Non-UK population of Scotland remains broadly stable over most recent year

In the year to June 2019, 373,000 non-British nationals or 483,000 non-UK born people lived in Scotland. These figures remained broadly similar over the year, following a period of growth where the non-UK population increased after the expansion of the EU in 2004.

Of the 7% of Scotland’s population who were non-British nationals, 237,000 (64%) were EU nationals and 135,000 (36%) were non-EU nationals.

The largest sub-group of the EU national population was EU8 (Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia), with 135,000 people. Overall, the most common non-British nationality was Polish with 97,000 Polish nationals living in Scotland, accounting for over a quarter of non-British nationals. The next most common non-British nationalities after Polish were Romanian and Lithuanian (both 17,000).

Within the non-EU population, nationals of Asia (64,000) and the Rest of the World (63,000) made up similar proportions.

Detailed tables including information on the number of non-British nationals and non-UK born living in Scotland and each council area can be accessed on the NRS website.