The Registrar General has published the Annual Review of Demographic Trends for 2011, which shows that after nine years of continuous growth, Scotland’s population in mid-2011 reached 5,254,800 - the highest ever. These figures, based on 2001 Census data, show a rise of 190,600 people over that period.
Registrar General George MacKenzie said:
“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% 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.
“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.”