What We Do

The statistical service in National Records of Scotland (NRS) collate, analyse and present relevant statistical material about the population of Scotland and sub-Scotland areas (for example Council and Health Board areas). We provide accurate and comprehensive information about the size and characteristics of the population and households of Scotland in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (available on the UK Statistics Authority website).

We also undertake a Census of Population every ten years, the most recent was in 2011. We ensure that the question content and resulting outputs of the census meet the demonstrated requirements of users and are disseminated in appropriate formats to meet their needs.

Key outputs that we produce are:

• Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends
• Annual Mid-year Population Estimates
• Biennial Population Projections
• Annual Estimates of Households and Dwellings
• Biennial Household Projections
• Quarterly and Annual data on Births, Marriages and Deaths

Demography Division Statistics Plan

We are responsible for publishing a wide range of statistics on the population and households in Scotland.

Demography Research

Find information about Scotland's Demography Research Programme and the Economic and Social Research Council's Centre for Population Change.

Customer Service

Information on the service we provide to customers and our charging policy.