This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census
28/02/2005
A report exploring the characteristics of each of the
religion groups in Scotland using information collected
from the 2001 Census in Scotland was published today.
Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census is an
introduction to religion and does not represent a
definitive analysis of religion. It does, however, cover
the key areas of housing, education, labour market and
health to help increase understanding of the different
religion groups living in Scotland today.
The report forms part of the Executive's ongoing work to
develop and publish detailed information for this dimension
of equality.
Main Points:
- Over a quarter (28 per cent) of people in Scotland
who answered the current religion question stated that
they had no religion. There are 65 per cent of people
who identified themselves as Christian, making this the
largest religious group. (This includes Church of
Scotland, Roman Catholic and Other Christian)The second
largest religious group is Muslim, despite accounting
for less than one per cent of the Scottish
population.
- Age Distribution - Muslims have the youngest age
profile with 31 per cent aged under 16 years.
- Geographic Distribution - The minority religion
groups tend to be concentrated in the large urban
cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Nearly half (49 per
cent) of the people of the Jewish religion live in East
Renfrewshire.
- Ethnicity - Two-thirds of Muslims (67 per cent)
consider themselves to be of Pakistani origin. 86 per
cent of Sikhs consider themselves of Indian origin, as
do 82 per cent of Hindus. The most ethnically diverse
religious group is Buddhism.
- Education - Around 2 in 5 Sikhs (42 per cent) and
Muslims (39 per cent) aged between 16 and 74 have no
qualifications. This compares with around a third (33
per cent) of all people in Scotland (aged 16-74).
- Labour Market - The Muslim unemployment rate is
highest at 13 per cent, which is nearly double the
overall unemployment rate for Scotland (seven per
cent).
- Health and Disability - Just over a quarter (26 per
cent) of males and 29 per cent of females aged 75 and
over report poor health. This varies considerably
across the religion groups, with Hindi women and Sikh
men (aged 75+) being most likely to report the worst
health, 53 per cent and 45 per cent respectively of
each group consider themselves to be in poor
health.
- Christian denominations - The Church of Scotland
and Other Christian groups have an older age profile
than Roman Catholics, with over 45 per cent and 40 per
cent respectively, aged over 50, compared to 32 per
cent of Roman Catholics. These differences in the age
profiles may impact on other comparisons and should be
considered when drawing any conclusions. A greater
proportion of Roman Catholic families have dependent
children (48 per cent); this compares with 39 per cent
of Other Christians and 36 per cent of people from the
Church of Scotland. Roman Catholics are much more
likely to live in large urban areas (54 per cent
compared to 33 per cent for Church of Scotland and 32
per cent for Other Christians).
The information presented in this report is based on the
2001 Census. Further information on Census data can be
obtained from GROS Customer Services on 0131 314 4254.
Issued by
Office of the Chief Statistician
Office of the Permanent Secretary
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG