Scotland’s Census 2022 - Demography and migration

An Accredited Official Statistics publication for Scotland

Published: 01 August 2024

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This report presents census data on household demographics and migration. These statistics show how Scotland’s people, and how they live, are changing.

Households

On Census Day there were 2,509,300 households with at least one usual resident. This is up 136,500 (5.8%) from the 2011 census. The percentage increase in the number of households (5.8%) was higher than the increase in the population (2.7%).

The increase in the number of households was mostly due to a 106,700 increase in single person households (up 13.0%). The 2021 census in England and Wales showed a smaller percentage increase in single person households since 2011 (up 5.9%). The 2021 census in Northern Ireland showed a larger increase (up 19.5%).

There were 930,000 single person households in Scotland in 2022. Over a third of all households were single person (37.1%). Single person was the most common household size, followed by two person households (856,000).

Older people living alone

Over half a million people aged 55 and over were living alone in 2022 (553,200). And most of the increase in people living alone was in this age group. In 2022 there were 40,600 more people aged 55 to 64 living alone than in 2011. There were also increases in people living alone among the 65 to 74 and 75 and over age groups.

Older people are more likely to live alone than younger people. Around 1 in 6 people living in households aged 16 to 54 lived alone in 2022 (14.1%). Around 1 in 3 people living in households aged 55 and over lived alone (30.1%). This is similar to 2011 when 29.6% of over 55s lived alone.

On average over 55s were as likely to live alone in 2022 as they were a decade earlier. So the increase in number of older people living alone was driven by the increase in the overall number of older people since 2011.

The percentage of people living alone who were female increases as we move up through older age groups. Just over half of 55 to 64 year olds living alone were female (51.7%). This reflects the fact that in Scotland females have higher life expectancy than males (Table 1, Life Expectancy in Scotland, 2020-2022, NRS).

Figure 3 shows the percentage of the total population in each council area that is aged 55 and over and lives alone. Na h-Eileanan Siar (13.7%), Argyll & Bute (13.4%) and Inverclyde (12.5%) had the largest percentage of their population aged 55+ and living alone.

Households with dependent children

Census data on household composition allows us to count households which include families with dependent children.

Dependent children are those living with their parent(s) and aged under 16, or aged 16 to 18 in full-time education. Children aged 16 to 18 who have a spouse, partner or child living in the household are not included.

In 2022 there were 590,500 households with dependent children. This is just under one in four households. This is a decrease of 25,900 or 4.2% since 2011. This reflects the decrease in the number of children in Scotland over the same period. The number of 0-15 year olds decreased by 2.7% from 916,300 to 891,300.

Figure 4 shows how the percentage of households with dependent children varies by council area. Council areas that are next to Glasgow and Edinburgh had the highest percentages. These include East Renfrewshire (31.4%), Midlothian (28.7%) and West Lothian (28.2%). Island council areas had the lowest percentage of households with dependent children. These included Argyll & Bute (19.4%), Na h-Eileanan Siar (19.7%) and Orkney (20.5%).

Households with only non-dependent children

Census data on household composition also allows us to count households containing one family with non-dependent children.

Non-dependent children are those living with their parent(s) and aged 19 or over, or aged 16 to 18 and not in full-time education. Children who have a spouse, partner or child living in the household are non-dependent. Non-dependent children are sometimes called adult children.

In 2022 there were 253,800 households containing one family with only non-dependent children. This is an increase of 9,400 or 3.8% since 2011.

The 2021 censuses in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland found larger increases in the number of households containing one family with only non-dependent children compared to 2011. We will be able to combine data from different questions in Scotland’s Census to explore these trends later in 2024.

Households containing lone parent families

Census data on household type allows us to count households containing lone parent families.

In 2022 there were 261,400 households containing lone parent families. This is around 1 in 10 households. The number of households containing lone parent families decreased by 6.8% since 2011.

Marriage, civil partnerships and cohabiting couples

Census data on household type also allows us to count households containing couples.

The census shows a gradual shift from marriage or civil partnerships towards cohabiting. There were 1,251,600 households containing couples in Scotland in 2022. This is an increase of 54,100 or 4.5% since 2011. And an increase of 8.1% since 2001. The increase was driven by a rise in households with cohabiting couples, up 25.2% since 2011 and 80.8% since 2001. The percentage of households with couples where the couple were married or in a civil partnership decreased from 86.0% in 2001 to 76.6% in 2022.

This reflects a gradual fall in the number of marriages in Scotland over the last 50 years (Table MT.01, Marriages and Civil Partnership - Time Series Data, NRS).

Migration

Scotland’s population grew by 144,400 (2.7%) since 2011. This was due to an increase in people born outside of Scotland.

Between 2011 and 2022 the number of people living in Scotland who were born in Scotland decreased by 90,400. This decrease was offset by increases in the number who were born in the rest of the UK (up 49,200) and born overseas (up 185,600).

Looking at country of birth by age shows that due to migration we have more people in younger age groups than we otherwise would. This is offsetting the higher numbers in older age groups to some extent, resulting in a slightly flatter age distribution.

Census numbers only include people living in Scotland at the time of the census. So the census does not show the full flow of people moving to and from Scotland between censuses. NRS publishes regular data on migration flows. These figures show the number of people moving in and out of Scotland each year.

But census allows us to look in more detail at the characteristics of people who have migrated to Scotland. The census asked people who were born overseas which country they were born in. It also asks when they moved to the UK. This information allows us to calculate how long people have been in the UK and their age of arrival.

Later in 2024 we will be able to combine data from different questions to look at other characteristics of people who migrated to Scotland such as their occupation.

Length of time living in the UK

Scotland’s Census found almost half of people born overseas had been living in the UK for 10 or more years (49.8%). Compared to 2011 more people in Scotland have been living in the UK long term after moving from overseas.

There are now 276,300 people in the ‘10+ years’ group. This has doubled since 2011. However, census data does not allow us to look at average length of stay in general. People moving to and from Scotland between 2011 and 2022 will not be counted in the censuses.

Age of arrival in the UK

Figure 7 shows how age of arrival in the UK varied for people living in Scotland in 2022 who were born overseas. Around 1 in 3 people born overseas arrived in the UK aged between 20 and 29 (35.3%). This is likely due to people moving to Scotland to study or work. Around 1 in 8 arrived as a child under 5 years old (13.7%).

The distribution is relatively similar to the age distribution of people born overseas. But there are differences as we know people who move to Scotland from overseas stay for different lengths of time. We will be able to combine data from different census variables to look into patterns like this later in 2024.

Country of birth

In 2022 over half a million people living in Scotland were born in the rest of the UK (563,500). A further half a million were born outside of the UK (554,900). The number of people born outside of the UK increased by 185,600 since 2011. Figure 8 shows the ten most common countries of birth of people born outside of the UK.  

The most common country of birth of people born outside the UK was Poland (75,400 people). The next most common country of birth was India (37,700) and then Pakistan (28,900).

The countries in the top ten that saw the biggest increase in people since 2011 were Poland (up 20,100), India (up 14,200) and Nigeria (up 11,800). The number of people in Scotland born in Italy more than doubled from 6,000 in 2011 to 14,500 in 2022.

Data related to this release

Search for Scotland’s Census 2022 data tables in the census data section.

Geography boundaries and lookups for use with census data are available on the NRS website. 

Privacy protection

All data tables have privacy protection applied to keep the data of individuals safe. Cells might not sum to sub totals and totals due to these Statistical Disclosure Controls (SDC). More information about SDC is available via the slides from our May 2024 webinars.

Working with census statistics

Census statistics represent the total population rather than just those who completed the questionnaire. Since the 2001 censuses, statistical modelling has been used across the United Kingdom to produce total population estimates from census responses.

As with all estimates, there is a level of uncertainty. Users should consider uncertainty when working with census estimates and interpreting small changes.

More information on quality

The quality of census data is important. We made innovative changes to our approach to account for the census response rate (89.8%) and ensure census statistics represent the total population rather than just those who completed the questionnaire.

We published a blog on the quality of small area statistics and why you can be confident using census data.

Quality assurance

We have published quality information for the variables included in this release alongside this report.

In 2023 we published a report on our approach to statistical quality assurance alongside the first release of data from Scotland’s Census 2022. We have carried out extensive quality assurance work to produce high quality census estimates.

Rounding

This report uses rounded estimates. Figures may not add exactly to totals because of the rounding. Unrounded census data is used to calculate percentages.

An Accredited Official Statistics publication for Scotland

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2023. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Future census publications

We will publish outputs from Scotland's Census 2022 in phases. This reflects the additional work required to produce more detailed census statistics.

Topic summaries

This report is the fourth in a series of topic summaries. The remaining summaries are:

• Housing (22 August)
• Education, Labour market and travel to work (September)
• Health, disability and unpaid care (September)

The topic order above is provisional and release dates will be confirmed on our census outputs release schedule page. 

Topic data will be published down to output area where possible. Output areas are made up of approximately 50 households. We will also produce breakdowns of these topics by age and sex where appropriate.

Multivariate/Build your own tables

After the remaining topic releases we will publish multivariate data. This means we will publish tables which include more than one census topic variable. For example, ethnic group by country of birth.

Our Flexible Table Builder will allow users to create their own census tables. Users will be able to combine the different census variables they are interested in.

Glossary

Age

A person's age on Census Day, 20 March 2022. 

Council Area

There are 32 council areas in Scotland. Councils provide public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning.

Sex

This is the sex recorded by the person completing the census. The options were "Female" and "Male".

We provided guidance on how to answer the sex question.

Household

A household is defined as:

• one person living alone, or
• a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room, or dining area

This includes:

• all sheltered accommodation units in an establishment (irrespective of whether there are other communal facilities), and
• all people living in caravans on any type of site that is their usual residence; this will include anyone who has no other usual residence elsewhere in the UK

A household must contain at least one person whose place of usual residence is at the address. A group of short-term residents living together is not classified as a household, and neither is a group of people at an address where only visitors are staying.

Household Type & Household Composition

These describe households according to the type of family present or the relationship between the household members.

More information on the 'Household type' and 'Household composition' variables is available on our metadata pages.

Marital and civil partnership status

The legal relationship a person has with another person on census day (20 March 2022) regardless of current living arrangements. 

Cohabiting couple

Partners who have indicated that they live together but are not married or in a civil partnership. 

Lone-parent family

A family with a single male or female parent living with either dependent or non-dependent children. 

Dependent child

Dependent children are those living with their parent(s) and aged under 16, or aged 16 to 18 in full-time education. Children aged 16 to 18 who have a spouse, partner or child living in the household are not included.

Non-dependent child

Non-dependent children are those living with their parent(s) and aged 19 or over, or aged 16 to 18 and not in full-time education. Children who have a spouse, partner or child living in the household are non-dependent. Non-dependent children are sometimes called adult children.

Age of Arrival in UK

Age of arrival in the UK is calculated using the date that a person last arrived to live in the UK and their date of birth.

Short visits away from the UK are not counted in determining the date that a person last arrived.

Age of arrival is only recorded for people who were not born in the UK. 

Length of residence in the UK

Length of residence in the UK is calculated using the date that a person last arrived to live in the UK and census day.

Short visits away from the UK are not counted in determining the date that a person last arrived.

Length of residence in the UK is only recorded for people who were not born in the UK. 

UK censuses 

The Office for National Statistics is responsible for the census in England and Wales. Data and supporting information is available on the ONS website.

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency is responsible for the census in Northern Ireland. Data and supporting information is available on the NISRA website.

Contact us

Please get in touch if you need any further information, or have any suggestions for improvement.

E-mail: [email protected]
NRS customer services telephone: 0131 202 0451

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