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Information on Migration

We estimate migration for the purpose of producing population estimates for Scotland and areas within Scotland. There is no comprehensive source for estimating migration and hence it is the most difficult component of population change to measure and predict. Estimates of migration for the UK, England and Wales are available on the 'Office for National Statistics' (ONS) website, and for Northern Ireland from the 'Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency' (NISRA) website. Statisitics on immigration and emmigration are reserved to the UK Government and queries should be addressed to the 'Home Office'.

Our Current Method of Migration Estimation

Migration is derived from three key sources of data. The National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) is used to calculate moves between NHS Board areas within the UK, with migration at Council area and below estimated using anonymised data from the Community Health Index (CHI). The International Passenger Survey (IPS) provides information on moves into and out of Scotland from outside the UK. An international migrant is defined by the United Nations (UN) as someone who changes their country of residence for 12 months or more. More information on the current method of estimation of migration can be found in the 'Notes and Definitions' section of the 'Mid-2007 Population Estimates Scotland' publication.

Migration Estimates

Estimates of net migration for Scotland as well as Council and NHS Board areas can be found in the "components of change" tables in the Mid-Year Estimates publications for the respective years on this website (usually Table 4). More information is available on request. Please use the "Population Estimates and Migration" heading on our contact form.

Scotland’s Census 2001 - Statistics on Migration

More information from the 2001 Census on the characteristics of migrants is available in the occasional paper 'Scotland's Census 2001 - Statistics on Migration'. Although most of the information is provided at local authority area level, there are also analyses of migration between urban and rural areas. The paper looks at different groups of migrants, namely those who moved within Scotland, those who moved between Scotland and the rest of the UK and those who moved to Scotland from overseas.

Improving Migration Statistics

The report of the Inter-Departmental Task Force on Migration Statistics was published on 15 December 2006 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and is available from the About National Statistics and ONS section of their website.

The task force, which aimed to identify ways of improving measurement of the numbers of people taking up residence in or leaving the UK, was set up by Karen Dunnell, National Statistician and Registrar General for England & Wales. The General Register Office for Scotland represented the devolved administrations on this task force, and will work with the ONS on the implementation of the recommendations.

The key improvements in the report include

Better information on migrants collected at point of entry to the country
More comprehensive and timely information about migrants living here
Use of administrative information held by Government Departments to improve coverage of migrants in statistics
Better statistical techniques bringing together the wider range of information to provide robust indicators.