Scottish Government

Summary: Demographics

Age

• The estimated population of Scotland on 30 June 2011 was 5,254,800 with 17% of people estimated to be aged under 16, 66% aged 16 to 64 and 17% aged 65 and over. These porportions are consistent with the previous year.

 

• Current projections suggest that the population of Scotland will rise to 5.76 milion by 2035 and that the population will age significantly, with the number of people aged 65 and over increasing by 63%, from 0.88 million to 1.43 million.

Source: Scotland's Population 2011 (Published in The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends)

 

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Age Demographics page

Age Page

Disability

• In 2001 1,027,872 people had a limiting long-term illness.

Source: 2001 Census, Table UV22

 

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Disability Demographics Page

Disability Page

Ethnicity

• Population information on Scotland’s ethnic groups is collected in the Annual Population Survey. The ethnicity question for Scotland was changed in the Labour Force Survey from April 2011 to bring it in line with the 2011 Scottish Census data collection.

• The size of the ethnic minority population in 2011 was 192,900 or 3.7% of the total population of Scotland.

• Asian or Asian Scottish/British were the largest ethnic minority group at 2.1% of the population of Scotland, followed by Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups (0.5%), Other ethnic group (0.5%), African (0.4%), Arab (0.1%) and those of Caribbean or Black (0.1%) ethnicity.

 Source: Annual Population Survey (Jan to Dec) Table S4.3

 

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Ethnicity Demographics Page

Ethnicity Page

Gender

• In 2011, 52% of Scotland's population were female and 48% were male. This proportion has not changed much since 1947.

 

• Life expectancy has improved in Scotland, increasing from 69.1 for men and 75.3 for women born around 1981 to 76.1 for men and 80.6 for women born around 2009.

Source: Scotland's Population 2011 (The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends)

 

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Gender Demographics Page

Gender Page

Religion

• Population information on Scotland's religious groups is collected in Scotland's Census. In 2001 just over two thirds (67%) of the Scottish population reported currently having a religion. More than six out of ten people said that their religion was Christian (65%): 42% Church of Scotland, 16% Roman Catholics and 7% Other Christian.

 

• After Christianity, Islam was the most common faith with 42.6 thousand people in Scotland describing their religion as Muslim. This is followed by people from Other religions (27 thousand), Buddhists (6.8 thousand), Sikhs (6.6 thousand), Jews (6.4 thousand) and Hindus (5.6 thousand). These groups each accounted for less than 1% of the Scottish population. Even with these groups added together they still account for less than 2% of the overall population.

Source: Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census: Summary Report (2005)

 

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Religion Demographics Page

Religion Page

Sexual Orientation

• The Civil Partnership Act 2004, which applies throughout the UK and came into force on 5 December 2005, allows same-sex couples to register their partnership. 554 civil partnerships were registered in 2011 (227 male couples and 327 female couples), compared with 465 in 2010.

Source: Scotland's Population 2011 (The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends)

 

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Sexual Orientation Demographics Page

Sexual Orientation Page

Transgender

• The Registrar General for Scotland maintains a Gender Recognition Register in which the birth of a transsexual person whose acquired gender has been legally recognised is registered showing any new name(s) and the acquired gender. This enables the transsexual person to apply to the Registrar General for Scotland for a new birth certificate showing the new name(s) and the acquired gender. In 2011, there were 24 entries in the Gender Recognition Register, 6 more entries than in 2010. The Gender Recognition Register is not open to public scrutiny.

Source: NRS Registration Division

 

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Transgender Demographics Page

Transgender Page