National Records of Scotland

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Population by Country of Birth and Nationality, Scotland, July 2019 to June 2020

Population by Country of Birth and Nationality, Scotland, July 2019 to June 2020

Last update: 14 January 2021
Next update: TBC

Estimates of the Scottish population by Country of Birth and Nationality from the Annual Population Survey (APS). This provides information on the number of non-UK born and non-British nationals living in Scotland and each council area. The latest estimates are for the year ending June 2020. Comparable UK estimates can be found on the ONS website.

Key Findings

  • In the year to June 2020, there were estimated to be 409,000 non-British nationals and 528,000 non-UK born people living in Scotland.
  • The number of non-British nationals living in Scotland increased by 36,000 over the year. This was driven by an increase in non-EU nationals.
  • Of all non-British nationals over half (56%) were EU nationals (231,000), and 44% were non-EU nationals (178,000).
  • Polish remained the most common non-British nationality in Scotland, with 88,000 nationals (22% of the total non-British population), followed by Indian with 22,000 nationals.
  • The council areas with the largest proportion of residents with a non-British nationality were Aberdeen City (19%), City of Edinburgh (18%) and Glasgow City (15%).

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