2017

The number of people registered to vote in elections in Scotland has increased in 2016, according to the latest National Statistics published today by National Records of Scotland. This increase follows the drop in numbers seen in 2015 due to the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER).

The increase is seen across the electorates for Local Government and Scottish Parliament, the UK Parliament as well as the European Parliament.

As at 1 December 2016:

• The number of UK Parliamentary electors in Scotland rose by 33,100 (0.8 per cent) to 3.9 million, compared to December 2015.
• The number of registered Local Government and Scottish Parliament electors in Scotland rose by 59,500 (1.5 per cent) to 4.1 million.
• There has been an increase in the number of overseas electors which doubled to 15,200 (up 97 per cent). This increase could be attributed to an increased number of people registering to vote in the EU Referendum in June 2016.
• The number of 16 and 17 year old electors has also increased by 62.6 per cent to 79,600 since last year. Due to the timing of the legislation change and the timing of the canvass, lowering of the voting age change had limited effect on electorate numbers in 2015. However, as expected, an increase in electorate numbers is more evident in 2016. 

The next Local Government election in Scotland will take place on 4 May 2017. The deadline for registration to vote in the Local Government election is Monday 17 April 2017.

The full publication Electoral Statistics for Scotland, as at 1 December 2016 is available on this website.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) today published:

• the full list of first names given to babies whose births were registered in 2016
• the most common surnames in the Birth, Marriage and Death registers for 2016
• information about the ethnicity of people whose deaths were registered in Scotland.

The babies’ first names publication is the full list of first forenames registered in 2016 and supersedes the top 100 lists published on 20 December, which covered births registered up to 3 December 2016. The most popular names for girls and boys remain unchanged (Olivia and Jack), but the ranking of some names in the boys’ top ten has changed. 

The three top surnames in the Birth, Marriage and Death registers for 2016 were Smith, Brown and Wilson. These have been the most common surnames recorded in the registers for at least 40 years, based on five-yearly analysis going back to 1975.

NRS has also published material about its work to collect details of the ethnicity of people whose deaths are registered in Scotland. From 2012, this information has been collected on a voluntary basis. NRS’s report concludes that the data are not (at present) suitable for calculating reliable mortality rates for most ethnicities, and that NRS may be able to improve the quality in future.

Further information can be found in the following sections on this website:

• Babies' Names 2016 contains full lists of babies’ first names for 2016, in alphabetical order in Table 4 and in rank order in Table 5.
• An Interactive Data visualisation is also available for this publication on this website.
• Babies’ First Names - Full Lists for each year contains lists of babies' first names in rank order from 1974.
• How the top names have changed contains information over how the top names have changed from the first available data.
• Most Common Surnames in Birth, Marriage and Death registers contains information about the most common surnames back every fifth year back to 1975.
• Ethnicity of the deceased person contains information about work to collect details of the ethnicity of people who died, including a report on the quality of the data.

Provisional figures for births, deaths, adoptions, marriages and civil partnerships registered during 2016 are published today by the National Records of Scotland. 

The statistics show that 54,488 births, 56,728 deaths and 29,229 marriages were registered in 2016.

54,488 births were registered in the year – 612 (1.1 per cent) fewer than in 2015. This is the lowest number of births recorded since 2005 and continues the general decline in number of births since the most recent peak of 60,041 in 2008.

At 56,728, the number of deaths registered in 2016 was 851 (1.5 per cent) lower than in 2015. This is the second highest number of deaths recorded since 2003 (2015 was highest) although due to the growing population, the death rate (10.6 deaths per 1,000 population) is lower than it was in 2008 (10.7).

Deaths from cancer fell by 1.3 per cent to 15,890, deaths from coronary heart disease fell by 6.9 per cent to 6,651, and there were 4,143 deaths from cerebrovascular disease (a fall of 3.7 per cent). There was a 5.2 per cent decrease (to 7,271) in deaths from respiratory diseases. Deaths from dementia fell by 9.0 per cent to 3,603 and deaths from Alzheimer’s Disease rose by 10.5 per cent to 1,963.

The number of marriages fell by 462 compared to 2015 and levels remain historically low. Of the 29,229 marriages registered in 2016, 999 involved same sex couples and, of the same sex marriages, 174 were changes from previous civil partnerships.

There were 70 civil partnerships (42 male and 28 female), six more than in 2015.

The full publication 2016 Births, Deaths and Other Vital Events - Preliminary Annual Figures is available on this website.

Infographics Births and deaths Scotland, 2016 and Marriages and civil partnerships Scotland, 2016 accompany this publication and are also available on this website.

Statistics published today by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that the number of households in Scotland is projected to continue to increase, rising by 345,000 between 2014 and 2039.

The number of households headed by someone aged 70 or over is projected to increase by 65 per cent, compared to an increase of just two per cent for those under 70. Older people are more likely to live alone than younger people, and the number of people aged 70 and over living alone is projected to increase by 60 per cent over the next 25 years, to 150,000 men and 260,000 women. The gender difference reflects women’s greater life expectancy and tendency to outlive their partners.

Tim Ellis, National Records of Scotland (NRS) Chief Executive and Registrar General, said:

“The figures published today by National Records of Scotland show a projected 345,000 extra households in Scotland in 2039 compared to 2014. This is partly because Scotland’s population is projected to increase in this period, but also because of our ageing population. Older people are more likely to live alone than younger people, and as more people live alone or in smaller households, the number of households will rise at a faster rate than the population.”

Projected number of households in Scotland by age of head of household, 2014 and 2039

The annual release of births, deaths and marriages on ScotlandsPeople by the National Records of Scotland includes digital images of 110,000 birth entries from 1916, more than 47,000 marriage entries from 1941 and 64,000 death entries from 1966. They are now available for members of the public to search, view and save.

Among the notable Scots whose births were registered in 1916 are Jessie Kesson, the author of ‘Another Time, Another Place’ and ‘The White Bird Passes’, and Jack Milroy, the comedian who partnered Ricki Fulton on stage. We also explore the battles and heroes who inspired babies’ names during the First World War.

From the marriages registered in 1941 we feature the story behind the wedding photograph belonging to a ScotlandsPeople user, and a contrasting tale of a Clydebank couple whose marriage was cut short by war. Of the 64,000 deaths in 1966 we have selected Alexander Carrick, one of Scotland’s leading monumental sculptors.

Learn more about their stories on the ScotlandsPeople website.

Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:

"The releases of these records give us a richer understanding of Scotland’s story and our people. The marriage certificates from the early '40s in particular provide further insight into the consequences of the Second World War, and how it affected the things we take for granted today.

"I’d encourage anyone interested in finding out more about their local history or genealogy to have a look at the wealth of records now available as part of our new ScotlandsPeople website. No matter where you are in the world, you can instantly find out more about your own personal story."

Every year on 1 January new data collected by the Registrar General for Scotland becomes available to the public online via the ScotlandsPeople website. The records can also be searched at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh and at local family history centres in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Alloa, Hawick and Inverness. The statutory registers are opened to the public online when their closure periods end: 100 years for birth records, 75 years for marriage records and 50 years for death records.

Since the new site launched in September 2016 users have been able to search statutory record indexes including birth, death and marriage certificates for free. Users are now only charged if they wish to view or download a record image.

 From 1 January 2017, Scottish Cabinet papers and other government records opened for the first time at National Records of Scotland show details about the operation of the Scottish Cabinet in the year 2001.

That year saw the appointment of a new First Minister for Scotland when Jack McConnell took over from Henry McLeish, who resigned as First Minister in November 2001. The Scottish Cabinet minutes reflect the transfer of authority and other matters of national interest. They include the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth epidemic in cattle and its impact on farmers, particularly in Dumfries and Galloway, considerations to host the Euro 2008 football championship in Scotland, and proposals for free social care arrangements for the elderly.

The files form part of the annual release of archived information by Scottish Government, which since 2009 has proactively opened almost 14,000 files at 15 years. This adds a considerable amount of information to what is already publicly available from the year 2001, due to a policy of proactive release.

In welcoming the latest file releases, Tim Ellis, Chief Executive of NRS and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said 

 “Preserving Scottish Government records and making them available to the public is a key part of our role at the National Records of Scotland, and this annual release of information can give us a fascinating insight into our recent history.

In addition to a change of First Minister, 2001 saw considerable activity across a wide range of policy areas.  I have no doubt that the papers now available will be very interesting reading to a great many people.”

Following the New Year public holiday, the newly opened files will be available to view in our public search room from Wednesday 4 January.  The Cabinet files will be available in digital format. Many of the other paper files can be seen in January without the need to pre-order, though some are held off-site and will require ordering in advance. Details can be found in the file lists below.

The full list of files released in 2017 can be viewed in PDF. (377 KB PDF)

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