Scotland's Population 2019 - The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends

Last update: 6 October 2020
Next update: August 2021
Frequency: Annual

	Report (Or, view as PDF)		News Release
	Infographic		List of Data Tables

Key Points:

The Registrar General for Scotland prepares a report for Parliament each year, giving an overview of the key statistics on Scotland’s population over the year. This has been done each year since 1855. For 2019, a number of “first on record” results occurred.

These include:

• Scotland’s population was at a record high at 5.46 million.
• The lowest number of births were recorded since records began in 1855, with fewer than 50,000 registered. 
• The number of marriages registered was also at an all-time low of just over 26,000.

Other key findings show:

• Deaths have outnumbered births for the 5th consecutive year, meaning the recent population increase is due to migration.
• The number of households is growing faster than the population, with 1 in 5 people now living alone.
• Life expectancy was improving for decades, but has changed very little in the last five years.

This report was published on October 6th 2020. Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s report also provides an analysis of all deaths involving COVID-19 from March to September this year (see COVID-19 chapter), providing a summary of the spread and impact of the virus in Scotland.

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