Improvements in Migration Statistics
Last Updated: April 2016
Since the early 2000s, and especially since Eastern European Countries joined the EU in May 2004, migration has played a larger part in Scotlands demographic change than in the previous decade. So it has become more important to have high quality statistics on migration and the population, for policy development and for planning and providing public services. NRS was part of an inter-departmental effort, led by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), to improve the estimates of migration and migrant populations in the United Kingdom, both nationally and at a local level. The ONS website has more information on the Migration Statistics Improvement programme including the programmes final report.
The new information provided by the 2011 Census has allowed us to review our methodology and make improvements to elements of the rolling-forward process. Further analysis of census data, particularly relating to migration, and continuing work to incorporate new data sources, will help us to improve our methods and be confident that we continue to capture population change into the next decade and beyond.
Links
Migration estimate methodology (National Records of Scotland website)