2013

On 3 January 2014 NRS will make available around 750 government files which would previously have remained closed for 30 years.

We continue the process of releasing files up to 15 years earlier than was previously the case following Scottish Ministers' decision to reduce restrictions on 'historical' records in 2009. This January’s file release follows earlier release exercises which started in September 2009. Since that year, we have released almost 13,000 files under this government  initiative, covering the period 1979 to 1997.

The most recent files released date from 1998. They include information about  proposals for the Scotland Act, which set up a devolved Scottish Parliament following the Devolution Referendum that was held the previous year. Other files cover topics as diverse as the introduction of the ‘Higher Still’ exams, rural development in Scotland, concerns over the use of the MMR vaccine for children, and proposals to improve civil aviation, in particular transport links from Edinburgh Airport to the Scottish Parliament. Files from earlier years are also included in this year's release. They include subjects such as the privatisation of the coal and electricity industries in Scotland during the 1980s and 1990s.

The annual file releases are for ‘closed’ files which were transferred to NRS before Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation came into force in 2005. Since then, NRS has received many government files which are already open to public inspection, including files from the current release year of 1998. Details of open files can be found by searching the NRS on-line catalogue, and these files will complement many of those on the current release list.

Please note that you will need a current reader’s ticket to see files in our search room. You can see how to obtain a reader’s ticket, and what preparations to make, on our preparing to visit page.

Approximately 300 files will be available in our search room on Friday 3^rd January, with no need to pre-order. These will be made available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. The remainder are held off-site, and require to be ordered via our catalogue. Please note that we require at least one working days notice for ordered files, and that we cannot guarantee they will be available on Friday 3^rd January.

The list of files released in 2014 can be viewed in PDF or Rich Text Format. The list indicates which files will be available on Friday 3^rd January, and which require pre-ordering.

File Release List (PDF 973 KB)
File Release List (RTF 2.7 MB)

Jack and Sophie were the most popular baby names in 2013, National Records of Scotland announced today. Jack was the top boys’ name for a sixth consecutive year, and Sophie was the most popular girls’ name for the ninth year in a row. 

However, while the leading names remain the same, there have been some perhaps surprising changes among those that follow them. 

James became the second most popular boys' name for the first time in this century. From 1999 to 2012, Jack and Lewis were the top two boys’ names, with Jack at number one (and Lewis second) in ten of those 14 years, and Lewis top (and Jack second) in the other four - but, this year, James is second, and Lewis drops to third. 

Oliver rose six places to fourth, and Daniel is up one at fifth. There are two new entrants to the boys' top ten: Lucas (up 12 places to eighth) and Charlie (up two places to tenth). Logan (sixth), Alexander (seventh) and Harry (ninth) make up the rest of the boys' top ten.

Two names drop out of the boys' top ten: Ethan (down five places to twelfth) and Riley (down nine places to thirteenth), with the latter's fall in sharp contrast to its jump into the top ten in 2012.

Harris, Jacob, Noah and Thomas have moved into the boys' top twenty, with Aaron, Adam, Liam, Ryan and Tyler dropping out (the "extra" drop out is because two names were joint twentieth in 2012).

Olivia climbed two places to become the second most popular girls' name in this year’s list, just nine behind Sophie in numbers. Emily fell from second to third, and Isla rose from sixth to fourth.  

There are two new entrants to the girls' top ten: Ella (up 16 places to eighth) and Millie (up one place to tenth). Lucy, Ava and Jessica are fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, Ava having fallen from third. Amelia remains ninth.

Lily (down four places to eleventh) and Mia (down seven to seventeenth) drop out of the girls' top ten. 

There are two new entrants to the girls' top twenty (Ella and Erin), with Hannah and Holly dropping out.

National Records of Scotland registered the births of around 26,700 boys and 25,200 girls in the first 11 months of 2013. The top fifty boys’ first names accounted for 42 per cent of all those registered and the top fifty girls’ first names accounted for 40 per cent of the registrations. Jack was the first name of just 2.1 per cent of the boys, and Sophie was the first name of only 1.9 per cent of the girls.

Parents chose over 7,400 different first forenames for their children and around 4,800 of these were unique (in the first 11 months of 2013).

Big climbers within the 2013 baby name top fifty charts include:

• Lucas (up 12 places to eighth)
• Noah (up 15 places to 14th)
• Harris (up 12 places to 16th)
• Jacob (up 15 places to 20th)
• Leo (up 16 places to 23rd)
• Kai (up 14 places to 30th)
• David (up 10 places to 35th)
• Ella (up 16 places to eighth)
• Poppy (up 10 places to joint 25th)
• Lexi (up 11 places to joint 29th)
• Lacey (up 12 places to joint 29th)
• Daisy (up 11 places to joint 38th)

The full publication, Babies' First Names 2013, is available on the NRS website.

The statistics published today by the Registrar General for Scotland on the Scotland’s Census website provide estimates of the population relating to Households and Families and Method of Travel to Work or Study in Scotland at all levels of geography from national level down to output area.

Accommodation type

• In 2011, just over one third (34 per cent, 811,000) of households in Scotland were living in purpose-built blocks of flats or tenements, 23 per cent lived in semi-detached properties (541,000) and 22 per cent were in detached properties (520,000).
• Higher proportions of households in detached properties were found in the more rural council areas (66 per cent in Eilean Siar, 61 per cent in Orkney Islands and 56 per cent in Shetland Islands)
• The proportion of households in purpose-built flats or tenements was higher in the council areas containing large cities (69 per cent in Glasgow City, 60 per cent in City of Edinburgh, 48 per cent in Aberdeen City and 47 per cent in Dundee City), and also in West Dunbartonshire (48 per cent).
• It is estimated that there were 101,000 unoccupied household spaces in Scotland in 2011, 4 per cent of the total of 2.5 million household spaces. Of these, 64 per cent (64,000) were assessed as being vacant, for example new builds or other accommodation awaiting new occupants, and 36 per cent (37,000) were classed as second or holiday homes.

Rooms and Occupancy rating

• In 2011, households in Scotland had an average of 5.0 rooms, ranging from 4.2 in Glasgow City to 5.7 in Aberdeenshire and Eilean Siar.
• Data from 1861 shows that 150 years ago there were almost two people (1.7) for every room in a household, whereas the 2011 average is over two rooms (2.3) for every person.
• In 2011, 9 per cent (214,000) of household spaces in Scotland were over-occupied and 66 per cent (1.6 million) were under-occupied based on the notional number of rooms required for the people who lived there.

Household composition

• Of the 2.4 million households in Scotland, married or same-sex civil partnered couple families (either with or without children) were the most common household type at 32 per cent (758,000), followed by households with one person aged under 65 living alone (22 per cent, 511,000) or with one person aged 65 or over living alone (13 per cent, 312,000).
• There were 263,000 lone parent families (11 per cent of all households), of which nearly two thirds included dependent children. Nine per cent of households were cohabiting couple families (217,000), and 8 per cent (179,000) families aged 65 and over. The remaining 6 per cent (131,000) were ‘Other’ household types.
• Since 2001, the proportion of married or same-sex civil partnered couple families fell from 38 per cent to 32 per cent of all households, whereas the proportion of cohabiting couple families rose from 7 per cent to 9 per cent.

Lone parents

• Out of the 170,000 lone parents aged 16 to 74 in Scotland in 2011, 92 per cent (156,000) were female; this was the same proportion as in 2001.
• In 2011, 64 per cent of male lone parents and 58 per cent of female lone parents aged 16 to 74 were in employment.
• Both the proportion of lone parents in employment, and the hours worked by those in employment, increased between 2001 and 2011.

Children and Families

• Of all the households in Scotland in 2011, just over a quarter (26 per cent) included at least one dependent child, which was a slight decrease from 28 per cent in 2001.
• The council areas containing the highest proportion of households with at least one dependent child were West Lothian (32 per cent, 24,000) and East Renfrewshire (31 per cent, 12,000).
• Comparison of families with and without children shows those including married or same-sex civil partnered couples were more likely to have children than cohabiting couples (61 per cent of married or same-sex civil partnered couple families compared with 46 per cent of cohabiting couple families).
• In 2011, there were 614,000 families with a total of 1.0 million dependent children. Of these families, 50 per cent (304,000) included one dependent child, 37 per cent (229,000) included two dependent children and the remaining 13 per cent (81,000) included three or more dependent children.

Ethnic groups within households

• In 2011, of the 1.5 million households containing more than one person, 84 per cent (1.3 million) contained members who shared the same ethnic group. The remaining 16 per cent (251,000) of households included multiple ethnic groups.
• The City of Edinburgh had the highest proportion of households with differing ethnic groups, at 28 per cent of all households containing more than one person, followed by Argyll & Bute at 23 per cent and Scottish Borders at 22 per cent.

Approximated social grade

• In 2011, of the 1.8 million households which were headed by a person aged 16 to 64, 19 per cent had an approximated social grade of AB (Higher and intermediate managerial/administrative/professional), 32 per cent were grade C1 (Supervisory, clerical, junior managerial/administrative/professional), 22 per cent were grade C2 (Skilled manual workers) and 29 per cent were grade DE (Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers, those on state benefit, unemployed, lowest grade workers).
• East Renfrewshire showed the highest proportion with AB grade at 31 per cent, followed by City of Edinburgh and East Dunbartonshire at 30 per cent.
• City of Edinburgh showed the highest proportion with C1 grade at 36 per cent and Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands showed the highest proportion with C2 grade, both at 33 per cent.
• Inverclyde and North Ayrshire showed the highest proportion with DE grade, both at 35 per cent.

Method of travel to place of work or study

• Of the 2.1 million 16 to 74 year olds in employment (excluding full-time students) who travel to work, 63 per cent (1.3 million) drove a car or van, an increase from 59 per cent in 2001. The next most common methods of transport, both at 11 per cent, were travelling by bus, minibus or coach (241,000) and on foot (238,000). The proportions travelling by bus and on foot had both decreased slightly from 12 per cent in 2001.
• The City of Edinburgh and Glasgow City were the only two council areas where less than half of the employed population aged 16 to 74 drove to work: 41 per cent (81,000) and 47 per cent (101,000) respectively. Clackmannanshire had the highest proportion, at 74 per cent (15,000).
• The City of Edinburgh had the highest proportion of people travelling to work by bus at 29 per cent (57,000), followed by Midlothian and Glasgow City at 20 per cent (7,000 and 43,000 respectively). City of Edinburgh and Argyll & Bute had the highest proportion of people travelling to work on foot, at 18 per cent (36,000 and 6,000 respectively).
• Of those travelling to their place of study, 45 per cent (390,000) travelled on foot, a decrease from 48 per cent in 2001, whilst 25 per cent (214,000) travelled by bus and 19 per cent were a passenger in a car or van (167,000).

The full publication, ‘2011 Census: Key Results on Households and Families, and Method of Travel to Work or Study in Scotland - Release 2C’ and relevant data can be found on the Scotland's Census website.

Statistics published today by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) provide revised mid-year population estimates for 2002 to 2010 taking into account the results from the 2011 Census.

The estimates show that Scotland’s population grew every year from 2001 and reached its highest ever total in 2012. Over the period, the population of Scotland has grown by 249,400 people (4.9 per cent) from 5,064,200 on 30 June 2001 to 5,313,600 on 30 June 2012.

The difference between the old and the new estimates was small. Over the decade the difference was 45,100, only 0.9 per cent of the revised population at Scotland level.

Revising historic population estimates after new census results become available is a key part of the methodology used to produce mid-year estimates. The availability of an improved and continuous back series is important as population estimates are an important input in a wide range of National Statistics. They are also used for calculating rates and performance measures, informing local and national policy, weighting surveys, planning, resource allocation and in modelling the economy.

NRS also published today the Mid-2011 and Mid-2012 Small Area Population Estimates for the 6,505 data zone areas in Scotland based on the 2011 Census and Age Standardised death rates calculated using European Standard Populations to take into account the revised population estimates for 2002 to 2010.

Main findings from the statistics released today

Revised population estimates for 2002 to 2010

• The mid-year population estimates for Scotland and its Council and NHS Board areas for mid-2002 to mid-2010 have been revised to take into account the 2011 Census. The revised series provides a consistent time-series of population estimates to mid-2011 for Scotland and each Council area and NHS Board.
• Over the decade the size of these revisions is small (45,100 or 0.9 per cent) in the context of total population for Scotland.
• Nearly 80 per cent of Council areas and 64 per cent of NHS Boards were revised by fewer than 5,000 people. In 88 per cent of council areas and 86 per cent of NHS Board areas the total population was revised by less than 5 per cent across the decade.
• The largest upward revisions were in North Lanarkshire (11,000) and Highland (10,000). The largest downward revisions were in Edinburgh (17,000) and Glasgow City (6,000). In percentage terms all the revisions were below 10 per cent.
• The revised series shows that the population of Scotland has grown every year from mid-2001 to mid-2011, with the largest annual percentage growth in the years to mid-2007 and mid-2011, both at 0.72 per cent.
• The revised series shows that migration contributed to a larger proportion of population change than the difference between births and deaths in all years between mid-2001 to mid-2011 at Scotland level but this varies by administrative area.
• The reasons for the differences compared with the previous estimates are partly to do with underestimating the 2004 European Union (EU) accession countries (EU8) and non-EU migration across the decade, imprecision in the census bases and historic processing changes.

Revised Age Standardised Mortality Rates

• Revisions to age-standardised mortality rates for 2002-2010 have had very little impact. At Scotland level, the percentage change between 2002 and 2012 for a range of causes of death is revised by a maximum of one percentage point.

The full publications, Mid-2002 to Mid-2010 Revision, Small Area Population Estimates and Age Standardised death rates calculated using European Standard Populations are available on the NRS website.

Provisional figures for births, deaths and other vital events registered during the third quarter of 2013 are published today by the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

The statistics show that 12,223 deaths were registered in the third quarter of the year – 538 (4.2 per cent) fewer than in the same period of 2012. This is the lowest third quarter total for at least 40 years.

The provisional figures also show that:

• 14,510 births were registered in Scotland between 1 July and 30 September 2013 – 177 (1.2 per cent) fewer than in the same period of 2012. This is the lowest third quarter total since 2006 but still 5.5 per cent higher than the third quarter of 2003, 10 years ago.
• The number of marriages was 10,310, 1,329 fewer than the figure for the third quarter of 2012 (a fall of 11.4 per cent) and the lowest quarter 3 total for at least 40 years.
• There were 194 civil partnerships (87 male and 107 female), 12 fewer than during the third quarter of 2012.
• Compared with the same period in 2012, the number of deaths from cancer fell by 2.8 per cent to 3,827, deaths from coronary heart disease fell by 11.6 per cent to 1,585, and there were 982 deaths from stroke (a rise of 0.3 per cent).

Tim Ellis, the Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland, said:

"Today's statistics show a fall in the number of deaths registered in Scotland, to the lowest number recorded in the third quarter for at least 40 years. However, taking the first three quarters of the year together, there were slightly more deaths than in the same period of 2012. The number of births also fell, continuing the trend of gradual decline since 2008. Levels of births and deaths are both relatively low in historical terms and since 2008 there have generally been more births than deaths.

"With an 11 per cent fall in the number of marriages the quarter three total is at its lowest level for at least 40 years."

A chart on the NRS website shows how the total numbers of birth, marriages and deaths registered in successive periods of four quarters have varied since 1974 (which is the first year for which there are records of individual vital events in NRS's statistical database) is available on the NRS website. The figure for a particular quarter is the number of events which were registered in the twelve month (four quarter) period which ended in that quarter. For example, the figure for '2011 Q4' is the number of events registered in the period from 2011 Q1 to 2011 Q4, inclusive - i.e. the total for 2011 as a whole. The figure for '2013 Q2' is the number of events registered from 2012 Q3 to 2013 Q2, inclusive. The chart shows the longer-term trends, and also short-term fluctuations in the some of the numbers.

The full publication, Births, deaths and other vital events - quarterly figures, is available on the NRS website.

A secret cave, a witch's bridge and the Scott Monument are among the fascinating places featured in this free display at the National Records of Scotland from 6 December to 31 January 2014. This marks the completion of a project to digitise this series of 1,688 books and make them available on the ScotlandsPlaces website.

The Ordnance Survey Name books contain every place name that appeared on Victorian maps of Scotland and can now be searched by the public online. The books are also being linked to the relevant Ordnance Survey map to allow connected searching for the first time.

The name books were created by the Ordnance Survey's field surveyors as they mapped Scotland from the 1840's until 1878, when they completed their work on Orkney and Shetland. The surveyors compiled name books to record information about the names of every natural feature and man-made structure that was to appear on the maps. They relied on knowledgeable locals of all classes to supply them with accurate names. Their instructions were to consult landowners and their agents first, then other people of standing such as parish ministers and school teachers. In practice, and especially in remoter areas, they turned to humbler people such as tenants, shepherds and labourers. In Gaelic-speaking areas they sometimes worked through interpreters.

The surveyors added notes from printed histories, gazetteers, directories and dictionaries making the name books a snapshot of the landscapes and townscapes of Scotland. They can be studied online along with the maps to which they relate.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said:

"ScotlandsPlaces is a wonderful resource, and the welcome addition of the Ordnance Survey Name Books makes it an even more exciting gateway for Scots, those of Scottish descent, and anyone with an interest in Scotland, to explore our nation's history and landscape."

Chief Executive of the National Records of Scotland, Tim Ellis, said:

“I’m delighted to be making available online more of the great records that we hold in the National Records of Scotland.  The Ordnance Survey Name Books are a rich resource for research into the history of places throughout Scotland and a treasure trove of fascinating insights. I’m pleased to be working closely with our partners RCAHMS and the National Library to add new historical resources to the ScotlandsPlaces website. Our free display in NRS allows visitors to learn more about these and other fascinating historical records that we hold.

RCAHMS Head of Education and Outreach, Rebecca Bailey, said:

"The OS Name Books are an incredible source of information about Scotland - a nineteenth century equivalent of our modern internet search engines. These were the key reference works for anyone wanting to find out about the landscapes, buildings and places of Scotland. This exhibition helps to celebrate the logical evolution of the Name Books - which have been brought in the twenty-first century by being digitised and made available online.'

'When combined with the other material already available on the ScotlandsPlaces website – including hundreds of thousands of photographs, plans and architectural drawings of Scotland’s buildings from the RCAHMS archive, and maps from the National Library of Scotland – it allows for a wonderfully rich study of our history."

Dr Simon Taylor, who researches and teaches toponymics (place name studies) at the University of Glasgow said:

"In the OS Name Books Scotland possesses a unique resource for understanding the evolution of Scotland’s complex place-nomenclature, as well as nineteenth-century perceptions of place, language, environment, archaeology and culture. ScotlandsPlaces, by making them so widely and easily accessible, has opened up a treasure-trove of material for local and national historians, both lay and academic."

NRS acknowledges the kind cooperation of our partners in ScotlandsPlaces, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland.

'Explore your Archive' is a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of archives, their value to society and the impact they have, every day, on individual lives.

The statistics published today by the Registrar General for Scotland on the Scotland’s Census website, provide estimates of the population relating to Education and the Labour Market at all levels of geography from national level down to output area. In addition, the key results on Population, Ethnicity, Identity, Language, Religion, Health, Housing and Accommodation in Scotland - from release 2A are now available at all levels of geography from national level down to output area.

Key points

Highest level of qualification

• In the 2011 Census, just over quarter (26 per cent, 1.1 million) of the population in Scotland aged 16 and over had achieved Census Level 4 or above qualifications, such as a university degree. This proportion was highest in the City of Edinburgh (41 per cent) and lowest in West Dunbartonshire (17 per cent).
• Just over a quarter (27 per cent, 1.2 million) of the population aged 16 and over held no qualifications. This proportion was lowest in the City of Edinburgh (17 per cent) and highest in East Ayrshire (34 per cent).

Economic activity

• Of the 4.0 million people in Scotland aged between 16 and 74, 69 per cent (2.7 million) were economically active (either working or looking for work). The proportions of economically active males and females were 74 per cent and 64 per cent respectively. 
• The largest category of economically active people was full-time employees, who represented 40 per cent (1.6 million) of the total 16 to 74 year-old population, followed by part-time employees at 13 per cent (530,000). 
• In terms of proportions, almost five times more females were part-time employees compared with males (33 per cent of economically active females compared with 7 per cent of economically active males).
• Between 2001 and 2011, the proportion of economically active people aged 16 to 74
• increased by four percentage points, from 65 per cent (2.4 million) in 2001 to 69 per cent (2.7 million) in 2011, with the largest increase being for part-time employees.
• Retired people represented 15 per cent of all 16 to 74 year-olds, and accounted for approaching half (48 per cent) of the economically inactive in this age group.

Hours worked

• In 2011, just over half (51 per cent) of the 2.5 million employed people aged 16 to 74 in Scotland worked 38 hours or more in a typical week in their main job; 39 per cent (984,000) worked between 38 and 48 hours and 12 per cent (295,000) worked 49 hours or more.

Unemployment

• Seven per cent (189,000) of the economically active population in Scotland aged between 16 and 74 were unemployed, excluding full-time students looking for work. This was slightly higher than the 2001 figure of 6 per cent (148,000). 
• The proportion of economically active people aged 16 to 74 who were unemployed (excluding economically active full-time students looking for work) ranged from 10 per cent in North Ayrshire and Glasgow City (7,000 and 30,000 people respectively) to 3 per cent in the Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and Aberdeenshire (350, 390 and 5,000 people respectively)

Industry

• ‘Health and social work’ and ‘Retail activities’ were the two largest industry sectors in 2011 in terms of the number of employed people aged 16 to 74, each accounting for 15 per cent (377,000) of this population. 
• The proportion of males working in the ‘Construction’, ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘Transport and storage’ sectors was much higher than the proportion of females, while there were higher proportions of females than males working in ‘Health and social work’ and ‘Education’ sectors.

Occupation

• The largest category of occupation was ‘Professional occupations’, employing 17 per cent of all employed people aged 16 to 74. 
• Around nine times more males than females worked in ‘Skilled trades occupations’ and seven times more males than females worked as ‘Process, plant and machine operatives’.
• In contrast, around five times more females than males worked in ‘Caring, leisure and other service occupations’ and four times more females worked in ‘Administrative and secretarial occupations’.

National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SeC)

• ‘Lower managerial and professional occupations’ was the largest socio-economic group, which represented 20 per cent (803,000 people) of the population aged 16 to 74. 
• There were more females than males in the ‘Intermediate occupations’ category (18 per cent of females compared with 7 per cent of males). This category includes clerical and administrative occupations.
• In contrast, the ‘Lower supervisory and technical occupations’ category represents 12 per cent of all 16 to 74 year-old males, compared with 4 per cent of all 16 to 74 year-old females. 

The full publication, ‘2011 Census: Key Results on Education and Labour Market in Scotland - Release 2B’ and relevant data can be found on the Scotland's Census website.

Statistics published today by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show the population of Scotland is projected to rise from 5.31 million in 2012 to 5.52 million in 2022, and to continue to rise to 5.78 million by 2037 – an increase of 9 per cent over the 25 year period.

Commenting on the publication of the ‘National Population Projections for Scotland’, Registrar General and NRS Chief Executive Tim Ellis said:

“The latest population projections indicate that Scotland’s population will be reaching record levels for years to come”

“Scotland’s population is projected to continue to rise into the future because Scotland’s birth rate and inward migration levels have remained high by historic standards and because people at older ages are expected to live longer”

The report provides projections for the period 2012-2037. They show what happens under certain assumptions about future fertility, mortality and migration. The assumptions are based largely on past trends and although they will reflect past policy and economic impacts, they do not take account of future changes that may occur as a result of policy initiatives.

Main findings

2012 to 2022

• The population of Scotland is projected to increase from an estimated 5.31 million in 2012 to 5.52 million over the ten year period to 2022.
• Over the next decade, 28 per cent of the projected increase in Scotland’s population can be attributed to natural increase (more births than deaths) while 72 per cent of the increase is due to assuming continuing inward net migration to Scotland.
• Between 2012 and 2022 the number of children aged under 16 is projected to increase by 4 per cent from 0.91 to 0.95 million.
• The number of people aged 75 and over is projected to increase by around 28 per cent in the first ten years of the projection period, from 0.42 million in 2012 to 0.53 million in 2022.

2012 to 2037

• The average (median) age of the population is projected to increase from 41.5 years in 2012 to 42.3 years mid-2022 and 44.3 by mid-2037.
• The Scottish population is projected to increase by 9 per cent to 5.7 million over the 25 year period to mid-2037, which is equivalent to an average annual growth rate of 0.3 per cent.
• The number of people of working age [Footnote1] is projected to increase from 3.35 million in 2012 to 3.51 million in 2022 (an increase of 5 per cent). The projected working age population then decreases to 3.48 million by 2037 (an overall increase of 4 per cent from the 2012 estimate).
• The number of people of pensionable age [Footnote 1] is projected to decrease from 1.05 million in 2012 to 1.02 million in 2020 (a decrease of 3 per cent). It is then projected to rise, reaching 1.34 million in 2034. It then remains relatively constant and is projected to be 1.33 million by 2037 (an increase of 27 per cent from the 2012 estimate).

The populations of the other countries in the UK are also projected to increase with England’s population projected to increase by 16 per cent, Northern Ireland’s population by 10 per cent and Wales’s population by 8 per cent between 2012 and 2037.

The full publication ‘Projected Population of Scotland (2012-based)’ is available on the NRS website.

Footnote

1. Working age and pensionable age populations based on State Pension Age (SPA) for a given year. Between 2012 and 2018, SPA will change from 65 years for men and 61 years for women, to 65 years for both sexes. Then between 2019 and 2020, SPA will change from 65 years to 66 years for both men and women. Between 2034 and 2046, SPA will increase in two stages from 66 years to 68 years for both sexes. This is based on SPA under the 2011 Pensions Act.

The second Annual Report and Accounts of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) has been laid before the Scottish Parliament. The publication "Annual Report and Accounts 2012-2013" (1.2 MB PDF) is available on this website

Our report covers the business achievements of NRS during 2012-13, progress on key business objectives identified from our strategic plan and how we used our budget throughout the year to achieve these.

The accounts of NRS for 2012-13 have been audited by PricewaterhouseCooper LLP.

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The Keeper’s first Annual Report on the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 has now been published and laid before Parliament. It can be viewed on the National Records of Scotland (NAS) website.

The report shows that the first scheduled authorities have been invited to submit their Records Management Plans and several have now done so and had them agreed. This is the start of a long-term process of improving the standard of record-keeping across the Scottish public sector. This will be achieved through continuous engagement with the Keeper’s assessment team and between authorities themselves. The initial signs have been promising as authorities work towards meeting their obligations under the new legislation.