Scotland's population tops 5.5m for the first time

International migration has fuelled a record high in the number of people living in Scotland, new figures have revealed.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) data put the country's population at 5,546,900 in the year up to mid-2024.

This is up 0.7% on the previous year with people from overseas making up the majority of the increase.

Deaths outnumbered births in all but one of Scotland's 32 council areas last year.

The NRS data shows the total population grew in every council area apart from Argyll and Bute, Angus, Dundee, the Western Isles, and Dumfries and Galloway.

The number of people living in Scotland first passed the 5.5m mark in 2023.

The population then increased by 40,900 between mid-2023 and mid-2024, with the NRS saying this growth was "higher than the average for the previous 20 years".

Andrew White, head of population and migration statistics at NRS, said: "We can now say that Scotland's population passed the 5.5m mark for the first time in 2023.

"This was driven by people moving to Scotland.

"Midlothian was the only council area to see more births than deaths in the year to June 2024. It is one of the fastest-growing areas of Scotland alongside Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Lothian and West Lothian."

Scotland's changing population

In the year to mid-2024, NRS said 62,000 deaths were recorded in Scotland, compared to 46,400 births.

The NRS data also shows the number of people moving to Scotland was almost double the number who left.

While 68,200 people moved away from Scotland in the year to mid-2024, 124,600 arrived.

This included 76,100 people who came to Scotland from overseas, with the report noting that international immigration "remains historically high".

A recent report suggested Scotland's population could grow to 5.8m over the next two decades due to inward migration.

Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said the statistics demonstrated "the continuing appeal of Scotland as an attractive country for people to live, work, study and settle in".

She added: "We welcome people from around the world and other parts of the UK who want to build their lives here, and it is notable that more people have again moved to Scotland from the rest of the UK than have moved the other way."

The NRS figures also show that Scotland's population is increasingly elderly.

By mid-2024, an estimated 20.5% of the population were aged 65 and over, an increase from 16.2% in the two decades since mid-2004.

Around 16.2% of the population were estimated to be 15 or younger last year, a decrease from 18.4% in mid-2004.