Increase in number of households

The number of households in Scotland increased to 2.50 million in 2019, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland (NRS).

The latest figures show over the last ten years the number of households in Scotland has grown by 143,800 (6%).

More than a third of households are occupied by a single person, and an estimated 906,000 people are living alone.

The increased number of households is partly due to an increase in the population, but also because people are increasingly living alone or with fewer other people. Households consisting of only one person have been the most common type in Scotland since 2010.

The number of households has increased in every council area over the last ten years. Midlothian (16%), Orkney Islands (11%) and East Lothian (11%) showed the biggest relative increases.

The figures show there were 2.64 million dwellings in Scotland in 2019. 84,600 (3%) of these were empty, which included new homes yet to be occupied and dwellings awaiting repair or demolition, and 24,500 (1%) of dwellings are second homes.  Remote rural areas have a higher proportion of empty and second homes than urban areas.

The publication Estimates of Households and Dwellings in Scotland, 2019 and an Interactive charts are available on this website.