Social Focus on Urban Rural Scotland 2003

chapter two: Population and Housing

The Registrar General's findings from the 2001 Census, which was held on 29 April 2001, indicate that Scotland's population is declining. The results also show that the distribution of population within Scotland is changing. In general, the larger urban areas (except Edinburgh) are declining in population, and many areas around the bigger cities and some rural areas are increasing in population.

The Scottish Executive have stressed the importance of reversing Scotland's declining population and encouraging skilled and talented people to make Scotland their home.

This chapter gives a breakdown of key results from the 2001 Census by urban, remote and rural areas of Scotland. The chapter covers Scotland's population and households, the age structure and the minority ethnic make up of the population within urban, remote and rural areas. The Census results were commissioned from the General Register Office for Scotland, and were produced by mapping Census output areas on to the Scottish Household Survey urban rural classification.

These results have been supplemented with information on Scotland's housing and tenure from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS).

The analysis reveals differences in the age structure between the different area types. In particular, it shows an older population in the remote areas of Scotland, and a higher proportion of younger people in large urban areas.

It is hoped that this demographic information will help to set the scene for the following chapters.

Population age and sex

Of Scotland's Census Day population of 5,062,011, close to 2 million people live in large urban areas, and over 4.1 million people (81.3 per cent) live in large urban areas, other urban areas, accessible small towns, and remote small towns combined.

In terms of accessible and remote areas, 4,646,858 people (91.8 per cent) live within a 30 minute drive of a settlement of 10,000 or more.

Table 2.1: Population by sex, 2001 Census
Numbers, Percentages, Sex Ratio
Area	All People	All People	Male	Female	Sex Ratio (Number of males for every 100 females)
Area	Number	Percentage	Number	Number
Large Urban Areas	1,972,466	39.0	937,841	1,034,625	91
Other Urban Areas	1,483,478	29.3	709,220	774,258	92
Accessible Small Towns	527,748	10.4	253,625	274,123	93
Remote Small Towns	133,615	2.6	63,609	70,006	91
Accessible Rural	663,166	13.1	328,816	334,350	98
Remote Rural	281,538	5.6	139,383	142,155	98
Urban	4,117,307	81.3	1,964,295	2,153,012	91
Rural	944,704	18.7	468,199	476,505	98
Accessible Areas	4,646,858	91.8	2,229,502	2,417,356	92
Remote Areas	415,153	8.2	202,992	212,161	95
Scotland	5,062,011	100.00	2,432,494	2,629,517	93

Source: General Register Office for Scotland

The 2001 Census shows that Scotland's population is ageing (and is projected to continue ageing) with higher proportions in the older age groups and smaller proportions in the younger age groups. In 2001, some 36 per cent of people were aged under 30. The corresponding figure from the previous Census in 1991 was 41 per cent. Conversely, the older age groups all increased as a proportion of the whole population (with the exception of the small 60-64 age group, who comprised 5 per cent of the population in both Censuses).

In Scotland, almost 950,000 people (19 per cent) are of pensionable age. There are differences between urban, rural and remote areas, with older populations in remote areas. In remote small towns and remote rural areas some 22 per cent of people are of pensionable age compared to some 18 to 19 per cent in other areas.

Chart 2.3 expands on the information provided in Table 2.2 and gives the percentage of the population within 5-year age groups for each area type. The older population in remote areas can clearly be seen.

Table 2.2: Working age, pensionable age and children, 2001 Census
Numbers, Percentages
Area	People of Working Age		People of Pensionable Age		Children aged 15 and Under
Area	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Large Urban Areas	1,251,012	63.4	364,011	18.5	357,443	18.1
Other Urban Areas	918,991	61.9	270,073	18.2	294,414	19.8
Accessible Small Towns	321,456	60.9	98,585	18.7	107,707	20.4
Remote Small Towns	77,628	58.1	29,759	22.3	26,228	19.6
Accessible Rural	412,421	62.2	118,693	17.9	132,052	19.9
Remote Rural	166,456	59.1	60,861	21.6	54,221	19.3
Scotland	3,147,964	62.2	941,982	18.6	972,065	19.2

Source: General Register Office for Scotland Note: Pensionable age refers to men aged 65 and over and to women aged 60 and over

Chart 2.3: Age distribution, 2001 Census

Percentages

chart

Source: General Register Office for Scotland

It can also be seen that younger people (20-29 age group) make up a larger proportion of the population in large urban areas compared to any other area type. The proportion of students in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow goes some way towards explaining this difference.

To analyse the gender make-up of urban and rural Scotland it is helpful to make use of the sex ratio - an indicator that shows the number of males per 100 females. Overall in Scotland there are 93 males for every 100 females, this is not surprising since female life expectancy is higher than that for males. However, there are differences between the sex ratios for urban and rural Scotland. The number of males per 100 females rises from 91 in large urban areas to 98 in rural areas. In the main this difference results from higher proportions of males in the over sixties age groups in rural areas (no table).

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