2021

National Records of Scotland (NRS) is working alongside Storm ID to explore the needs and requirements of those who are interested in accessing census data and supporting information via our census website. People are at the heart of this work, and we want to gather feedback so we can continue to improve the Census Outputs Website. 

We are looking to run a number of usability tests week commencing the 22nd of February with those who use census data as part of their job. All research sessions will be conducted remotely. Each session will be a maximum of 60 minutes long.

To ensure we are including the right people in the usability testing, we need to gather some basic information about each participant. If you would like to volunteer to take part, please complete this short questionnaire and we will be in touch.

As at 31 January, 8,347 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today. 

In the week 25-31 January, 440 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, this is a decrease of 12 deaths from the previous week.

Of the 440 deaths between 25-31 January, 68% were of people aged 75 and over, and 14% were aged under 65.

The highest number of deaths occurred in Glasgow City at 67, followed by North Lanarkshire and City of Edinburgh both at 40.

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 301 deaths, 97 occurred in care homes, 38 at home or in non-institutional settings and 4 in other institutions.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending 31 January was 1,593, 21% higher than the average for the same week in the period 2015 to 2019.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“Each statistic represents the loss of a loved one for families across the country.

“The latest figures show a very small reduction in the number of deaths compared with the previous week.  Whilst it is too soon to conclude whether this is the start of a sustained fall in the number of deaths it is nevertheless a positive sign.

Our report also shows that deaths from all causes are 21% above average for this time of year.  Most of these excess deaths occurred at home or in hospital, whilst the number of deaths in care homes were just below average for this time of year.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

As at 24 January, 7,902 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today. 

In the week 18-24 January, 448 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, this is an increase of 75 deaths from the previous week.

Of the 448 deaths between 18-24 January, 72% were of people aged 75 and over, and 14% were aged under 65.

The highest number of deaths occurred in North Lanarkshire at 48, followed by Glasgow City at 43 and Fife at 33.

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 294 deaths, 111 occurred in care homes, 35 at home or in non-institutional settings and 8 in other institutions.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending 24 January was 1,543, 12% higher than the average for the same week in the period 2015 to 2019.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“Each statistic represents heartbreak for families and friends across the country. These latest figures show that the week ending 24 January has the highest number of COVID-19 related deaths registered since the week ending 3 May 2020.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

Healthy life expectancy has decreased across Scotland, with the average healthy life expectancy at birth for males at 61.7 years and 61.9 years for females, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland.

Figures for 2017-2019, show that the gap in healthy life expectancy at birth between the most and least deprived areas was 25.1 years for males and 21.5 years for females.

Healthy life expectancy at birth for males was highest in East Dunbartonshire, at 69.8 years and lowest in Glasgow City at 54.6 years.

For females, healthy life expectancy at birth was highest in Orkney at 75.1 years and lowest in North Ayrshire at 56.3 years.

Julie Ramsay, Head of Vital Events Statistics at NRS, said:

“Over the last decade healthy life expectancy has increased for males and decreased for females.  However, both males and females experienced a decrease  in healthy life expectancy over the latest year.  

“The decrease in healthy life expectancy coincides with a stalling of growth in life expectancy in recent years, and has resulted in a lower proportion of life being spent in good health  with 79.9% for males and 76.3% for females.”    

The publication Healthy Life Expectancy in Scotland, 2017-2019 and an infographic summary is available on the NRS website.

As at 17 January, 7,448 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 11-17 January, 368 deaths were registered which mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, a decrease of 23 deaths from the previous week.

66% of the 368 deaths registered in the latest week were of people aged 75 and over, and 10% were aged under 65.

The highest number of deaths occurred in Glasgow City with 44 followed by 39 in Edinburgh and 34 in Fife.

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 240 deaths, 97 occurred in care homes, 27 at home or in a non-institutional setting and 4 in other institutions.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending 17 January was 1,534, 2% lower than the average for that week in the period 2015 to 2019.

The provisional total number of deaths registered over the year 2020 was 64,084.  This compares to an average of 57,760 over the previous five years resulting in 6,324 excess deaths. Of the 6,834 deaths involving COVID-19 between March and December 2020, 93% had at least one pre-existing condition.  The most common main pre-existing condition was dementia and Alzheimer’s, accounting for 28% of all deaths involving COVID-19. 

After adjusting for age, people living in the most deprived areas were 2.2 times as likely to die with COVID-19 as those in the least deprived areas.  

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“Each statistic represents heartbreak for families and friends across the country. 

“Assessing trends in death registrations is difficult at this time of year due to the impact of registration office closures over the Christmas period and the increased registration activity which occurs in the following weeks.  Our analysis looking at deaths by date of occurrence provides a clearer picture of the trend and shows that deaths began to increase in mid-December and this has continued through the early part of January.  

This week’s report provides a provisional estimate of the number of excess deaths for the full year 2020.  Deaths were 11% higher in 2020 than the average of the previous five years, representing the highest level of excess deaths since 1940.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

As at June 2020, it was estimated that 409,000 non-British nationals were living in Scotland, representing an increase of 36,000 since June 2019.

• Of all non-British nationals 231,000 (56%) were EU nationals, and 178,000 (44%) were non-EU nationals.
   
• Polish remained the most common non-British nationality with 88,000 people, accounting for 22% of the total non-British population. The second most common non-British nationality was Indian with 22,000 people.
   
• The council areas with the largest proportion of residents with a non-British nationality were Aberdeen City (19%), City of Edinburgh (18%) and Glasgow City (15%).
   

Alan Ferrier, Head of Demographic Statistics said:

“The number of non-British nationals living in Scotland has increased over the latest year, and now represents around 1 in 13 people living in Scotland. This latest change was largely driven by an increase in non-EU nationals.”

The full publication ‘Population by Country of Birth and Nationality for Scotland, July 2019 to June 2020’ can be accessed on this website. This includes information on the number of non-British nationals and non-UK born living in Scotland and each council area. Infographics summarising the key findings are also available for this publication.

As at 10 January, 7,074 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today. 

In the week 4-10 January, 384 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, this is an increase of 197 deaths from the previous week.

The statistics for 4-10 January show that 73% of the 384 deaths were of people aged 75 and over, and 9% were aged under 65.

The highest number of deaths occurred in North Lanarkshire at 53, followed by Glasgow City at 50 and City of Edinburgh at 34.

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 251 deaths, 113 occurred in care homes and 19 at home or in a non-institutional setting.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending 10 January was 1,704, 34% higher than the average for that week in the period 2015 to 2019.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“Each statistic represents the death of a loved one and heartbreak for families and friends across the country. 

“As expected, the number of deaths registered in week 1 of 2021 is significantly higher than that of week 53 of 2020 as registrars have dealt with backlogs from the Christmas period.  It is difficult to monitor trends in death registrations at this time of year due to the impact of public holidays on registration activity.  Next week’s report will include analysis of deaths by date of occurrence  and this will give a clearer indication of the trend at the end of 2020.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

As at 3 January, 6,686 deaths have been registered in Scotland where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) today.

Between 21 December to 3 January 383 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate.

The number of deaths for the week, 21st to  27th December, was 200 and 183 deaths were registered in the following week from 28th December to 3rd January.

As there were fewer registrations than usual in these weeks due to public holidays, death registrations are likely to be lower than the actual numbers of deaths that occurred in these weeks .

The statistics for 28th December to 3rd January show that 75% of the 183 deaths registered in the latest week were of people aged 75 and over, and 8% were aged under 65.

The majority of deaths occurred in hospitals representing 111 deaths, 63 occurred in care homes and 9 at home or in a non-institutional setting.

To place these statistics in context, the total number of all-cause deaths registered in the week ending 3 January was 1,156; and for the previous week it was 1,205.  Both weeks were 14% higher than the average over the previous five years.

Deaths from respiratory and circulatory causes and dementia/Alzheimer’s were lower than average for this time for year; resulting in the number of excess deaths (138) in the latest week being lower than the number of deaths where COVID-19 was the underlying cause.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: 

“These statistics show the continuing grief that the virus is causing in our communities.

“Although the statistics for weeks 52 and 53 show a slight fall in the number of COVID-19 related deaths, there were fewer registrations than usual in these weeks due to public holidays. As a result the number of registered deaths is likely to be an undercount from the impact of public holidays on registration activity. We expect figures to increase over the next fortnight as registration activity returns to normal.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

The number of people registered to vote in UK parliamentary elections in Scotland reached a record level of 4,079,600 in March last year, according to figures published today by National Records of Scotland. 

This represents an increase of 26,500 people compared with the number registered on 12 December 2019, the date of the last General Election.

Other key findings show, as at 2nd March 2020:

• 15,400 British citizens resident overseas were registered to vote in elections to the UK Parliament, almost a third higher than the 11,600 recorded at 1 December 2019 
• 697,600 electors had registered for postal voting
• Of the 4,227,700 number of people registered to vote at Scottish Parliament and local government elections 1.7% were aged 16 -17
• Just over 145,000 EU citizens were registered to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections, 3.4% of the total electorate

Sandy Taylor, Head of Electoral Statistics said:

“These statistics reflect an upward trend over the last couple of years in the number of people on the electoral roll. The latest data will be used to inform the recently started review of UK parliamentary constituency boundaries.”

The full publication 'Electoral Statistics - Scotland 2nd March' is availbale on this website.

Files to be opened for the first time at National Records of Scotland reveal Scottish Cabinet discussions during 2005.

The Scottish Cabinet Records cover a wide range of discussions that year, including the G8 summit at Gleneagles; child protection measures; plans for a potential new road bridge over the Forth and a new Borders railway.

These records will be made available to the public as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to proactively release public records after 15 years.

The records will be publicly accessible via a new online public access service in February 2021, the first time that Scottish Cabinet Records have been made available to view at home. The full list of files released in 2021 can be viewed in PDF (340 KB PDF).

Welcoming the latest release, Paul Lowe, Chief Executive of NRS, said:

“The Scottish Cabinet Records release gives us the chance to revisit and more fully understand recent events and they provide a valuable insight into the previously unseen workings of our democracy. I am particularly pleased that we will make use of technology to make these records more accessible than ever before and to a much wider public audience.

“These records cover a wide range of fascinating topics, including implementation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act and discussions of Scotland’s readiness in the event of an outbreak of Avian flu.”

Minister for Parliamentary Business Graeme Dey said:

“We are pleased to work with National Records of Scotland in delivering on the Scottish Government’s commitment to openness and transparency.

“I would like to express my gratitude to NRS for the ingenuity they have shown in embracing alternative technological solutions to overcome the challenges faced this year.

“These records are always of great interest to journalists, historians and members of the public who want to find out more about Scotland’s history and governance.”

Alternative arrangements are in place to answer public requests before launch of the full public access service. Contact NRS via email for further information.