Scotland has kept official records of births, deaths and marriages since 1855, when registration became free and compulsory under the registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1854.
Since then, the Registrar General has produced an annual report summarising the year’s registrations.
In 2001, the annual report was redesigned to make it shorter, easier to read and more visual, with added commentary and charts.
From the 2025 report onwards, published on 25 August 2026, the Registrar General’s annual report has been merged with the Vital Events Reference Tables. The publication is now called Adoptions, Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships in Scotland - Registrar General's Annual Statistical Tables of Vital Events, and contains the same content as the Vital Events Reference Tables did in previous years.
