National and subnational mid-year population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries by administrative area, age and sex (including components of population change, median age and population density).

The population of the United Kingdom in 2023 was estimated to be approximately 68.3 million in 2023, with almost 9.48 million people living in South East England. London had the next highest population, at over 8.9 million people, followed by the North West England at 7.6 million. With the UK's population generally concentrated in England, most English regions have larger populations than the constituent countries of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which had populations of 5.5 million, 3.16 million, and 1.92 million respectively. English counties and cities The United Kingdom is a patchwork of various regional units, within England the largest of these are the regions shown here, which show how London, along with the rest of South East England had around 18 million people living there in this year. The next significant regional units in England are the 47 metropolitan and ceremonial counties. After London, the metropolitan counties of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire were the biggest of these counties, due to covering the large urban areas of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds respectively. Regional divisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The smaller countries that comprise the United Kingdom each have different local subdivisions. Within Scotland these are called council areas whereas in Wales the main regional units are called unitary authorities. Scotland's largest Council Area by population is that of Glasgow City at over 622,000, while in Wales, it was the Cardiff Unitary Authority at around 372,000. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has eleven local government districts, the largest of which is Belfast with a population of around 348,000.

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for the National identity (in 8 categories) by sex by age (in 20 categories) by Individuals in Scotland.

Age

A person's age on Census Day, 20 March 2022. Infants aged under 1 year are classified as 0 years of age.

Sex

This is the sex recorded by the person completing the census. The options were "Female" and "Male". Guidance on answering the question can be found here

National identity

A classification of a person's national identity.

National identity is a feeling of attachment to a nation. This does not need to be the same as ethnic group or legal nationality (citizenship). For example, this could be about the country or countries where a person feels they belong or they think of as home.

Details of classification can be found here

The quality assurance report can be found here

In 2023, there were approximately 631,970 people living in Glasgow, with a further 523,250 people living in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, the first and second most-populated Scottish council areas respectively. The region of Fife is also heavily populated, with approximately 373,210 people living there. The least populated areas are the islands of Scotland such as Orkney, estimated to have only 22,000 people there.

United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Aged >60 Female & >65 Male data was reported at 1,012.567 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 998.852 Person th for 2016. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Aged >60 Female & >65 Male data is updated yearly, averaging 916.000 Person th from Jun 1971 (Median) to 2017, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,130.053 Person th in 2014 and a record low of 811.000 Person th in 1971. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Aged >60 Female & >65 Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G003: Population: Scotland.

open data - national records of scotland land population density mid-2022

United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Female: Aged 1 to 4 data was reported at 140.223 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 112.892 Person th for 2016. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Female: Aged 1 to 4 data is updated yearly, averaging 124.000 Person th from Jun 1971 (Median) to 2017, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 174.000 Person th in 1971 and a record low of 103.000 Person th in 2005. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Female: Aged 1 to 4 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.G003: Population: Scotland.

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for the Age (in 20 categories) by sex by Individuals in Scotland.

Age

A person's age on Census Day, 20 March 2022. Infants aged under 1 year are classified as 0 years of age.

The quality assurance report can be found here

United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Male: Aged 15 to 24 data was reported at 327.411 Person th in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 334.302 Person th for 2016. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Male: Aged 15 to 24 data is updated yearly, averaging 349.000 Person th from Jun 1971 (Median) to 2017, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 449.000 Person th in 1984 and a record low of 313.000 Person th in 1999. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Male: Aged 15 to 24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G003: Population: Scotland.

Principal projection for Scotland - population by five-year age groups and sex.

This dataset provides Census 2022 estimates for the Country of Birth by Individuals in Scotland.

Country of birth

Country of birth is the country in which a person was born. Users should be mindful of changes in EU members and accession states between 2011 and 2022. This will affect the number of countries which make up certain categories when comparing the results between censuses.

Details of classification can be found here

The quality assurance report can be found here

United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Female: Aged >60 data was reported at 560.346 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 554.496 Person th for 2016. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Female: Aged >60 data is updated yearly, averaging 612.000 Person th from Jun 1971 (Median) to 2017, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 703.164 Person th in 2014 and a record low of 547.317 Person th in 2015. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Female: Aged >60 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G003: Population: Scotland.

Scotland’s population was estimated to be 5,479,900 at mid-2021 (30 June 2021). The population increased by 13,900 people (0.25%) in the year to mid-2021. The average annual growth in the 5 years before the pandemic was higher than this, at around 23,100 people (0.43%). There have been more deaths than births for the last seven years. In the latest year, deaths outnumbered births by the largest amount on record. Migration was the main driver of population growth over the latest year. More people moved to Scotland than left, as has been the case for the last two decades. The pattern of population change was different to previous years. In the latest year, the population of the largest cities fell, which was a change from growth in previous years. The greatest population growth was in council areas around Edinburgh. In addition, many rural areas which had previously had falling populations saw an increase in population over the latest year.

Population by age, sex and administration area (council and health board area).

Source agency: National Records of Scotland

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Population Estimates for Scotland

United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Aged 75 to 84 data was reported at 326.155 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 323.264 Person th for 2016. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Aged 75 to 84 data is updated yearly, averaging 259.000 Person th from Jun 1971 (Median) to 2017, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 326.155 Person th in 2017 and a record low of 183.000 Person th in 1971. United Kingdom Population: Scotland: Aged 75 to 84 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G003: Population: Scotland.

This dataset contains gridded human population with a spatial resolution of 1 km x 1 km for the UK based on Census 2021 (Census 2022 for Scotland) and Land Cover Map 2021 input data. Data on population distribution for the United Kingdom is available from statistical offices in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and provided to the public e.g. via the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Population data is typically provided in tabular form or, based on a range of different geographical units, in file types for geographical information systems (GIS), for instance as ESRI Shapefiles. The geographical units reflect administrative boundaries at different levels of detail, from Devolved Administration to Output Areas (OA), wards or intermediate geographies. While the presentation of data on the level of these geographical units is useful for statistical purposes, accounting for spatial variability for instance of environmental determinants of public health requires a more spatially homogeneous population distribution. For this purpose, the dataset presented here combines 2021/2022 UK Census population data on Output Area level with Land Cover Map 2021 land-use classes 'urban' and 'suburban' to create a consistent and comprehensive gridded population data product at 1 km x 1 km spatial resolution. The mapping product is based on British National Grid (OSGB36 datum).

As of 2023, the population density in London was by far the highest number of people per square km in the UK, at *****. Of the other regions and countries which constitute the United Kingdom, North West England was the next most densely populated area at *** people per square kilometer. Scotland, by contrast, is the most sparsely populated country or region in the United Kingdom, with only ** people per square kilometer. Countries, regions, and cities According to the official mid-year population estimate, the population of the United Kingdom was just almost **** million in 2022. Most of the population lived in England, where an estimated **** million people resided, followed by Scotland at **** million, Wales at **** million and finally Northern Ireland at just over *** million. Within England, the South East was the region with the highest population at almost **** million, followed by the London region at around *** million. In terms of urban areas, Greater London is the largest city in the United Kingdom, followed by Greater Manchester and Birmingham in the North West and West Midlands regions of England. London calling London's huge size in relation to other UK cities is also reflected by its economic performance. In 2021, London's GDP was approximately *** billion British pounds, almost a quarter of UK GDP overall. In terms of GDP per capita, Londoners had a GDP per head of ****** pounds, compared with an average of ****** for the country as a whole. Productivity, expressed as by output per hour worked, was also far higher in London than the rest of the country. In 2021, London was around **** percent more productive than the rest of the country, with South East England the only other region where productivity was higher than the national average.

Estimates of the usual resident population for the UK as at 30 June of the reference year. Provided by administrative area, single year of age and sex.