Scotland’s Population
Recent Trends
Last updated: September 2009
The latest estimate of Scotland’s population (on 30 June 2008) is 5,168,500 — the highest since 1981 and an increase of 24,300 people on the previous year. There are almost 114,000 more people in Scotland than in 2002, when the population hit its lowest level since just after the Second World War.
The recent increase in Scotland’s population has been driven mostly by net in-migration although, in the last two years, there have also been more births than deaths. In the twelve months to 30 June 2008, in-migration exceeded out-migration by 20,000. This included a net gain of around 11,500 from the rest of the UK and a net gain of around 7,700 from overseas (including asylum seekers). Movements to and from the armed forces showed a net gain of around 800. In the same period, there were around 3,900 more births than deaths (59,240 births and 55,290 deaths), the number of births having risen by more than 2,500 and the number of deaths having fallen by almost 400 compared to the year to end June 2007.
The rise in Scotland’s population in the last six years should be seen in the context of the relative stability of the population over the last 50 years. The population reached a peak of 5.24 million in 1974 before falling to 5.05 million in 2002 and then rising again in the last six years.
Estimated population of Scotland. 1951-2008