Notice 27 October 2022
The next release for population by country of birth and nationality estimates for the year ending June 2022, scheduled for November 2022, will not go ahead. This is due to an underlying data issue with one of the data sources feeding into these estimates. Previous releases are not affected by this issue.
Publication
Estimates of the Scottish population by Country of Birth and Nationality from the Annual Population Survey (APS). This provides information on the number of non-UK born and non-British nationals living in Scotland and each council area. The latest estimates are for the year to mid-2021. Comparable UK estimates can be found on the ONS website.
Main points
A new weighting method has been introduced to the data used in this publication. For this reason breakdowns of population estimates below the EU and non-EU level are less reliable. Comparisons over time, except with the reweighted mid-2020 estimates, are also less reliable.
- The non-British population of Scotland was 397,000 (7.4%) in the year to mid-2021. The non-UK born population was 523,000 (9.7%).
- Numbers of non-British nationals and non-UK born people remained broadly stable compared to the previous year.
- Of all non-British nationals living in Scotland, 231,000 (58%) were EU nationals and 165,000 (42%) were non-EU nationals.
- Of all non-UK born people living in Scotland, 258,000 (49%) were born in the EU and 265,000 (51%) were born outside the EU.
- Polish was the most common non-British nationality, and Poland was the most common non-UK country of birth in Scotland.
