United Kingdom · nation
Scotland population 2026
Scotland has 5,545,500 people on the latest official figure, for mid-2025, 2,200 more than a year earlier (+0.04%). It is 2nd of the UK’s 4 UK nations by population, home to 8.0% of the UK’s people.
If last year’s change continues: about 5.5 million by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.
Scotland in numbers
- Population
- 5.5 million mid-2025
- Change in a year
- +0.04% +2,200 people
- Change since 2020
- +2.52% from 5.4 million
- Share of the UK
- 8.0% 2nd of 4 UK nations
- Population density
- 71per km² 77,900 km²
- Births in the year
- 45 thousand deaths: 62 thousand
- International migration
- +9 thousand net arrivals from abroad
- Moves within the UK
- +9 thousand more people moved in than left
In the latest year deaths outnumbered births by 16,156, 9,300 more people arrived from abroad than left, and 8,600 more people moved in from the rest of the UK than moved out.
That is about as many people as Finland (5.6 million).
Population of Scotland by year
› Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 5,299,900 |
| 2012 | 5,308,200 |
| 2013 | 5,316,800 |
| 2014 | 5,331,400 |
| 2015 | 5,350,600 |
| 2016 | 5,373,600 |
| 2017 | 5,388,200 |
| 2018 | 5,392,100 |
| 2019 | 5,411,200 |
| 2020 | 5,408,900 |
| 2021 | 5,412,900 |
| 2022 | 5,447,000 |
| 2023 | 5,511,800 |
| 2024 | 5,543,300 |
| 2025 | 5,545,500 |
| Year | Population | Change | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5,545,500 | +2,200 | +0.04% |
| 2024 | 5,543,300 | +31,500 | +0.57% |
| 2023 | 5,511,800 | +64,800 | +1.19% |
| 2022 | 5,447,000 | +34,100 | +0.63% |
| 2021 | 5,412,900 | +4,000 | +0.07% |
| 2020 | 5,408,900 | −2,300 | −0.04% |
| 2019 | 5,411,200 | +19,100 | +0.35% |
| 2018 | 5,392,100 | +3,900 | +0.07% |
| 2017 | 5,388,200 | +14,600 | +0.27% |
| 2016 | 5,373,600 | +23,000 | +0.43% |
| 2015 | 5,350,600 | +19,200 | +0.36% |
| 2014 | 5,331,400 | +14,600 | +0.27% |
| 2013 | 5,316,800 | +8,600 | +0.16% |
| 2012 | 5,308,200 | +8,300 | +0.16% |
| 2011 | 5,299,900 | – | – |
Scotland among the UK’s UK nations
Full ranking →| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 58,834,812 | +0.39% | 84.7% | 452 |
| 2 | Scotland | 5,545,500 | +0.04% | 8.0% | 71 |
| 3 | Wales | 3,175,181 | −0.09% | 4.6% | 153 |
| 4 | Northern Ireland | 1,928,446 | +0.03% | 2.8% | 142 |
Largest cities in Scotland
City proper, not the wider metro area; latest figure in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), so years differ.
- Glasgow626,410
- Edinburgh514,990
- Aberdeen198,590
- Dundee148,210
- Paisley77,270
- East Kilbride75,310
Air quality in Scotland today
Hourly AQI and a 48-hour forecast.
Questions
What is the population of Scotland in 2026?
Is Scotland’s population growing or shrinking?
How does Scotland rank in the UK?
What is the population density of Scotland?
What is the largest city in Scotland?
Source and method
Office for National Statistics, mid-year population estimates. Open Government Licence v3.0. Standard area measurements, ONS. The ONS publishes new mid-year estimates once a year. Ranks, shares and changes are our arithmetic on the published figures. National figures can differ from the UN’s projection for the UK, which uses a different method. The 2026 figure above carries last year’s change forward; it does not come from the source.
Cite this page: Scotland population, Office for National Statistics, mid-2025. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/united-kingdom/scotland/
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