Older Scots and younger migrants take population to ‘highest ever recorded’

Scotland’s population has hit record levels with an estimated 5,254,800 now living in the country.

Statistics published by the Registrar General showed that older Scots and new migrants had contributed to nine years of continuous population growth.

The population rose by 190,600 people between 2011 and mid-2011.

Registrar General George MacKenzie said: "Scotland's population has seen a continuous increase in recent years, partly because there have been more births than deaths, but mainly because more people have moved to Scotland than have left.

"This trend continued in 2011, with migration largely responsible for an increase of 0.6 per cent in the population. At 5,254,800 the population is now the highest ever recorded, 14,000 higher than the previous high in 1974.”

Mr MacKenzie said the causes of population increase were “complex”, pointing to the number of births exceeding deaths and a boost from new migrants.

He explained: "Behind this headline figure, the pattern of population change is more complex. The population in some areas of Scotland has decreased. Although births still outnumber deaths, there were fewer births than in 2010. In 2011, the number of deaths in Scotland dropped to 53,661, the lowest annual total since registration began in 1855. But life expectancy is still lower than in many other European Union countries.

"Despite this, the number of older people has increased and this has contributed to a rise in the number of households. This is likely to continue, with an anticipated increase of 63 per cent in the number of people aged 65 or over by 2035.

"In the 12 months between July 2010 and June 2011, around 43,700 people came to Scotland from the rest of the UK and a similar number from overseas. Most migrants to Scotland are young, aged between 16 and 34.”

Nearly a quarter of marriages registered in 2011 were between new migrants while the number of civil partnerships rose by 89.

Mr MacKeznie continued: "Of the 29,135 marriages registered in Scotland last year, nearly a quarter were for couples where neither the bride nor groom lived in Scotland. Just under a half of marriages were religious marriages and over a half were civil ceremonies carried out by a registrar. There were also 554 civil partnerships last year - an increase of 89 from 2010."

Glasgow City is the most populous local authority, with 598,830 residents, while the least populous is Orkney Islands, where 20,160 live.

STV has created an interactive map from the government data. Simply click on the map to find out how many people are estimated to live in each of Scotland's 32 local authority areas.

MAP: Population by local authority area (2011)

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