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Last updated

5 Jan 2021

2011 census: Geographies

Results from Scotland's Census are available for a range of geographies.

Definitions

Output area 2011

Output areas are created by gathering together postcodes. In 2011, a single output area contained at least 50 people and 20 households. There were 46,351 output areas across Scotland. Different population densities mean the size and shape of output areas can vary greatly across Scotland. Output areas form the building blocks for all other census geographies.

Civil parish 1930

Civil Parishes formed part of Scotland’s local government system from 1845 to 1930. We have produced data for all Scotland's 861 civil parishes for all censuses since 1891.

Community health care partnership 2012

There are 34 community health care partnerships in Scotland. They each work towards a set of national health and wellbeing outcomes. Each community health care partnership reports to a health board.

Council area 2011

Council areas are areas made for local government. There are 32 council areas in Scotland. Also known as local authorities, these council areas were established in 1996. Council areas are the only exact fit census geographies.

Detailed characteristic postcode sector

Postcode sectors are one level above full individual postcodes. They consist of the first part of a postcode: for example, the postcode sector for 'EH1 2LP' is 'EH1 2'. Detailed characteristic postcode sectors group together Scotland's 1131 postcode sectors. They enable us to publish detailed census statistics without affecting the confidentiality of census data. There are 866 detailed characteristic postcode sectors in Scotland.

Electoral ward 2007

Each council area in Scotland is made up of electoral wards. People in each electoral wards elect councillors to their local council. Before 2007, each electoral ward elected a single councillor. In 2007, the number of wards reduced. Each electoral ward now elects 3 or 4 councillors. These are called multi-member wards.

The Local Government Boundary Commission is responsible for reviewing electoral wards and recommending changes to the Scottish Government.

Health board 2006

Health board areas are responsible for local health care in Scotland. There are 14 health boards in Scotland. Whole council areas fit exactly into health board areas.

Inhabited islands 2011

There were 110 islands in Scotland known to receive mail at the last census. Ninety-three of these had at least one resident. Some smaller islands were merged with other islands in census results due to confidentiality standards. We produce census information for 56 island groups.

Local characteristic postcode sector

Postcode sectors are one level above full individual postcodes. They consist of the first part of a postcode: for example, the postcode sector for 'EH1 2LP' is 'EH1 2'.

We don't produce data for all postcode sectors because of confidentiality. Instead, we will sometimes group postcodes together. These groups are called local characteristic postcode sectors. There are 1012 local characteristic postcode sectors in Scotland.

National park 2010

There are 2 national parks in Scotland: Cairngorms National Park and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. These geographies cover all the areas within the boundaries of these national parks.

Scotland

Data covering Scotland as a whole.

Scottish parliamentary constituency 2011

Scottish parliamentary constituencies are used to elect members of Scottish Parliament. There are 73 Scottish parliamentary constituencies.

Scottish parliamentary region 2011

Scottish parliamentary regions are used to elect additional members of Scottish Parliament. There are 8 Scottish parliamentary regions covering all of Scotland. Each parliamentary region elects 7 MSPs.

Settlement 2010

A settlement is an area that:

  • has a group of high-density postcodes
  • has a population of at least 500 people
  • is separated from other settlements by an area of low-density postcodes

There were 502 settlements in Scotland in 2010.

Locality 2010

A locality is a group of high-density postcodes within a settlement. They divide large settlements into smaller areas. There were 629 localities in Scotland in 2010.

SNS data zone 2001

SNS data zones divide Scotland up into 6976 zones with a population of between 500 and 1000. While every data zone has about the same population, they can vary greatly in size of area.

SNS data zones are made up of 2001 output areas. They were developed to help monitor and develop policy at a small area level.

SNS data zone 2011

SNS data zones divide Scotland up into 6976 zones with a population of between 500 and 1000. While every data zone has about the same population, they can vary greatly in size of area.

SNS data zones are made up of 2011 output areas. They were developed to help monitor and develop policy at a small area level.

UK parliamentary constituency 2005

UK parliamentary constituencies are areas used to elect members of parliament to the UK Parliament at Westminster. People living in each parliamentary constituency elect one MP to represent them in parliament. There are 59 parliamentary constituencies in Scotland, and 650 in the UK.