Population estimates for settlements and localities in Scotland: mid-2020

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Main Points

There were 514 settlements in Scotland in mid-2020. This is 5 fewer than in 2016, due to some settlements merging or falling below the threshold of 500 people.
The population living in settlements and localities was 4,974,670. The population living outside settlements was 491,330.
91% of Scotland’s population lived in settlements and localities, which accounted for 2.3% of Scotland’s total land area.
The largest settlement in Scotland was Greater Glasgow with a population of 1,028,220. Nearly 1 in 5 people living in Scotland in mid-2020 lived in Greater Glasgow.
Almost all of Glasgow City’s and Dundee City’s population lived in a settlement (99.8% in both). In contrast, less than a third of Na h-Eileanan Siar’s population lived in a settlement (29.4%).

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