Scotland’s Population
Recent Trends
Last updated: April 2010
The latest estimate of Scotland’s population (on 30 June 2009) is 5,194,000 – the highest since 1979 and an increase of 25,500 people on the previous year. There are 140,000 more people in Scotland compared with mid-2002 when the population hit its lowest level since just after the Second World War.
The increase in Scotland’s population has been driven mostly by net in-migration although, in the last three years, there have also been more births than deaths. In the twelve months to 30 June 2009, in-migration exceeded out-migration by 21,700. This included a net gain of around 4,100 from the rest of the UK, a net gain of around 17,500 from overseas (including asylum seekers) and a net gain of 100 due to movements to and from the armed forces from the civilian population. Other changes (including changes in the prison population, and changes in the number of armed forces stationed in Scotland) amounted to a decrease of 800 people. In the same period, there were 4,585 more births than deaths (59,331 births and 54,746 deaths), the number of births having slightly risen by 91 and the number of deaths having fallen by 547 compared with the year to end June 2008.
The rise in Scotland’s population in the last seven 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 seven years.
Estimated population of Scotland, 1951-2009