
1953 5,100,000 90,913 58,878 32,035 17.8 11.5 6.3
1954 5,104,000 92,315 61,380 30,935 18.1 12.0 6.1
1955 5,111,000 92,539 61,645 30,894 18.1 12.1 6.0
1956 5,120,000 95,313 61,792 33,521 18.6 12.1 6.5
1957 5,125,000 97,977 61,143 36,834 19.1 11.9 7.2
1958 5,141,000 99,481 62,065 37,416 19.4 12.1 7.3
1959 5,163,000 99,251 63,061 36,190 19.2 12.2 7.0
1960 5,178,000 101,292 61,764 39,528 19.6 11.9 7.6
1961 5,184,000 101,169 63,928 37,241 19.5 12.3 7.2
1962 5,198,000 104,334 63,189 41,145 20.1 12.2 7.9
1963 5,205,000 102,691 65,521 37,170 19.7 12.6 7.1
1964 5,209,000 104,355 61,039 43,316 20.0 11.7 8.3
1965 5,210,000 100,660 62,868 37,792 19.3 12.1 7.3
1966 5,201,000 96,536 63,689 32,847 18.6 12.2 6.3
1967 5,198,000 96,221 59,523 36,698 18.5 11.5 7.1
1968 5,200,000 94,786 63,311 31,475 18.2 12.2 6.1
1969 5,209,000 90,290 63,821 26,469 17.3 12.3 5.1
1970 5,215,000 87,335 63,640 23,695 16.7 12.2 4.5
1971 5,219,000 86,728 61,614 25,114 16.6 11.8 4.8 2.53
1972 5,223,000 78,550 65,017 13,533 15.0 12.4 2.6 2.27
1973 5,225,000 74,392 64,545 9,847 14.2 12.4 1.9 2.13
1974 5,226,000 70,093 64,740 5,353 13.4 12.4 1.0 1.97
1975 5,227,000 67,943 63,125 4,818 13.0 12.1 0.9 1.90
1976 5,227,000 64,895 65,253 -358 12.4 12.5 -0.1 1.80
1977 5,226,000 62,342 62,294 48 11.9 11.9 0.0 1.70
1978 5,212,000 64,295 65,123 -828 12.3 12.5 -0.2 1.74
1979 5,204,000 68,366 65,747 2,619 13.1 12.6 0.5 1.84
1980 5,194,000 68,892 63,299 5,593 13.3 12.2 1.1 1.84
1981 5,180,000 69,054 63,828 5,226 13.3 12.3 1.0 1.84
1982 5,165,000 66,196 65,022 1,174 12.8 12.6 0.2 1.74
1983 5,148,000 65,078 63,454 1,624 12.6 12.3 0.3 1.70
1984 5,139,000 65,106 62,345 2,761 12.7 12.1 0.5 1.68
1985 5,128,000 66,676 63,967 2,709 13.0 12.5 0.5 1.70
1986 5,112,000 65,812 63,467 2,345 12.9 12.4 0.5 1.68
1987 5,099,000 66,241 62,014 4,227 13.0 12.2 0.8 1.68
1988 5,077,000 66,212 61,957 4,255 13.0 12.2 0.8 1.68
1989 5,078,000 63,480 65,017 -1,537 12.5 12.8 -0.3 1.61
1990 5,081,000 65,973 61,527 4,446 13.0 12.1 0.9 1.67
1991 5,083,000 67,024 61,041 5,983 13.2 12.0 1.2 1.69
1992 5,086,000 65,789 60,937 4,852 12.9 12.0 1.0 1.67
1993 5,092,000 63,337 64,049 -712 12.4 12.6 -0.1 1.62
1994 5,102,000 61,656 59,328 2,328 12.1 11.6 0.5 1.58
1995 5,104,000 60,051 60,500 -449 11.8 11.9 -0.1 1.55
1996 5,092,000 59,296 60,654 -1,358 11.6 11.9 -0.3 1.56
1997 5,083,000 59,440 59,494 -54 11.7 11.7 -0.0 1.58
1998 5,077,000 57,319 59,164 -1,845 11.3 11.7 -0.4 1.55
1999 5,072,000 55,147 60,281 -5,134 10.9 11.9 -1.0 1.51
2000 5,063,000 53,076 57,799 -4,723 10.5 11.4 -0.9 1.48
2001 5,064,000 52,527 57,380 -4,853 10.4 11.3 -1.0 1.49
2002 5,055,000 51,270 58,103 -6,833 10.1 11.5 -1.4 1.47
2003 5,057,000 52,432 58,472 -6,040 10.4 11.6 -1.2 1.52
2004 5,078,000 53,957 56,187 -2,230 10.6 11.1 -0.4 1.58
2005 5,095,000 54,386 55,747 -1,361 10.7 10.9 -0.3 1.60
2006 5,117,000 55,690 55,093 597 10.9 10.8 0.1 1.64
2007 5,144,000 57,781 55,986 1,795 11.2 10.9 0.3 1.70
2008 5,169,000 60,041 55,700 4,341 11.6 10.8 0.8 1.77
2009 5,194,000 59,046 53,856 5,190 11.4 10.4 1.0 1.73
2010 5,222,000 58,791 53,967 4,824 11.3 10.3 1.0 1.72
2011 5,255,000 58,592 53,661 4,931 11.1 10.3 0.8 1.69
2012 5,313,000 58,027 54,937 3,090 10.9 10.5 0.4 1.67
2013 5,327,000 56,014 54,700 1,314 10.6 10.3 0.3 1.61
2014 5,347,000 56,725 54,239 2,486 10.6 10.2 0.4 1.62
2015 5,373,000 55,096 57,566 -2,470 10.3 10.7 -0.4 1.56
2016 5,404,000 54,488 56,728 -2,240 10.1 10.5 -0.4 1.52
2017 5,424,000 52,861 57,883 -5,022 9.7 10.7 -1.0 1.47
2018 5,438,000 51,311 58,503 -7,192 9.4 10.8 -1.4 1.42
2019 5,463,000 49,863 58,108 -8,245 9.1 10.6 -1.5 1.37
2020 5,466,000 46,809 64,093 -17,284 8.6 11.7 -3.1 1.29
2021 5,479,900 47,763 63,587 -15,824 8.7 11.6 -2.9 1.30
2022(c) 5,436,600 46,959 62,941 -15,982 8.6 11.5 -2.9 1.28

(c)= 2022 census results.

  • Source:

Current vital statistics edit

[10]

Period Live births Deaths Natural increase
January - October 2022 39,389 51,479 -12,090
January - October 2023 38,691 51,939 -13,248
Difference   -698 (-1.77%)   +460 (+0.89%)   -1,158
 
 
Largest cities or towns in Scotland
(mid-2020 est.)[11]
Rank Name Council area Pop. Rank Name Council area Pop.
 
Glasgow
 
Edinburgh
1 Glasgow Glasgow City 632,350 11 Kirkcaldy Fife 50,370  
Aberdeen
 
Dundee
2 Edinburgh City of Edinburgh 506,520 12 Inverness Highland 47,790
3 Aberdeen Aberdeen City 198,590 13 Perth Perth and Kinross 47,350
4 Dundee Dundee City 148,210 14 Kilmarnock East Ayrshire 46,970
5 Paisley Renfrewshire 77,270 15 Ayr South Ayrshire 46,260
6 East Kilbride South Lanarkshire 75,310 16 Coatbridge North Lanarkshire 43,950
7 Livingston West Lothian 56,840 17 Greenock Inverclyde 41,280
8 Dunfermline Fife 54,990 18 Glenrothes Fife 38,360
9 Hamilton South Lanarkshire 54,480 19 Stirling Stirling 37,910
10 Cumbernauld North Lanarkshire 50,530 20 Airdrie North Lanarkshire 36,390

Place of birth edit

Places of birth given by respondents to the 2001 and 2011 censuses were as follows:

Country of birth 2001[12] 2011[13]
Number % Number %
  Scotland 4,410,400 87.13% 4,411,884 83.32%
  England 408,948 8.08% 459,486 8.68%
  Wales 16,623 0.33% 17,381 0.33%
  Northern Ireland 33,528 0.66% 36,655 0.69%
  United Kingdom UK part not specified 941 0.02%
  Ireland 21,774 0.43% 22,952 0.43%
Total from all EU Member Countries 41,836 0.83% 137,285 2.59%
  EU Other Member Countries (joined pre 2001) 59,031 1.11%
  EU Other Member Countries (joined post 2001) 78,254 1.48%
Other Countries 127,926 2.53% 209,760 3.96%
Total 5,062,011 100.00% 5,295,403 100.00%

Below are the five largest overseas-born groups in Scotland according to 2019 ONS estimates.[14]

Country of birth Estimated population, 2019
  Poland 80,000
  India 25,000
  Germany 24,000
  Pakistan 23,000
  Ireland 18,000
 
Population pyramid from 1981 to projected pyramid in 2043

Age edit

 
Population pyramid of Scotland as of 2020

The age distribution based on the 2011 census was as follows.[15]

Age group Population % of total
0–4 293,000 5.53
5–9 270,000 5.10
10–14 292,000 5.51
15–19 331,000 6.25
20–24 364,000 6.87
25–29 346,000 6.53
30–34 322,000 6.08
35–39 340,000 6.42
40–44 394,000 7.44
45–49 411,000 7.76
50–54 376,000 7.10
55–59 331,000 6.25
60–64 337,000 6.35
65–69 262,000 4.98
70–74 221,000 4.17
75–79 178,000 3.36
80–84 123,000 2.32
85–89 71,000 1.34
90+ 37,000 0.70

Ethnicity edit

 
Ethnic demography of Scotland 1981 – 2011

The 1991, 2001 and 2011 censuses recorded the following ethnic groups:

Demography of Scotland  
Ethnic group 1981 estimations[16] 1991[17][18] 2001[19] 2011[20]
Number % Number % Number % Number %
White: Total 4,908,140 99.1% 4,935,933 98.74% 4,960,334 97.99% 5,084,407

96.02%

White: Scottish 4,459,071 88.09% 4,445,678 83.95%
White: Other British 373,685 7.38% 417,109 7.88%
White: Irish 49,428 0.98% 54,090 1.02%
White: Gypsy/Traveller[note 1] 4,212 0.08%
White: Polish[note 1] 61,201 1.16%
White: Other 78,150 1.54% 102,117 1.93%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Total 42,852 0.86% 71,317 1.41% 140,678 2.66%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian 10,050 0.20% 15,037 0.30% 32,706 0.62%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Pakistani 21,192 0.42% 31,793 0.63% 49,381 0.93%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi 1,134 0.02% 1,981 0.04% 3,788 0.07%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese 10,476 0.21% 16,310 0.32% 33,706 0.64%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Asian Other 4,604 0.09% 6,196 0.12% 21,097 0.40%
Black, Black Scottish or Black British[note 2] 3,707 0.07% 6,247 0.12%
African: Total 29,638

0.56%

African: African, African Scottish or African British 29,186 0.55%
African: Other African 452 0.01%
Caribbean or Black: Total 6,540 0.12%
Caribbean 3,430 0.06%
Black 2,380 0.04%
Caribbean or Black: Other 730 0.01%
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: Total 12,764 0.25% 19,815

0.37%

Other: Total 8,825 0.18% 9,571 0.19% 14,325

0.27%

Other: Arab[note 1] 9,366 0.18%
Other: Any other ethnic group 9,571 0.19% 4,959 0.09%
Ethnic minority: Total 46,188 0.9% 55,384 1.1% 106,146 2% 210,996 4%
Total: 4,954,328 100% 4,998,567 100.00% 5,062,011 100.00% 5,295,403

100.00%

  1. ^ a b c New category created for the 2011 census
  2. ^ Category restructured for the 2011 census

Ethnicity of school pupils edit

Ethnic group School year[21]
2004 2008 2012 2016 2021
Population % Population % Population % Population % Population %
White: Total 671,029 92.7% 633,230 92.9% 622,722 92.8% 624,363 91.3% 624,821 88.7%
White: Scottish 663,007 91.7% 618,829 90.8% 579,136 86.3% 555,476 81.1% 537,004 76.2%
White: Other British 21,163 3.1% 34,580 5%   44,842 6.4%
White: Irish     1,499 0.2%
White: Polish   16,790 2.4%
White: Traveller/Gypsy 864 1,121     1,435 0.2%
White: Other 8,022 14,401 21,559 33,186   23,251 3.3%
Asian or Asian British: Total 15,053 2.1% 18,213 2.7% 21,955 3.3% 26,660 3.9% 33,161 4.8%
Asian or Asian British: Indian 2,163 2,825 3,930     5,378     7,442 1.1%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 8,683 9,850 11,430   12,980   14,771 2.1%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 473 541 714        908     1,359 0.2%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 2,202 2,248 2,637     3,707     4,922 0.7%
Asian or Asian British: Asian Other 1,532 2,749 3,244     3,687     4,667 0.7%
African: Total 1,529 0.2% 2,815 0.4% 4,257 0.6% 6,555 0.9% 10,295 1.4%
African: African, African Scottish or African British     6,556 0.9%
African: Other African     3,739 0.5%
Caribbean or Black: Total 595 586 708 0.1% 1,033 0.1% 1,429 0.2%
Caribbean/Black: Scottish 105 126        930 0.1%
Caribbean or Black: Other 490 460        499 0.1%
Mixed: Total 4,814 0.6% 6,146 0.9% 6,956 1% 8,408 1.2%   11,533 1.6%
Other: Total 2,500 0.3% 3,005 0.4% 3,034 0.4% 5,250 0.7% 8,608 1.2
Other: Any other ethnic group 2,346 3,118     4,523 0.6%
Other: Arab 688 2,132     4,085 0.6%
Unknown or not stated 27,074 3.7% 16,467 2.4% 11,330 1.7%   11,939 1.7%   14,876 2.1%
Total: 723,175 100% 681,277 100% 670,962 100% 684,208 100% 704,723 100%

National identity edit

 
Map showing the percentage of the population that identifies itself as "Scottish only" according to the 2011 census.
 
Map showing the percentage of the population that identifies itself as "Scottish and British" and "British only" according to the 2011 census.

A question on national identity was asked in the 2011 census: "what do you feel is your national identity?".[22] Respondents could identify themselves as having more than one national identity.

In the 2011 census:[23]

  • 62% identified themselves as 'Scottish only'
  • 18% identified themselves as 'Scottish' and 'British'
  • 8% identified themselves as 'British only'
  • 2% identified themselves as 'Scottish' together with other non-British identity
  • 10% identified themselves with other national/ethnic identities only (neither Scottish nor British)

The council areas with at least 90% of the population stating some 'Scottish' national identity were North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, East Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire. The lowest proportions of people stating some 'Scottish' national identity were in Edinburgh (70%) and Aberdeen (75%).[24]

The council areas with the highest proportions of people stating 'British' as their only national identity were Argyll and Bute and Shetland, each with 12%.[24]

Below is a table of national identity sorted by council area based on the results of the 2011 census:

Council area Scottish only Scottish and British only British only Other UK identities Scottish and any other identities Other only
Aberdeen City 54.7% 17.7% 8.3% 4.7% 2.5% 12.1%
Aberdeenshire 61.3% 17.7% 9.0% 6.7% 1.9% 3.6%
Angus 66.8% 17.8% 7.2% 4.4% 1.6% 2.2%
Argyll and Bute 57.4% 17.2% 11.6% 8.9% 2.4% 2.4%
Clackmannanshire 67.0% 17.6% 7.4% 4.3% 1.6% 2.1%
Dumfries and Galloway 59.6% 16.7% 10.1% 9.7% 2.0% 1.8%
Dundee City 65.5% 16.6% 6.5% 3.6% 1.8% 6.1%
East Ayrshire 70.6% 18.7% 5.7% 2.9% 1.2% 0.9%
East Dunbartonshire 60.2% 24.7% 8.7% 2.7% 1.9% 1.8%
East Lothian 62.6% 18.9% 8.6% 4.6% 2.0% 3.0%
East Renfrewshire 59.0% 25.6% 9.4% 2.4% 1.9% 1.8%
Edinburgh, City of 48.8% 18.5% 11.4% 6.7% 3.2% 11.4%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 69.2% 14.3% 8.1% 5.4% 1.5% 1.4%
Falkirk 68.0% 19.7% 6.3% 2.7% 1.3% 2.0%
Fife 63.8% 18.2% 7.9% 5.1% 1.8% 3.2%
Glasgow City 61.9% 16.1% 8.6% 2.9% 2.2% 8.3%
Highland 61.5% 15.2% 10.2% 7.6% 2.3% 3.3%
Inverclyde 69.9% 19.7% 6.3% 1.9% 1.1% 1.1%
Midlothian 68.3% 18.2% 6.8% 3.2% 1.5% 2.0%
Moray 58.4% 15.9% 10.9% 10.0% 2.1% 2.7%
North Ayrshire 68.2% 19.4% 6.8% 3.2% 1.3% 1.1%
North Lanarkshire 71.6% 18.1% 5.9% 1.5% 1.2% 1.7%
Orkney 62.4% 13.8% 10.8% 9.8% 1.6% 1.6%
Perth and Kinross 59.0% 18.9% 9.5% 6.0% 2.3% 4.3%
Renfrewshire 65.9% 21.0% 7.3% 2.0% 1.3% 2.6%
Scottish Borders 57.7% 16.9% 10.7% 9.2% 2.6% 2.9%
Shetland 59.9% 15.7% 11.6% 7.6% 1.8% 3.4%
South Ayrshire 63.9% 21.0% 7.6% 4.3% 1.6% 1.6%
South Lanarkshire 67.2% 20.5% 6.9% 2.3% 1.3% 1.8%
Stirling 57.5% 20.0% 9.6% 5.8% 2.5% 4.6%
West Dunbartonshire 72.0% 17.3% 6.0% 2.0% 1.1% 1.5%
West Lothian 65.2% 18.8% 7.6% 3.4% 1.6% 3.4%

Religion edit

 
Percentage claiming to be Roman Catholic in the 2011 census in Scotland

The statistics from the 2011 census and the 2001 census are set out below.

Current religion 2001[25] 2011[26]
Number % Number %
Church of Scotland 2,146,251 42.4 1,717,871 32.4
Roman Catholic 803,732 15.9 841,053 15.9
Other Christian 344,562 6.8 291,275 5.5
Total Christian 3,294,545 65.1 2,850,199 53.8
Islam 42,557 0.8 76,737 1.4
Hinduism 5,564 0.1 16,379 0.3
Buddhism 6,830 0.1 12,795 0.2
Sikhism 6,572 0.1 9,055 0.2
Judaism 6,448 0.1 5,887 0.1
Other religion 26,974 0.5 15,196 0.3
No religion 1,394,460 27.6 1,941,116 36.7
Religion not stated 278,061 5.5 368,039 7.0
No religion/not stated total 1,672,521 33.0 2,309,155 43.6
Total population 5,062,011 100.0 5,295,403 100.0

Languages edit

English is by far the most commonly spoken language in Scotland. Two regional languages of Scotland, Scottish Gaelic and Modern Scots, are protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Abilities in these languages for those aged three and above were recorded in the UK census 2011 as follows.[27]

Ability Scottish Gaelic Scots
Usual residents aged 3+ Proportion Usual residents aged 3+ Proportion
No skills 5,031,167 98.30% 3,188,779 62.30%
Has some ability 87,056 1.70% 1,929,444 37.70%
Can speak 57,602 1.13% 1,541,693 30.12%
Speaks, reads and writes 32,191 0.63% 1,225,622 23.95%
Understands but does not speak, read or write 23,357 0.46% 267,412 5.22%
Speaks but does not read or write 18,966 0.37% 179,295 3.50%
Speaks and reads but does not write 6,218 0.12% 132,709 2.59%
Reads but does not speak or write 4,646 0.09% 107,025 2.09%
Other combination of skills 1,678 0.03% 17,381 0.34%
Total 5,118,223 100.00% 5,118,223 100.00%

Over 170 languages are spoken in Scotland. The 4 most commonly spoken non-English languages at home (by people aged 3 and over) are: Scots (55,817), Polish (54,186), Chinese (27,381), and Urdu (23,394).[28]

Historical demography edit

 
Stone houses at Knap of Howar, evidence of a settled agricultural population and the beginnings of demographic growth, c. 3500 BC

At times during the last interglacial period (130,000–70,000 BC) Europe had a climate warmer than today's, and early humans may have made their way to what is now Scotland, though archaeologists have found no traces of this. Glaciers then scoured their way across most of Britain, and only after the ice retreated did Scotland again become habitable, around 9600 BC.[29] Mesolithic hunter-gatherer encampments formed the first known settlements, and archaeologists have dated a site near Biggar to around 8500 BC.[30] Numerous other sites found around Scotland build up a picture of highly mobile boat-using people making tools from bone, stone and antlers, probably with a very low density of population.[31] Neolithic farming brought permanent settlements, such as the stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray dating from 3500 BC, and greater concentrations of population. Extensive analyses of Black Loch in Fife indicate that arable land spread at the expense of forest from about 2000 BC until the period of the first century AD Roman advance into lowland Scotland, suggesting an expanding settled population. Thereafter, there was re-growth of birch, oak and hazel for a period of five centuries, suggesting that the Roman invasions had a negative impact on the native population.[32]

There are almost no written sources from which to re-construct the demography of early medieval Scotland. Estimates have been made of a population of 10,000 inhabitants in Dál Riata and 80–100,000 for Pictland, which was probably the largest region.[33] This does not include figures for parts of Northumbria now in Scotland. It is likely that the 5th and 6th centuries saw higher mortality rates due to the appearance of bubonic plague, which may have reduced net population.[34] The examination of burial sites for this period like that at Hallowhill, St Andrews indicate a life expectancy of only 26–29.[33] The known conditions have been taken to suggest it was a high fertility, high mortality society, similar to many developing countries in the modern world, with a relatively young demographic profile, and perhaps early childbearing, and large numbers of children for women. This would have meant that there were a relatively small proportion of available workers to the number of mouths to feed. This would have made it difficult to produce a surplus that would allow demographic growth and more complex societies to develop.[35] From the formation of the kingdom of Alba in the tenth century, to before the Black Death reached the country in 1349, estimates based on the amount of farmable land, suggest that population may have grown from half a million to a million.[36] Although there is no reliable documentation on the impact of the plague, there are many anecdotal references to abandoned land in the following decades. If the pattern followed that in England, then the population may have fallen to as low as half a million by the end of the 15th century.[37] Compared with the situation after the redistribution of population in the later clearances and the industrial revolution, these numbers would have been relatively evenly spread over the kingdom, with roughly half living north of the Tay.[38] Perhaps ten per cent of the population lived in one of many burghs that grew up in the later medieval period, mainly in the east and south. It has been suggested that they would have had a mean population of about 2,000, but many would be much smaller than 1,000 and the largest, Edinburgh, probably had a population of over 10,000 by the end of the era.[39]

 
Graph showing the population of Scotland 1900–2001. Source:

Calculations based on Hearth Tax returns for 1691 indicate a population of 1,234,575, but this figure may have been seriously affected by the famines of the 1690s. The first reliable information is a census conducted by the Reverend Alexander Webster in 1755, which shows the inhabitants of Scotland as 1,265,380.[40] By the time of the first decadal census in 1801, the population was 1,608,420. Scotland grew steadily in the 19th century, to 2,889,000 in 1851 and 4,472,000 in 1901.[41] Even with the growth of industry there were insufficient good jobs, as a result, during the period 1841–1931, about 2 million Scots emigrated to North America and Australia, and another 750,000 Scots relocated to England.[42]

With a population of 4.8 million in 1911, Scotland sent 690,000 men to First World War, of whom 74,000 died in combat or from disease, and 150,000 were seriously wounded.[43][44] Thus, although Scots were only 10 percent of the British population, they made up 15 per cent of the national armed forces and eventually accounted for 20 per cent of the dead.[45] While emigration began to tail off in England and Wales after the First World War,[46] it continued apace in Scotland, with 400,000 Scots, ten per cent of the population, estimated to have left the country between 1921 and 1931.[47] When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s there were no easily available jobs in the US and Canada and emigration fell to less than 50,000 a year, bringing to an end the period of mass migrations that had opened in the mid-18th century.[48] This contributed to the growth of the population, which reached a peak of 5,240,800 in 1974. Thereafter it began to fall slowly, moving down to 5,062,940 in 2000. There was also a decrease in some urban populations as a result of policies of slum clearance, overspill and relocation to new towns, with the population of Glasgow falling from over a million in 1951 to 629,000 in 2001. Rural areas also saw a loss of population, particularly the Highlands and Hebrides.[49]

Population change edit

 
People on Buchanan Street in Glasgow. Scotland's population is getting older as many baby boomers approach retirement.

Scotland's population grew most years between the first census in 1855 up to around 5.2 million in 1974.[50] However, from 1974 to 2000 there was a natural decrease in population, with both an excess of deaths over births and of emigration over immigration - particularly to the rest of the United Kingdom. Since 2000 the population has increased most years and is projected to peak in 2028 at 5.48 million and thereafter decline to 5.39 million in 2045.[51][52]

Fertility and morbidity rates edit

Both the Scottish Government and leading academics in Scotland had expressed some concern over the historic falling annual number of births in Scotland.[53] There were 49,863 live births registered in 2019, the lowest count since records began in 1855.[54] In 2004, for example, there were 4,012 more deaths than births, although for the subsequent five years this process had been reversed with 4,342 more births than deaths in 2008. The long-term reversal in the declining birth rate of the 1990s was confirmed in 2009 when the Registrar General for Scotland reported that with 60,000 births recorded in 2008, this was the highest recorded fertility rate since 1995.[55]

The population of children under age 5 grew by 6% (293,000) over the ten-year period between 2001 and 2011. However, the number of children aged 5–14 fell by 11% (69,000). The population of people over 65 also grew by 11% (85,000) and they now represent 17% of the total population and for the first time there are more people over 65 than under 15 years of age. Significantly, in 2011 there were 230,000 people over 80 years of age.[56]

Migration edit

Politicians and academics also noted that in the first years of the 21st century the previous trend of a net migration away from Scotland had reversed with significant immigration to Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom. Between 2001 and 2011 Scotland's population grew by 5% (233,000), the fastest rate of growth for at least 100 years.[56] Similarly, since 2004 there had also been a growing influx of arrivals from the new EU accession states such as Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Latvia, contributing to the recent growth of the population. Consequently, since 2002 the birth rate gradually increased with 53,957 births recorded in 2004, and in 2008 the number of live births was 60,041.[57]

The Scottish Government has responded to these demographic trends by setting up the Fresh Talent - Working in Scotland Scheme open to foreign (non-EU) graduates from Scotland's universities allowing them a two-year residency period after graduation.[58]

Population projections edit

In its 2011 review the GROS predicted that Scotland's population would rise by 10% to 5.76 million by 2035 and to 6.2m by 2085. Until 2028 both net inward migration and the birth rate exceeding the death rate would contribute to this growth, however beyond this date population increase would be due only to a positive net migration as the aging population would result in more deaths than births. This later trend would be dramatic with the number of children under 16 projected to rise by only 3% while the number of people over 65 is projected to increase by 63% (from 0.88m to 1.43m).[3]

In its 2022 annual population review the National Records of Scotland projected that the Scottish population would continue to rise until 2028 - peaking at 5.48 million - and would then fall by 1.8% by 2045 to 5.39 million.[59]

Council area population estimates edit

Scotland council area population estimates
(2001 - 2022)[4][60][61]
Local council area Population
(2001)
Population
(2011)
% change
(2001–11)
Population
(2022)
% change
(2011–22)
Aberdeen City 212,125 222,800 5.0 224,000 0.5
Aberdeenshire 226,871 253,000 11.5 263,900 4.3
Angus 108,400 116,000 7.0 114,400 −1.4
Argyll and Bute 91,306 88,200 −3.4 86,000 −2.5
Clackmannanshire 48,077 51,400 7.0 51,800 0.8
Dumfries and Galloway 147,765 151,300 2.4 145,900 −3.6
Dundee City 145,663 147,300 1.1 148,100 1.7
East Ayrshire 120,235 122,700 2.1 120,300 −2
East Dunbartonshire 108,243 105,000 −3.0 109,000 3.8
East Lothian 90,088 99,700 10.7 112,300 12.6
East Renfrewshire 89,311 90,600 1.4 96,800 6.8
City of Edinburgh 448,624 476,600 6.2 512,700 7.6
Na h-Eileanan Siar 26,502 27,700 4.5 26,200 −5.4
Falkirk 145,191 156,000 7.4 158,400 1.5
Fife 349,429 365,200 4.5 370,400 1.4
Glasgow City 577,869 593,200 2.7 620,700 4.6
Highland 208,914 232,100 11.1 235,400 1.4
Inverclyde 84,203 81,500 −3.2 78,400 −3.8
Midlothian 80,941 83,200 2.8 96,600 16.1
Moray 86,940 93,300 7.3 93,400 0.1
North Ayrshire 135,817 138,200 1.7 133,400 −3.4
North Lanarkshire 321,067 337,800 5.2 341,000 0.9
Orkney Islands 19,245 21,400 10.9 22,000 2.8
Perth and Kinross 134,949 146,700 8.7 150,800 2.8
Renfrewshire 172,867 174,900 1.2 183,800 5.1
Scottish Borders 106,764 113,900 6.7 116,900 2.6
Shetland Islands 21,988 23,200 5.3 22,900 −1.3
South Ayrshire 112,097 112,800 0.6 111,600 −1.1
South Lanarkshire 302,216 313,800 3.8 327,200 4.3
Stirling 86,212 90,200 4.7 92,600 2.7
West Dunbartonshire 93,378 90,700 −2.8 88,400 −2.5
West Lothian 158,714 175,100 10.3 181,300 3.5

Other statistics edit

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (Mid-2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)[62]

Life expectancy at birth (2011):[3]
total population: 78.4 years for those born in 2010 (cf. 72.2 in 1981)
male: 76.1 years for those born in 2010 (cf. 69.1 in 1981)
female: 80.6 years for those born in 2010 (cf. 75.3 in 1981)

General fertility rate:[3] The general Fertility Rate (GFR) is based on the rate of births per 1000 females of child-bearing age (i.e. 15–44 years of age).

In 2011 it was 56.4 births per 1000 women. For comparison, during the latter part of the 20th century it was at its highest during the 'baby boom' of the 1960s. The GFR reached a peak of 99.5 births per 1000 women in 1962. In 2001 the GFR had fallen to its lowest post World War II level of 50 births per 1000 women.

Languages: English, Scots (including Doric, Central and Border) and Gaelic

Marriages:[3] In 2011 there were 29,135 marriages in Scotland. This is a 2.3% increase on 2010.

By way of historical comparison, the highest ever recorded was 53,522 in 1940. In the 1970s there were on average between 40 and 45,000 marriages per annum. The lowest annual figure in recent years was 27,524 in 2009 and lowest on record was 19,655 in 1858.

Of specific interest were the number of so-called 'tourist marriages', where neither partner was resident in Scotland. In 2011 there were 6,829 such marriages, of which 48% took place at Gretna, the most popular of all wedding venues.

Civil partnerships:[3] The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force in December 2005. In 2006 the number of civil partnership registrations was 1,047. A one-off figure given the number of long-standing relationships which already existed which could be registered. Since then the number of ceremonies each year fell from 688 in 2007 to 465 registrations in 2010. 2011 saw the first increase since 2006 with 554 registrations.

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2005 est)

Higher education: 95% of Scottish higher education students study in universities in Scotland.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b United Kingdom census (2011). "Table 1 - Census Day population estimates, 1911 - 2011". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Census Records 1841 to 1911". National Records of Scotland. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f The Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends 157th Edition 2011 2013-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed 10 February 2013
  4. ^ a b United Kingdom census (2011). "Table 2 - Census Day population estimates by age, 1911 - 2011". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  5. ^ "National Records of Scotland", Scottish Government news release, retrieved 10 February 2013
  6. ^ Genuki UK and Ireland Genealogy, Accessed 11 February 2013
  7. ^ Webster's Scottish Population Statistics of 1751 edited, updated and reprinted by James Grey Kyd in 1951 2012-01-22 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed 11 February 2013
  8. ^ A. H. Halsey (1972). Trends in British Society since 1900. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-1-349-00780-6.
  9. ^ "Scotland's Census 2022 - Rounded population estimates". Scotland's Census. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  10. ^ "Monthly Data on Births and Deaths Registered in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  12. ^ 2001 Census for Scotland scrol analyser 2014-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed 6 September 2014
  13. ^ United Kingdom census (2011). "Table KS204SC - Country of birth" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality - Office for National Stinkers". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  15. ^ United Kingdom census (2011). "2011 Census Day usual resident population estimates by five-year age group and sex, Scotland". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  16. ^ Equality, Commission for Racial (1985). "Ethnic minorities in Britain: statistical information on the pattern of settlement". Commission for Racial Equality: Table 3.
  17. ^ As UK Census data past 2001 is unavailable through the ONS website, it has been recommended to use archival census collection websites to obtain data. Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for Scotland (Table 6)
  18. ^ Office of Population Censuses and Surveys ; General Register Office for Scotland ; Registrar General for Northern Ireland (1997): 1991 Census aggregate data. UK Data Service (Edition: 1997). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-1991-1 This information is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence
  19. ^ "Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  20. ^ United Kingdom census (2011). (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Pupil census: supplementary statistics". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  22. ^ "Questionnaire used in Scotland's 2011 census" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. p. 9. Retrieved 1 September 2020. What do you feel is your national identity?
  23. ^ "Census 2011: Detailed characteristics on Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion in Scotland – Release 3A". 27 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Scotland's Census 2011 - Analysis: National Identity". Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  25. ^ "Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census". The Scottish Government. 17 May 2006. from the original on 7 June 2011.
  26. ^ United Kingdom census (2011). "Table KS209SCb - Religion" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  27. ^ United Kingdom census (2011). "Table KS206SC - Language" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  28. ^ United Kingdom census (2011). "Table AT_002_2011 - Language used at home other than English (detailed), Scotland". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  29. ^ F. Pryor, Britain B.C.: life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans (London: Harper Collins, 2003), p. 99.
  30. ^ "Signs of Earliest Scots Unearthed". BBC News. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  31. ^ P. J. Ashmore, Neolithic and Bronze Age Scotland: An authoritative and Lively Account of an Enigmatic Period of Scottish Prehistory (2003).
  32. ^ T. C. Smout, R. MacDonald and F. Watson, A History of the Native Woodlands of Scotland 1500–1920. Edinburgh University Press ISBN 9780748632947, p. 34.
  33. ^ a b L. R. Laing, The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland, c. AD 400-1200 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), ISBN 0521547407, pp. 21–22.
  34. ^ P. Fouracre and R. McKitterick, eds, The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 500-c. 700 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), ISBN 0521362911, p. 234.
  35. ^ A. Woolf, From Pictland to Alba: 789–1070 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), ISBN 0748612343, pp. 17–20.
  36. ^ R. E. Tyson, "Population Patterns", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (New York, 2001), pp. 487–88.
  37. ^ S. H. Rigby, ed., A Companion to Britain in the Later Middle Ages (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003), ISBN 0631217851, pp. 109–11.
  38. ^ J. Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), ISBN 0748602763, p. 61.
  39. ^ E. Gemmill and N. J. Mayhew, Changing Values in Medieval Scotland: a Study of Prices, Money, and Weights and Measures (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), ISBN 0521473853, pp. 8-10.
  40. ^ K. J. Cullen, Famine in Scotland: The 'Ill Years' of The 1690s (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010), ISBN 0748638873, pp. 123-24.
  41. ^ A. K. Cairncross, The Scottish Economy: A Statistical Account of Scottish Life by Members of the Staff of Glasgow University (Glasgow: Glasgow University Press, 1953), p. 10.
  42. ^ R. A. Houston and W. W. Knox, eds, The New Penguin History of Scotland (London: Penguin, 2001), ISBN 0140263675, p. xxxii.
  43. ^ I. F. W. Beckett and K. R. Simpson, eds. A Nation in Arms: a Social Study of the British Army in the First World War (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985), ISBN 0719017378, p. 11.
  44. ^ R. A. Houston and W. W. Knox, eds, The New Penguin History of Scotland (London: Penguin, 2001), ISBN 0140263675, p. 426.
  45. ^ J. Buchanan, Scotland (Langenscheidt, 3rd edn., 2003), p. 49.
  46. ^ F. M. L. Thompson, The Cambridge Social History of Britain, 1750-1950: People and Their Environment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), ISBN 0521438136, pp. 9-10.
  47. ^ J. Buchanan, Scotland (Langenscheidt, 3rd edn., 2003), p. 51.
  48. ^ S. M. Millett, The Scottish Settlers of America: the 17th and 18th Centuries (Genealogical Publishing Com, 2009), p. 64.
  49. ^ C. G. Brown, "Charting everyday experience", in L. Abrams and C. G. Brown, A History of Everyday Life in Twentieth-Century Scotland (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010), ISBN 0748624317, p. 20.
  50. ^ "Population Estimates Time Series Data". 31 May 2013. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  51. ^ "Projected Population of Scotland (2018-based)". 31 May 2013. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  52. ^ "Scotland's population forecast to go into decline". BBC News. 31 August 2022.
  53. ^ "Migration: helping Scotland prosper". Scottish Government. p. 4. Retrieved 1 September 2020. Migration to Scotland supports economic growth and the delivery of public services. It helps to address the serious issue of long term demographic change and enhances and sustains our communities. All of our future population growth is projected to come from migration and any reduction in migration – whether that's from the rest of the UK, the EU or internationally – will impact on the size of our working age population.
  54. ^ "Vital Events Reference Tables 2019". National Records of Scotland. 23 June 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 1 September 2020. Births have been falling over the long term and fell to their lowest point in 2002 before increasing to reach a recent high point of 60,041 in 2008 and have decreased steadily since then.
  55. ^ Press Release: Births Increase for the Sixth Consecutive Year 2012-10-28 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed 9 February 2013
  56. ^ a b Press Release: First Results of Scotland's 2011 Census, Accessed 9 February 2013
  57. ^ McGinty, Stephen (28 April 2005). . The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 3 October 2005.
  58. ^ www.scotland.gov.uk . Archived from the original on April 16, 2005. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  59. ^ "Scotland's Population 2021".
  60. ^ United Kingdom census (2011). "Table 2: Census day usually resident population by council area, 2001 and 2011" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  61. ^ "Table 1: Scotland's Census 2022: Usual resident population by sex, council areas, Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  62. ^ (PDF). General Register Office for Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.

External links edit

  • National Records of Scotland
  • Scotland's People - the official government source of genealogical data for Scotland
  • Scottish Government
  • Government Actuary's Department

demography, scotland, this, article, contains, many, charts, tables, data, please, help, cleaning, them, elaborating, them, with, prose, text, november, 2022, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, demography, scotland, includes, aspects, population, pa. This article contains too many charts tables or data Please help cleaning them up or elaborating them with prose text November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The demography of Scotland includes all aspects of population past and present in the area that is now Scotland Scotland had a population of 5 463 300 in 2019 The population growth rate in 2011 was estimated as 0 6 per annum according to the 2011 GROS Annual Review 3 Demographics of ScotlandPopulation pyramid of Scotland in 2020Population5 463 300 2019 Population cartogram of ScotlandMap of population density in Scotland at the 2011 censusHistorical populationYearPop 18011 608 420 18111 805 864 12 3 18212 091 521 15 8 18312 364 386 13 0 18412 620 841 10 8 18512 888 742 10 2 18613 062 269 6 0 18713 360 018 9 7 18813 735 573 11 2 18914 033 103 8 0 19014 472 103 10 9 19114 760 904 6 5 19214 888 407 2 7 19314 842 989 0 9 19515 095 969 5 2 19615 179 000 1 6 19715 229 000 1 0 19815 035 000 3 7 19915 083 000 1 0 20015 062 011 0 4 20115 295 403 4 6 20225 436 600 2 7 Source 1 2 Covering an area of 78 782 square kilometres 30 418 sq mi Scotland has a population density of 67 2 km2 174 sq mi Around 70 of the country s population 3 5 million live in the Central Belt a region stretching in a northeast southwest orientation between the major Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow and including the major settlements of Paisley Stirling Falkirk Perth and Dundee in the Central Lowlands 80 Other concentrations of population include the northeast coast of Scotland principally the regions around the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness and the west coast around the town of Ayr The Scottish Highlands and the island group of Eilean Siar have the lowest population densities at 9 km2 23 sq mi Glasgow has the highest population density at 3 289 km2 8 520 sq mi 4 Until April 2011 responsibility for estimating the population of Scotland as well as recording births deaths and marriages was overseen by the General Register Office for Scotland GROS headed by the Registrar General for Scotland From 1 April 2011 onwards the GROS merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland The new organisation is still required under the terms of the Registration of Births Deaths and Marriages Scotland Act 1965 to present a Registrar General s annual report of demographic trends to Scottish Ministers Prior to devolution it was to the Secretary of State for Scotland In conjunction with the rest of the United Kingdom the National Records for Scotland is also responsible for conducting a decadal census of population The most recent one took place in March 2022 5 Population of Scotland over timeContents 1 Historical population 1 1 Population change over time 1 2 Age distribution 2 Vital statistics 2 1 Current vital statistics 3 Place of birth 4 Age 5 Ethnicity 5 1 Ethnicity of school pupils 6 National identity 7 Religion 8 Languages 9 Historical demography 10 Population change 10 1 Fertility and morbidity rates 10 2 Migration 10 3 Population projections 11 Council area population estimates 12 Other statistics 13 See also 14 References 15 External linksHistorical population editPopulation change over time edit In the United Kingdom a census was taken every ten years from 1801 onwards with the exception of 1941 due to the Second World War Population data for years prior to that is provided from directories and gazetteers 6 7 1 Year Population1500 500 0001600 800 0001707 1 000 0001755 1 265 3801801 1 608 4201811 1 805 8641821 2 091 5211831 2 364 3861841 2 620 1841851 2 888 7421861 3 062 2941871 3 360 0181881 3 735 5781891 4 025 6471901 4 472 1031911 4 760 9041921 4 882 4071931 4 842 9891939a 5 006 7001951 5 095 9691961b 5 179 0001971 5 229 0001981 5 035 0001991c 5 083 0002001 5 062 0002011 5 295 0002022 5 436 000Notesa There was no census in 1941 however there was a National Register of the Civilian Population in 1939b Data for 1961 onwards rounded to nearest thousandc Data for 1991 mid year estimate Age distribution edit 8 9 Ages 1901 1931 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 20220 14 years 33 27 25 26 25 9 21 4 18 9 17 9 16 1 15 315 64 years 62 66 65 64 61 8 64 5 65 8 66 2 67 1 64 665 years and over 5 7 10 11 12 3 14 1 15 3 15 9 16 8 20 1Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100Vital statistics edit nbsp Life expectancy in Scotland over timeTable of birth and mortality since 1900 Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate per 1000 Crude death rate per 1000 Natural change per 1000 Fertility rate1900 4 437 000 131 401 82 296 49 105 29 6 18 5 11 11901 4 479 000 132 192 80 107 52 085 29 5 17 9 11 61902 4 507 000 132 267 77 941 54 326 29 4 17 3 12 01903 4 536 000 133 525 76 002 57 523 29 4 16 8 12 71904 4 564 000 132 603 77 981 54 622 29 1 17 1 12 01905 4 593 000 131 410 74 536 56 874 28 6 16 2 12 41906 4 621 000 132 005 75 635 56 370 28 6 16 4 12 21907 4 650 000 128 840 77 296 51 544 27 7 16 6 11 11908 4 680 000 131 362 77 838 53 524 28 1 16 6 11 41909 4 709 000 128 669 74 632 54 037 27 3 15 8 11 51910 4 739 000 124 059 72 268 51 791 26 2 15 2 11 01911 4 751 000 121 850 71 732 50 118 25 7 15 1 10 61912 4 741 000 122 790 72 340 50 450 25 9 15 3 10 61913 4 728 000 120 516 73 069 47 447 25 5 15 5 10 01914 4 747 000 123 934 73 557 50 377 26 1 15 5 10 61915 4 771 000 114 181 81 631 32 550 23 9 17 1 6 81916 4 795 000 109 942 70 640 39 302 22 9 14 7 8 21917 4 810 000 97 441 69 483 27 958 20 2 14 4 5 81918 4 812 000 98 554 78 372 20 182 20 5 16 3 4 21919 4 820 000 106 268 75 149 31 119 22 1 15 6 6 51920 4 864 000 136 546 68 179 68 367 28 1 14 0 14 11921 4 882 000 123 201 66 210 56 991 25 2 13 6 11 71922 4 898 000 115 085 72 905 42 180 23 5 14 9 8 61923 4 888 000 111 902 63 283 48 619 22 9 13 0 9 91924 4 862 000 106 900 70 357 36 543 22 0 14 5 7 51925 4 867 000 104 137 65 507 38 630 21 4 13 5 7 91926 4 864 000 102 449 63 780 38 669 21 1 13 1 7 91927 4 853 000 96 672 65 830 30 842 19 9 13 6 6 41928 4 848 000 96 822 65 271 31 551 20 0 13 5 6 51929 4 832 000 92 880 70 917 21 963 19 2 14 7 4 61930 4 828 000 94 549 64 285 30 264 19 6 13 3 6 31931 4 843 000 92 220 64 229 27 991 19 0 13 3 5 81932 4 883 000 91 000 66 045 24 955 18 6 13 5 5 11933 4 912 000 86 546 64 848 21 698 17 6 13 2 4 41934 4 934 000 88 836 63 741 25 095 18 0 12 9 5 11935 4 953 000 87 928 65 331 22 597 17 8 13 2 4 61936 4 966 000 88 928 66 749 22 179 17 9 13 4 4 51937 4 977 000 87 810 68 942 18 868 17 6 13 9 3 81938 4 993 000 88 627 62 953 25 674 17 8 12 6 5 11939 5 007 000 86 913 64 413 22 500 17 4 12 9 4 51940 5 065 000 86 392 72 775 13 617 17 1 14 9 2 21941 5 160 000 89 748 72 558 17 190 17 4 14 6 2 81942 5 174 000 90 703 64 963 25 740 17 5 13 2 4 31943 5 189 000 94 669 66 733 27 936 18 2 13 9 4 41944 5 210 000 95 920 64 603 31 317 18 4 13 5 4 91945 5 187 000 86 924 62 655 24 269 16 8 13 1 3 71946 5 167 000 104 413 64 605 39 808 20 2 13 0 7 21947 5 120 000 113 147 66 200 46 947 22 1 12 9 9 21948 5 150 000 100 344 60 979 39 365 19 5 11 8 7 61949 5 156 000 95 674 63 488 32 186 18 6 12 3 6 21950 5 168 000 92 530 63 996 28 534 17 9 12 4 5 51951 5 102 000 90 639 65 778 24 861 17 8 12 9 4 91952 5 101 000 90 422 61 510 28 912 17 7 12 1 5 71953 5 100 000 90 913 58 878 32 035 17 8 11 5 6 31954 5 104 000 92 315 61 380 30 935 18 1 12 0 6 11955 5 111 000 92 539 61 645 30 894 18 1 12 1 6 01956 5 120 000 95 313 61 792 33 521 18 6 12 1 6 51957 5 125 000 97 977 61 143 36 834 19 1 11 9 7 21958 5 141 000 99 481 62 065 37 416 19 4 12 1 7 31959 5 163 000 99 251 63 061 36 190 19 2 12 2 7 01960 5 178 000 101 292 61 764 39 528 19 6 11 9 7 61961 5 184 000 101 169 63 928 37 241 19 5 12 3 7 21962 5 198 000 104 334 63 189 41 145 20 1 12 2 7 91963 5 205 000 102 691 65 521 37 170 19 7 12 6 7 11964 5 209 000 104 355 61 039 43 316 20 0 11 7 8 31965 5 210 000 100 660 62 868 37 792 19 3 12 1 7 31966 5 201 000 96 536 63 689 32 847 18 6 12 2 6 31967 5 198 000 96 221 59 523 36 698 18 5 11 5 7 11968 5 200 000 94 786 63 311 31 475 18 2 12 2 6 11969 5 209 000 90 290 63 821 26 469 17 3 12 3 5 11970 5 215 000 87 335 63 640 23 695 16 7 12 2 4 51971 5 219 000 86 728 61 614 25 114 16 6 11 8 4 8 2 531972 5 223 000 78 550 65 017 13 533 15 0 12 4 2 6 2 271973 5 225 000 74 392 64 545 9 847 14 2 12 4 1 9 2 131974 5 226 000 70 093 64 740 5 353 13 4 12 4 1 0 1 971975 5 227 000 67 943 63 125 4 818 13 0 12 1 0 9 1 901976 5 227 000 64 895 65 253 358 12 4 12 5 0 1 1 801977 5 226 000 62 342 62 294 48 11 9 11 9 0 0 1 701978 5 212 000 64 295 65 123 828 12 3 12 5 0 2 1 741979 5 204 000 68 366 65 747 2 619 13 1 12 6 0 5 1 841980 5 194 000 68 892 63 299 5 593 13 3 12 2 1 1 1 841981 5 180 000 69 054 63 828 5 226 13 3 12 3 1 0 1 841982 5 165 000 66 196 65 022 1 174 12 8 12 6 0 2 1 741983 5 148 000 65 078 63 454 1 624 12 6 12 3 0 3 1 701984 5 139 000 65 106 62 345 2 761 12 7 12 1 0 5 1 681985 5 128 000 66 676 63 967 2 709 13 0 12 5 0 5 1 701986 5 112 000 65 812 63 467 2 345 12 9 12 4 0 5 1 681987 5 099 000 66 241 62 014 4 227 13 0 12 2 0 8 1 681988 5 077 000 66 212 61 957 4 255 13 0 12 2 0 8 1 681989 5 078 000 63 480 65 017 1 537 12 5 12 8 0 3 1 611990 5 081 000 65 973 61 527 4 446 13 0 12 1 0 9 1 671991 5 083 000 67 024 61 041 5 983 13 2 12 0 1 2 1 691992 5 086 000 65 789 60 937 4 852 12 9 12 0 1 0 1 671993 5 092 000 63 337 64 049 712 12 4 12 6 0 1 1 621994 5 102 000 61 656 59 328 2 328 12 1 11 6 0 5 1 581995 5 104 000 60 051 60 500 449 11 8 11 9 0 1 1 551996 5 092 000 59 296 60 654 1 358 11 6 11 9 0 3 1 561997 5 083 000 59 440 59 494 54 11 7 11 7 0 0 1 581998 5 077 000 57 319 59 164 1 845 11 3 11 7 0 4 1 551999 5 072 000 55 147 60 281 5 134 10 9 11 9 1 0 1 512000 5 063 000 53 076 57 799 4 723 10 5 11 4 0 9 1 482001 5 064 000 52 527 57 380 4 853 10 4 11 3 1 0 1 492002 5 055 000 51 270 58 103 6 833 10 1 11 5 1 4 1 472003 5 057 000 52 432 58 472 6 040 10 4 11 6 1 2 1 522004 5 078 000 53 957 56 187 2 230 10 6 11 1 0 4 1 582005 5 095 000 54 386 55 747 1 361 10 7 10 9 0 3 1 602006 5 117 000 55 690 55 093 597 10 9 10 8 0 1 1 642007 5 144 000 57 781 55 986 1 795 11 2 10 9 0 3 1 702008 5 169 000 60 041 55 700 4 341 11 6 10 8 0 8 1 772009 5 194 000 59 046 53 856 5 190 11 4 10 4 1 0 1 732010 5 222 000 58 791 53 967 4 824 11 3 10 3 1 0 1 722011 5 255 000 58 592 53 661 4 931 11 1 10 3 0 8 1 692012 5 313 000 58 027 54 937 3 090 10 9 10 5 0 4 1 672013 5 327 000 56 014 54 700 1 314 10 6 10 3 0 3 1 612014 5 347 000 56 725 54 239 2 486 10 6 10 2 0 4 1 622015 5 373 000 55 096 57 566 2 470 10 3 10 7 0 4 1 562016 5 404 000 54 488 56 728 2 240 10 1 10 5 0 4 1 522017 5 424 000 52 861 57 883 5 022 9 7 10 7 1 0 1 472018 5 438 000 51 311 58 503 7 192 9 4 10 8 1 4 1 422019 5 463 000 49 863 58 108 8 245 9 1 10 6 1 5 1 372020 5 466 000 46 809 64 093 17 284 8 6 11 7 3 1 1 292021 5 479 900 47 763 63 587 15 824 8 7 11 6 2 9 1 302022 c 5 436 600 46 959 62 941 15 982 8 6 11 5 2 9 1 28 c 2022 census results Source General Register Office for Scotland Birth and Mortality statistics from 1900Current vital statistics edit 10 Period Live births Deaths Natural increaseJanuary October 2022 39 389 51 479 12 090January October 2023 38 691 51 939 13 248Difference nbsp 698 1 77 nbsp 460 0 89 nbsp 1 158 Largest cities or towns in Scotland mid 2020 est 11 Rank Name Council area Pop Rank Name Council area Pop nbsp Glasgow nbsp Edinburgh 1 Glasgow Glasgow City 632 350 11 Kirkcaldy Fife 50 370 nbsp Aberdeen nbsp Dundee2 Edinburgh City of Edinburgh 506 520 12 Inverness Highland 47 7903 Aberdeen Aberdeen City 198 590 13 Perth Perth and Kinross 47 3504 Dundee Dundee City 148 210 14 Kilmarnock East Ayrshire 46 9705 Paisley Renfrewshire 77 270 15 Ayr South Ayrshire 46 2606 East Kilbride South Lanarkshire 75 310 16 Coatbridge North Lanarkshire 43 9507 Livingston West Lothian 56 840 17 Greenock Inverclyde 41 2808 Dunfermline Fife 54 990 18 Glenrothes Fife 38 3609 Hamilton South Lanarkshire 54 480 19 Stirling Stirling 37 91010 Cumbernauld North Lanarkshire 50 530 20 Airdrie North Lanarkshire 36 390Place of birth editPlaces of birth given by respondents to the 2001 and 2011 censuses were as follows Country of birth 2001 12 2011 13 Number Number nbsp Scotland 4 410 400 87 13 4 411 884 83 32 nbsp England 408 948 8 08 459 486 8 68 nbsp Wales 16 623 0 33 17 381 0 33 nbsp Northern Ireland 33 528 0 66 36 655 0 69 nbsp United Kingdom UK part not specified 941 0 02 nbsp Ireland 21 774 0 43 22 952 0 43 Total from all EU Member Countries 41 836 0 83 137 285 2 59 nbsp EU Other Member Countries joined pre 2001 59 031 1 11 nbsp EU Other Member Countries joined post 2001 78 254 1 48 Other Countries 127 926 2 53 209 760 3 96 Total 5 062 011 100 00 5 295 403 100 00 Below are the five largest overseas born groups in Scotland according to 2019 ONS estimates 14 Country of birth Estimated population 2019 nbsp Poland 80 000 nbsp India 25 000 nbsp Germany 24 000 nbsp Pakistan 23 000 nbsp Ireland 18 000 nbsp Population pyramid from 1981 to projected pyramid in 2043Age edit nbsp Population pyramid of Scotland as of 2020The age distribution based on the 2011 census was as follows 15 Age group Population of total0 4 293 000 5 535 9 270 000 5 1010 14 292 000 5 5115 19 331 000 6 2520 24 364 000 6 8725 29 346 000 6 5330 34 322 000 6 0835 39 340 000 6 4240 44 394 000 7 4445 49 411 000 7 7650 54 376 000 7 1055 59 331 000 6 2560 64 337 000 6 3565 69 262 000 4 9870 74 221 000 4 1775 79 178 000 3 3680 84 123 000 2 3285 89 71 000 1 3490 37 000 0 70Ethnicity edit nbsp Ethnic demography of Scotland 1981 2011The 1991 2001 and 2011 censuses recorded the following ethnic groups Demography of Scotland nbsp Ethnic group 1981 estimations 16 1991 17 18 2001 19 2011 20 Number Number Number Number White Total 4 908 140 99 1 4 935 933 98 74 4 960 334 97 99 5 084 407 96 02 White Scottish 4 459 071 88 09 4 445 678 83 95 White Other British 373 685 7 38 417 109 7 88 White Irish 49 428 0 98 54 090 1 02 White Gypsy Traveller note 1 4 212 0 08 White Polish note 1 61 201 1 16 White Other 78 150 1 54 102 117 1 93 Asian Asian Scottish or Asian British Total 42 852 0 86 71 317 1 41 140 678 2 66 Asian Asian Scottish or Asian British Indian 10 050 0 20 15 037 0 30 32 706 0 62 Asian Asian Scottish or Asian British Pakistani 21 192 0 42 31 793 0 63 49 381 0 93 Asian Asian Scottish or Asian British Bangladeshi 1 134 0 02 1 981 0 04 3 788 0 07 Asian Asian Scottish or Asian British Chinese 10 476 0 21 16 310 0 32 33 706 0 64 Asian Asian Scottish or Asian British Asian Other 4 604 0 09 6 196 0 12 21 097 0 40 Black Black Scottish or Black British note 2 3 707 0 07 6 247 0 12 African Total 29 638 0 56 African African African Scottish or African British 29 186 0 55 African Other African 452 0 01 Caribbean or Black Total 6 540 0 12 Caribbean 3 430 0 06 Black 2 380 0 04 Caribbean or Black Other 730 0 01 Mixed or multiple ethnic groups Total 12 764 0 25 19 815 0 37 Other Total 8 825 0 18 9 571 0 19 14 325 0 27 Other Arab note 1 9 366 0 18 Other Any other ethnic group 9 571 0 19 4 959 0 09 Ethnic minority Total 46 188 0 9 55 384 1 1 106 146 2 210 996 4 Total 4 954 328 100 4 998 567 100 00 5 062 011 100 00 5 295 403 100 00 a b c New category created for the 2011 census Category restructured for the 2011 census Ethnicity of school pupils edit Ethnic group School year 21 2004 2008 2012 2016 2021Population Population Population Population Population White Total 671 029 92 7 633 230 92 9 622 722 92 8 624 363 91 3 624 821 88 7 White Scottish 663 007 91 7 618 829 90 8 579 136 86 3 555 476 81 1 537 004 76 2 White Other British 21 163 3 1 34 580 5 44 842 6 4 White Irish 1 499 0 2 White Polish 16 790 2 4 White Traveller Gypsy 864 1 121 1 435 0 2 White Other 8 022 14 401 21 559 33 186 23 251 3 3 Asian or Asian British Total 15 053 2 1 18 213 2 7 21 955 3 3 26 660 3 9 33 161 4 8 Asian or Asian British Indian 2 163 2 825 3 930 5 378 7 442 1 1 Asian or Asian British Pakistani 8 683 9 850 11 430 12 980 14 771 2 1 Asian or Asian British Bangladeshi 473 541 714 908 1 359 0 2 Asian or Asian British Chinese 2 202 2 248 2 637 3 707 4 922 0 7 Asian or Asian British Asian Other 1 532 2 749 3 244 3 687 4 667 0 7 African Total 1 529 0 2 2 815 0 4 4 257 0 6 6 555 0 9 10 295 1 4 African African African Scottish or African British 6 556 0 9 African Other African 3 739 0 5 Caribbean or Black Total 595 586 708 0 1 1 033 0 1 1 429 0 2 Caribbean Black Scottish 105 126 930 0 1 Caribbean or Black Other 490 460 499 0 1 Mixed Total 4 814 0 6 6 146 0 9 6 956 1 8 408 1 2 11 533 1 6 Other Total 2 500 0 3 3 005 0 4 3 034 0 4 5 250 0 7 8 608 1 2Other Any other ethnic group 2 346 3 118 4 523 0 6 Other Arab 688 2 132 4 085 0 6 Unknown or not stated 27 074 3 7 16 467 2 4 11 330 1 7 11 939 1 7 14 876 2 1 Total 723 175 100 681 277 100 670 962 100 684 208 100 704 723 100 National identity edit nbsp Map showing the percentage of the population that identifies itself as Scottish only according to the 2011 census nbsp Map showing the percentage of the population that identifies itself as Scottish and British and British only according to the 2011 census A question on national identity was asked in the 2011 census what do you feel is your national identity 22 Respondents could identify themselves as having more than one national identity In the 2011 census 23 62 identified themselves as Scottish only 18 identified themselves as Scottish and British 8 identified themselves as British only 2 identified themselves as Scottish together with other non British identity 10 identified themselves with other national ethnic identities only neither Scottish nor British The council areas with at least 90 of the population stating some Scottish national identity were North Lanarkshire Inverclyde East Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire The lowest proportions of people stating some Scottish national identity were in Edinburgh 70 and Aberdeen 75 24 The council areas with the highest proportions of people stating British as their only national identity were Argyll and Bute and Shetland each with 12 24 Below is a table of national identity sorted by council area based on the results of the 2011 census Council area Scottish only Scottish and British only British only Other UK identities Scottish and any other identities Other onlyAberdeen City 54 7 17 7 8 3 4 7 2 5 12 1 Aberdeenshire 61 3 17 7 9 0 6 7 1 9 3 6 Angus 66 8 17 8 7 2 4 4 1 6 2 2 Argyll and Bute 57 4 17 2 11 6 8 9 2 4 2 4 Clackmannanshire 67 0 17 6 7 4 4 3 1 6 2 1 Dumfries and Galloway 59 6 16 7 10 1 9 7 2 0 1 8 Dundee City 65 5 16 6 6 5 3 6 1 8 6 1 East Ayrshire 70 6 18 7 5 7 2 9 1 2 0 9 East Dunbartonshire 60 2 24 7 8 7 2 7 1 9 1 8 East Lothian 62 6 18 9 8 6 4 6 2 0 3 0 East Renfrewshire 59 0 25 6 9 4 2 4 1 9 1 8 Edinburgh City of 48 8 18 5 11 4 6 7 3 2 11 4 Na h Eileanan Siar 69 2 14 3 8 1 5 4 1 5 1 4 Falkirk 68 0 19 7 6 3 2 7 1 3 2 0 Fife 63 8 18 2 7 9 5 1 1 8 3 2 Glasgow City 61 9 16 1 8 6 2 9 2 2 8 3 Highland 61 5 15 2 10 2 7 6 2 3 3 3 Inverclyde 69 9 19 7 6 3 1 9 1 1 1 1 Midlothian 68 3 18 2 6 8 3 2 1 5 2 0 Moray 58 4 15 9 10 9 10 0 2 1 2 7 North Ayrshire 68 2 19 4 6 8 3 2 1 3 1 1 North Lanarkshire 71 6 18 1 5 9 1 5 1 2 1 7 Orkney 62 4 13 8 10 8 9 8 1 6 1 6 Perth and Kinross 59 0 18 9 9 5 6 0 2 3 4 3 Renfrewshire 65 9 21 0 7 3 2 0 1 3 2 6 Scottish Borders 57 7 16 9 10 7 9 2 2 6 2 9 Shetland 59 9 15 7 11 6 7 6 1 8 3 4 South Ayrshire 63 9 21 0 7 6 4 3 1 6 1 6 South Lanarkshire 67 2 20 5 6 9 2 3 1 3 1 8 Stirling 57 5 20 0 9 6 5 8 2 5 4 6 West Dunbartonshire 72 0 17 3 6 0 2 0 1 1 1 5 West Lothian 65 2 18 8 7 6 3 4 1 6 3 4 Religion editMain article Religion in Scotland nbsp Percentage claiming to be Roman Catholic in the 2011 census in ScotlandThe statistics from the 2011 census and the 2001 census are set out below Current religion 2001 25 2011 26 Number Number Church of Scotland 2 146 251 42 4 1 717 871 32 4Roman Catholic 803 732 15 9 841 053 15 9Other Christian 344 562 6 8 291 275 5 5Total Christian 3 294 545 65 1 2 850 199 53 8Islam 42 557 0 8 76 737 1 4Hinduism 5 564 0 1 16 379 0 3Buddhism 6 830 0 1 12 795 0 2Sikhism 6 572 0 1 9 055 0 2Judaism 6 448 0 1 5 887 0 1Other religion 26 974 0 5 15 196 0 3No religion 1 394 460 27 6 1 941 116 36 7Religion not stated 278 061 5 5 368 039 7 0No religion not stated total 1 672 521 33 0 2 309 155 43 6Total population 5 062 011 100 0 5 295 403 100 0Languages editMain article Languages of Scotland English is by far the most commonly spoken language in Scotland Two regional languages of Scotland Scottish Gaelic and Modern Scots are protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages Abilities in these languages for those aged three and above were recorded in the UK census 2011 as follows 27 Ability Scottish Gaelic ScotsUsual residents aged 3 Proportion Usual residents aged 3 ProportionNo skills 5 031 167 98 30 3 188 779 62 30 Has some ability 87 056 1 70 1 929 444 37 70 Can speak 57 602 1 13 1 541 693 30 12 Speaks reads and writes 32 191 0 63 1 225 622 23 95 Understands but does not speak read or write 23 357 0 46 267 412 5 22 Speaks but does not read or write 18 966 0 37 179 295 3 50 Speaks and reads but does not write 6 218 0 12 132 709 2 59 Reads but does not speak or write 4 646 0 09 107 025 2 09 Other combination of skills 1 678 0 03 17 381 0 34 Total 5 118 223 100 00 5 118 223 100 00 Distribution of those who stated they could speak a regional language in the 2011 census nbsp Scottish Gaelic nbsp Scots Over 170 languages are spoken in Scotland The 4 most commonly spoken non English languages at home by people aged 3 and over are Scots 55 817 Polish 54 186 Chinese 27 381 and Urdu 23 394 28 Historical demography editMain article Historical demography of Scotland nbsp Stone houses at Knap of Howar evidence of a settled agricultural population and the beginnings of demographic growth c 3500 BCAt times during the last interglacial period 130 000 70 000 BC Europe had a climate warmer than today s and early humans may have made their way to what is now Scotland though archaeologists have found no traces of this Glaciers then scoured their way across most of Britain and only after the ice retreated did Scotland again become habitable around 9600 BC 29 Mesolithic hunter gatherer encampments formed the first known settlements and archaeologists have dated a site near Biggar to around 8500 BC 30 Numerous other sites found around Scotland build up a picture of highly mobile boat using people making tools from bone stone and antlers probably with a very low density of population 31 Neolithic farming brought permanent settlements such as the stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray dating from 3500 BC and greater concentrations of population Extensive analyses of Black Loch in Fife indicate that arable land spread at the expense of forest from about 2000 BC until the period of the first century AD Roman advance into lowland Scotland suggesting an expanding settled population Thereafter there was re growth of birch oak and hazel for a period of five centuries suggesting that the Roman invasions had a negative impact on the native population 32 There are almost no written sources from which to re construct the demography of early medieval Scotland Estimates have been made of a population of 10 000 inhabitants in Dal Riata and 80 100 000 for Pictland which was probably the largest region 33 This does not include figures for parts of Northumbria now in Scotland It is likely that the 5th and 6th centuries saw higher mortality rates due to the appearance of bubonic plague which may have reduced net population 34 The examination of burial sites for this period like that at Hallowhill St Andrews indicate a life expectancy of only 26 29 33 The known conditions have been taken to suggest it was a high fertility high mortality society similar to many developing countries in the modern world with a relatively young demographic profile and perhaps early childbearing and large numbers of children for women This would have meant that there were a relatively small proportion of available workers to the number of mouths to feed This would have made it difficult to produce a surplus that would allow demographic growth and more complex societies to develop 35 From the formation of the kingdom of Alba in the tenth century to before the Black Death reached the country in 1349 estimates based on the amount of farmable land suggest that population may have grown from half a million to a million 36 Although there is no reliable documentation on the impact of the plague there are many anecdotal references to abandoned land in the following decades If the pattern followed that in England then the population may have fallen to as low as half a million by the end of the 15th century 37 Compared with the situation after the redistribution of population in the later clearances and the industrial revolution these numbers would have been relatively evenly spread over the kingdom with roughly half living north of the Tay 38 Perhaps ten per cent of the population lived in one of many burghs that grew up in the later medieval period mainly in the east and south It has been suggested that they would have had a mean population of about 2 000 but many would be much smaller than 1 000 and the largest Edinburgh probably had a population of over 10 000 by the end of the era 39 nbsp Graph showing the population of Scotland 1900 2001 Source General Register Office for Scotland Birth and Mortality statistics from 1900Calculations based on Hearth Tax returns for 1691 indicate a population of 1 234 575 but this figure may have been seriously affected by the famines of the 1690s The first reliable information is a census conducted by the Reverend Alexander Webster in 1755 which shows the inhabitants of Scotland as 1 265 380 40 By the time of the first decadal census in 1801 the population was 1 608 420 Scotland grew steadily in the 19th century to 2 889 000 in 1851 and 4 472 000 in 1901 41 Even with the growth of industry there were insufficient good jobs as a result during the period 1841 1931 about 2 million Scots emigrated to North America and Australia and another 750 000 Scots relocated to England 42 With a population of 4 8 million in 1911 Scotland sent 690 000 men to First World War of whom 74 000 died in combat or from disease and 150 000 were seriously wounded 43 44 Thus although Scots were only 10 percent of the British population they made up 15 per cent of the national armed forces and eventually accounted for 20 per cent of the dead 45 While emigration began to tail off in England and Wales after the First World War 46 it continued apace in Scotland with 400 000 Scots ten per cent of the population estimated to have left the country between 1921 and 1931 47 When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s there were no easily available jobs in the US and Canada and emigration fell to less than 50 000 a year bringing to an end the period of mass migrations that had opened in the mid 18th century 48 This contributed to the growth of the population which reached a peak of 5 240 800 in 1974 Thereafter it began to fall slowly moving down to 5 062 940 in 2000 There was also a decrease in some urban populations as a result of policies of slum clearance overspill and relocation to new towns with the population of Glasgow falling from over a million in 1951 to 629 000 in 2001 Rural areas also saw a loss of population particularly the Highlands and Hebrides 49 Population change edit nbsp People on Buchanan Street in Glasgow Scotland s population is getting older as many baby boomers approach retirement Scotland s population grew most years between the first census in 1855 up to around 5 2 million in 1974 50 However from 1974 to 2000 there was a natural decrease in population with both an excess of deaths over births and of emigration over immigration particularly to the rest of the United Kingdom Since 2000 the population has increased most years and is projected to peak in 2028 at 5 48 million and thereafter decline to 5 39 million in 2045 51 52 Fertility and morbidity rates edit Both the Scottish Government and leading academics in Scotland had expressed some concern over the historic falling annual number of births in Scotland 53 There were 49 863 live births registered in 2019 the lowest count since records began in 1855 54 In 2004 for example there were 4 012 more deaths than births although for the subsequent five years this process had been reversed with 4 342 more births than deaths in 2008 The long term reversal in the declining birth rate of the 1990s was confirmed in 2009 when the Registrar General for Scotland reported that with 60 000 births recorded in 2008 this was the highest recorded fertility rate since 1995 55 The population of children under age 5 grew by 6 293 000 over the ten year period between 2001 and 2011 However the number of children aged 5 14 fell by 11 69 000 The population of people over 65 also grew by 11 85 000 and they now represent 17 of the total population and for the first time there are more people over 65 than under 15 years of age Significantly in 2011 there were 230 000 people over 80 years of age 56 Fertility statistics nbsp Live births per 1 000 women by age grouping in Scotland nbsp Live births per 1 000 women in single year ages in Scotland nbsp Stillbirth rate in Scotland over timeMigration edit Politicians and academics also noted that in the first years of the 21st century the previous trend of a net migration away from Scotland had reversed with significant immigration to Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom Between 2001 and 2011 Scotland s population grew by 5 233 000 the fastest rate of growth for at least 100 years 56 Similarly since 2004 there had also been a growing influx of arrivals from the new EU accession states such as Poland Czech Republic Lithuania and Latvia contributing to the recent growth of the population Consequently since 2002 the birth rate gradually increased with 53 957 births recorded in 2004 and in 2008 the number of live births was 60 041 57 The Scottish Government has responded to these demographic trends by setting up the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme open to foreign non EU graduates from Scotland s universities allowing them a two year residency period after graduation 58 Population projections edit In its 2011 review the GROS predicted that Scotland s population would rise by 10 to 5 76 million by 2035 and to 6 2m by 2085 Until 2028 both net inward migration and the birth rate exceeding the death rate would contribute to this growth however beyond this date population increase would be due only to a positive net migration as the aging population would result in more deaths than births This later trend would be dramatic with the number of children under 16 projected to rise by only 3 while the number of people over 65 is projected to increase by 63 from 0 88m to 1 43m 3 In its 2022 annual population review the National Records of Scotland projected that the Scottish population would continue to rise until 2028 peaking at 5 48 million and would then fall by 1 8 by 2045 to 5 39 million 59 Council area population estimates editFurther information Subdivisions of Scotland Scotland council area population estimates 2001 2022 4 60 61 Local council area Population 2001 Population 2011 change 2001 11 Population 2022 change 2011 22 Aberdeen City 212 125 222 800 5 0 224 000 0 5Aberdeenshire 226 871 253 000 11 5 263 900 4 3Angus 108 400 116 000 7 0 114 400 1 4Argyll and Bute 91 306 88 200 3 4 86 000 2 5Clackmannanshire 48 077 51 400 7 0 51 800 0 8Dumfries and Galloway 147 765 151 300 2 4 145 900 3 6Dundee City 145 663 147 300 1 1 148 100 1 7East Ayrshire 120 235 122 700 2 1 120 300 2East Dunbartonshire 108 243 105 000 3 0 109 000 3 8East Lothian 90 088 99 700 10 7 112 300 12 6East Renfrewshire 89 311 90 600 1 4 96 800 6 8City of Edinburgh 448 624 476 600 6 2 512 700 7 6Na h Eileanan Siar 26 502 27 700 4 5 26 200 5 4Falkirk 145 191 156 000 7 4 158 400 1 5Fife 349 429 365 200 4 5 370 400 1 4Glasgow City 577 869 593 200 2 7 620 700 4 6Highland 208 914 232 100 11 1 235 400 1 4Inverclyde 84 203 81 500 3 2 78 400 3 8Midlothian 80 941 83 200 2 8 96 600 16 1Moray 86 940 93 300 7 3 93 400 0 1North Ayrshire 135 817 138 200 1 7 133 400 3 4North Lanarkshire 321 067 337 800 5 2 341 000 0 9Orkney Islands 19 245 21 400 10 9 22 000 2 8Perth and Kinross 134 949 146 700 8 7 150 800 2 8Renfrewshire 172 867 174 900 1 2 183 800 5 1Scottish Borders 106 764 113 900 6 7 116 900 2 6Shetland Islands 21 988 23 200 5 3 22 900 1 3South Ayrshire 112 097 112 800 0 6 111 600 1 1South Lanarkshire 302 216 313 800 3 8 327 200 4 3Stirling 86 212 90 200 4 7 92 600 2 7West Dunbartonshire 93 378 90 700 2 8 88 400 2 5West Lothian 158 714 175 100 10 3 181 300 3 5Other statistics editSex ratio at birth 1 04 male s female under 15 years 1 04 male s female 15 64 years 0 94 male s female 65 years and over 0 88 male s female total population 0 94 male s female Mid 2011 est Infant mortality rate 4 1 deaths 1 000 live births 2011 est 62 Life expectancy at birth 2011 3 total population 78 4 years for those born in 2010 cf 72 2 in 1981 male 76 1 years for those born in 2010 cf 69 1 in 1981 female 80 6 years for those born in 2010 cf 75 3 in 1981 General fertility rate 3 The general Fertility Rate GFR is based on the rate of births per 1000 females of child bearing age i e 15 44 years of age In 2011 it was 56 4 births per 1000 women For comparison during the latter part of the 20th century it was at its highest during the baby boom of the 1960s The GFR reached a peak of 99 5 births per 1000 women in 1962 In 2001 the GFR had fallen to its lowest post World War II level of 50 births per 1000 women Languages English Scots including Doric Central and Border and GaelicMarriages 3 In 2011 there were 29 135 marriages in Scotland This is a 2 3 increase on 2010 By way of historical comparison the highest ever recorded was 53 522 in 1940 In the 1970s there were on average between 40 and 45 000 marriages per annum The lowest annual figure in recent years was 27 524 in 2009 and lowest on record was 19 655 in 1858 Of specific interest were the number of so called tourist marriages where neither partner was resident in Scotland In 2011 there were 6 829 such marriages of which 48 took place at Gretna the most popular of all wedding venues Civil partnerships 3 The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force in December 2005 In 2006 the number of civil partnership registrations was 1 047 A one off figure given the number of long standing relationships which already existed which could be registered Since then the number of ceremonies each year fell from 688 in 2007 to 465 registrations in 2010 2011 saw the first increase since 2006 with 554 registrations Literacy definition age 15 and over can read and write total population 99 male 99 female 99 2005 est Higher education 95 of Scottish higher education students study in universities in Scotland See also editDemography of the United Kingdom Demography of England Demography of Wales Demography of Northern Ireland Demography of Glasgow Politics of Scotland Scottish people New Scots Fresh Talent Initiative Population United Kingdom Census 2001 Italian Scots Irish Scottish people List of census localities in ScotlandReferences edit a b United Kingdom census 2011 Table 1 Census Day population estimates 1911 2011 National Records of Scotland Retrieved 13 April 2021 Census Records 1841 to 1911 National Records of Scotland 31 May 2013 Retrieved 20 February 2018 a b c d e f The Registrar General s Annual Review of Demographic Trends 157th Edition 2011 Archived 2013 06 05 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 10 February 2013 a b United Kingdom census 2011 Table 2 Census Day population estimates by age 1911 2011 National Records of Scotland Retrieved 13 April 2021 National Records of Scotland Scottish Government news release retrieved 10 February 2013 Genuki UK and Ireland Genealogy Accessed 11 February 2013 Webster s Scottish Population Statistics of 1751 edited updated and reprinted by James Grey Kyd in 1951 Archived 2012 01 22 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 11 February 2013 A H Halsey 1972 Trends in British Society since 1900 Palgrave MacMillan ISBN 978 1 349 00780 6 Scotland s Census 2022 Rounded population estimates Scotland s Census Retrieved 2023 12 01 Monthly Data on Births and Deaths Registered in Scotland National Records of Scotland 31 May 2013 Retrieved 26 October 2023 Mid 2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland National Records of Scotland 31 March 2022 Retrieved 31 March 2022 2001 Census for Scotland scrol analyser Archived 2014 09 24 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 6 September 2014 United Kingdom census 2011 Table KS204SC Country of birth PDF National Records of Scotland Retrieved 13 April 2021 Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality Office for National Stinkers www ons gov uk Retrieved 2020 09 01 United Kingdom census 2011 2011 Census Day usual resident population estimates by five year age group and sex Scotland National Records of Scotland Retrieved 13 April 2021 Equality Commission for Racial 1985 Ethnic minorities in Britain statistical information on the pattern of settlement Commission for Racial Equality Table 3 As UK Census data past 2001 is unavailable through the ONS website it has been recommended to use archival census collection websites to obtain data Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for Scotland Table 6 Office of Population Censuses and Surveys General Register Office for Scotland Registrar General for Northern Ireland 1997 1991 Census aggregate data UK Data Service Edition 1997 DOI http dx doi org 10 5257 census aggregate 1991 1 This information is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census Summary Report Retrieved 6 September 2014 United Kingdom census 2011 Table KS201SC Ethnic group PDF National Records of Scotland Archived from the original PDF on 4 July 2018 Pupil census supplementary statistics www gov scot Retrieved 2022 11 04 Questionnaire used in Scotland s 2011 census PDF National Records of Scotland p 9 Retrieved 1 September 2020 What do you feel is your national identity Census 2011 Detailed characteristics on Ethnicity Identity Language and Religion in Scotland Release 3A 27 February 2014 Retrieved 20 February 2016 a b Scotland s Census 2011 Analysis National Identity Retrieved 22 September 2014 Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census The Scottish Government 17 May 2006 Archived from the original on 7 June 2011 United Kingdom census 2011 Table KS209SCb Religion PDF National Records of Scotland Retrieved 13 April 2021 United Kingdom census 2011 Table KS206SC Language PDF National Records of Scotland Retrieved 13 April 2021 United Kingdom census 2011 Table AT 002 2011 Language used at home other than English detailed Scotland National Records of Scotland Retrieved 13 April 2021 F Pryor Britain B C life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans London Harper Collins 2003 p 99 Signs of Earliest Scots Unearthed BBC News 2009 04 09 Retrieved 2009 07 15 P J Ashmore Neolithic and Bronze Age Scotland An authoritative and Lively Account of an Enigmatic Period of Scottish Prehistory 2003 T C Smout R MacDonald and F Watson A History of the Native Woodlands of Scotland 1500 1920 Edinburgh University Press ISBN 9780748632947 p 34 a b L R Laing The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland c AD 400 1200 Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2006 ISBN 0521547407 pp 21 22 P Fouracre and R McKitterick eds The New Cambridge Medieval History c 500 c 700 Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2005 ISBN 0521362911 p 234 A Woolf From Pictland to Alba 789 1070 Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press 2007 ISBN 0748612343 pp 17 20 R E Tyson Population Patterns in M Lynch ed The Oxford Companion to Scottish History New York 2001 pp 487 88 S H Rigby ed A Companion to Britain in the Later Middle Ages Oxford Wiley Blackwell 2003 ISBN 0631217851 pp 109 11 J Wormald Court Kirk and Community Scotland 1470 1625 Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press 1991 ISBN 0748602763 p 61 E Gemmill and N J Mayhew Changing Values in Medieval Scotland a Study of Prices Money and Weights and Measures Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1995 ISBN 0521473853 pp 8 10 K J Cullen Famine in Scotland The Ill Years of The 1690s Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press 2010 ISBN 0748638873 pp 123 24 A K Cairncross The Scottish Economy A Statistical Account of Scottish Life by Members of the Staff of Glasgow University Glasgow Glasgow University Press 1953 p 10 R A Houston and W W Knox eds The New Penguin History of Scotland London Penguin 2001 ISBN 0140263675 p xxxii I F W Beckett and K R Simpson eds A Nation in Arms a Social Study of the British Army in the First World War Manchester Manchester University Press 1985 ISBN 0719017378 p 11 R A Houston and W W Knox eds The New Penguin History of Scotland London Penguin 2001 ISBN 0140263675 p 426 J Buchanan Scotland Langenscheidt 3rd edn 2003 p 49 F M L Thompson The Cambridge Social History of Britain 1750 1950 People and Their Environment Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1990 ISBN 0521438136 pp 9 10 J Buchanan Scotland Langenscheidt 3rd edn 2003 p 51 S M Millett The Scottish Settlers of America the 17th and 18th Centuries Genealogical Publishing Com 2009 p 64 C G Brown Charting everyday experience in L Abrams and C G Brown A History of Everyday Life in Twentieth Century Scotland Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press 2010 ISBN 0748624317 p 20 Population Estimates Time Series Data 31 May 2013 Retrieved 2020 09 01 Projected Population of Scotland 2018 based 31 May 2013 Retrieved 2020 09 01 Scotland s population forecast to go into decline BBC News 31 August 2022 Migration helping Scotland prosper Scottish Government p 4 Retrieved 1 September 2020 Migration to Scotland supports economic growth and the delivery of public services It helps to address the serious issue of long term demographic change and enhances and sustains our communities All of our future population growth is projected to come from migration and any reduction in migration whether that s from the rest of the UK the EU or internationally will impact on the size of our working age population Vital Events Reference Tables 2019 National Records of Scotland 23 June 2020 p 7 Retrieved 1 September 2020 Births have been falling over the long term and fell to their lowest point in 2002 before increasing to reach a recent high point of 60 041 in 2008 and have decreased steadily since then Press Release Births Increase for the Sixth Consecutive Year Archived 2012 10 28 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 9 February 2013 a b Press Release First Results of Scotland s 2011 Census Accessed 9 February 2013 McGinty Stephen 28 April 2005 Scotland s population swelled by largest immigration in 50 years The Scotsman Archived from the original on 3 October 2005 www scotland gov uk https web archive org web 20050416004208 http www scotland gov uk Topics Government Promoting Scotland 18738 14640 Archived from the original on April 16 2005 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help Scotland s Population 2021 United Kingdom census 2011 Table 2 Census day usually resident population by council area 2001 and 2011 PDF National Records of Scotland Retrieved 22 March 2013 Table 1 Scotland s Census 2022 Usual resident population by sex council areas Scotland National Records of Scotland 2022 Retrieved 4 November 2023 Table 4 2 Stillbirth 1 perinatal neonatal postneonatal and infant death rates Scotland 1946 to 2011 PDF General Register Office for Scotland Archived from the original PDF on 5 June 2013 Retrieved 4 March 2013 External links editNational Records of Scotland Scotland s People the official government source of genealogical data for Scotland Scottish Government Government Actuary s Department Scotland s Census Results Online Scrol Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Demography of Scotland amp oldid 1191159075, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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