The number of registered voters in Scotland for UK Parliamentary elections was stable in 2023, according to statistics published today by National Records of Scotland (NRS).
There were 4,007,200 people registered to vote last December, down just 0.1% on the previous year. This report is the first to show breakdowns for the new UK Parliament constituency boundaries which came into force late last year.
Eligibility is different for Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections and the number of electors is higher at 4,241,800. This figure also fell slightly by 0.05%.
There were nearly 189,500 foreign nationals registered to vote in Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections. This is up 4.4% on the previous year, and is the highest number ever recorded. This group represents 4.5% of the total electorate.
Nearly a million people, or 22.2% of the electorate, are registered for postal voting in UK Parliamentary elections. This proportion was a little lower than the 23.1% recorded for the previous December. Similarly, 21.7% of the total electorate are registered for a postal vote in Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections, which was slightly down on the 22.5% recorded for the previous year.
Sandy Taylor, Head of Electoral Statistics said:
“The number of people registered to vote in UK, Scottish Parliamentary and local elections has remained stable in the last year.
“Almost a quarter of the electorate is currently registered to vote by post. Our analysis shows registering for postal voting was generally higher in more rural or remote constituencies.”
