In the 2011 Scottish census conducted by the Scottish Government, Scotland's population was recorded to be 96% White, a 2% decrease from the previous census held in 2001. 91.8% of Scotland's population claimed to be White Scottish or White: Other British, whilst 4.2% were recorded as Polish, Irish, Gypsy/Traveller or ‘White: Other’. The recorded population of Asian, African, Caribbean or Black, Mixed or Other ethnic groups doubled to 4% in the 2011 census.[1]
The highest proportion of those claimed to belong to an ethnic minority group were in the two largest cities in Scotland – Edinburgh and Glasgow – at 17.9% and 17.3% respectively.[2]
At the 2011 census in Scotland, a total of 221,000 people were recorded to have claimed to belong to a white ethnic minority group. The most frequently claimed white ethnic minority groups were as follows:[3]
Between 2001 and 2011, Scotland's Asian population had almost doubled, rising by 69,000 people. 2.7%, or roughly 141,000 of Scotland's population, were recorded as Asian in the 2011 census. This was between:[4]
In 2011, African, Caribbean or Black ethnicities made up roughly 0.7% of Scotland's recorded population. By 2011, the population of African, Caribbean or Black ethnicities had increased by 28,000 people. Roughly, 30,000 people identified themselves as 'African', and just under 7,000 people identified themselves as 'Caribbean or Black' in the 2011 Scottish census.[5]
Approximately, just under 1% of the recorded population in Scotland in 2011 identified themselves as mixed or another ethnic group. Roughly, this amounted to 34,000 people, with:[6]
On average, Scotland's cities populations had the highest proportion of ethnic minorities. In Edinburgh, 17.9% identified themselves as an ethnic minority, whereas in Glasgow, the recorded figure was 17.3%. In other cities, Aberdeen recorded 17.1% and Dundee 10.6% of the population.[7]
The 1991, 2001 and 2011 censuses recorded the following ethnic groups:
| Ethnic group | 1981 estimations[8] | 1991[9] [10] | 2001[11] | 2011[12] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | ||
| White Total | 4,908,140 | 99.1% | 4,935,933 | 98.74% | 4,960,334 | 97.99% | 5,084,407 | 96.02% | |
| White: Scottish | – | – | – | – | 4,459,071 | 88.09% | 4,445,678 | 83.95% | |
| White: Other British | – | – | – | – | 373,685 | 7.38% | 417,109 | 7.88% | |
| White: Irish | – | – | – | – | 49,428 | 0.98% | 54,090 | 1.02% | |
| White: Gypsy/Traveller[13] | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,212 | 0.08% | |
| White: Polish | – | – | – | – | – | – | 61,201 | 1.16% | |
| White: Other | – | – | – | – | 78,150 | 1.54% | 102,117 | 1.93% | |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Total | – | – | 42,852 | 0.86% | 71,317 | 1.41% | 140,678 | 2.66% | |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian | – | – | 10,050 | 0.20% | 15,037 | 0.30% | 32,706 | 0.62% | |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Pakistani | – | – | 21,192 | 0.42% | 31,793 | 0.63% | 49,381 | 0.93% | |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi | – | – | 1,134 | 0.02% | 1,981 | 0.04% | 3,788 | 0.07% | |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese | – | – | 10,476 | 0.21% | 16,310 | 0.32% | 33,706 | 0.64% | |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Asian Other | – | – | 4,604 | 0.09% | 6,196 | 0.12% | 21,097 | 0.40% | |
| Black, Black Scottish or Black British[14] | – | – | 3,707 | 0.07% | 6,247 | 0.12% | – | – | |
| African Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | 29,638 | 0.56% | |
| African: African, African Scottish or African British | – | – | – | – | – | – | 29,186 | 0.55% | |
| African: Other African | – | – | – | – | – | – | 452 | 0.01% | |
| Caribbean or Black: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6,540 | 0.12% | |
| Caribbean | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,430 | 0.06% | |
| Black | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,380 | 0.04% | |
| Caribbean or Black: Other | – | – | – | – | – | – | 730 | 0.01% | |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups Total | – | – | – | – | 12,764 | 0.25% | 19,815 | 0.37% | |
| Other: Total | – | – | 8,825 | 0.18% | 9,571 | 0.19% | 14,325 | 0.27% | |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9,366 | 0.18% | |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | 9,571 | 0.19% | 4,959 | 0.09% | |
| Ethnic minority: Total | 46,188 | 0.9% | 55,384 | 1.1% | 106,146 | 2% | 210,996 | 4% | |
| Total: | 4,954,328 | 100% | 4,998,567 | 100.00% | 5,062,011 | 100.00% | 5,295,403 | 100.00% | |
| Ethnic group | School year[15] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2021 | |||||||
| Population | % | Population | % | Population | % | Population | % | Population | % | ||
| White Total | 671,029 | 92.7% | 633,230 | 92.9% | 622,722 | 92.8% | 624,363 | 91.3% | 624,821 | 88.7% | |
| White: Scottish | 663,007 | 91.7% | 618,829 | 90.8% | 579,136 | 86.3% | 555,476 | 81.1% | 537,004 | 76.2% | |
| White: Other British | 21,163 | 3.1% | 34,580 | 5% | 44,842 | 6.4% | |||||
| White: Irish | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,499 | 0.2% | |
| White: Polish | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 16,790 | 2.4% | |
| White: Traveller/Gypsy | – | – | – | – | 864 | 1,121 | 1,435 | 0.2% | |||
| White: Other | 8,022 | 14,401 | 21,559 | 33,186 | 23,251 | 3.3% | |||||
| Asian or Asian British: Total | 15,053 | 2.1% | 18,213 | 2.7% | 21,955 | 3.3% | 26,660 | 3.9% | 33,161 | 4.8% | |
| Asian or Asian British: Indian | 2,163 | 2,825 | 3,930 | 5,378 | 7,442 | 1.1% | |||||
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 8,683 | 9,850 | 11,430 | 12,980 | 14,771 | 2.1% | |||||
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 473 | 541 | 714 | 908 | 1,359 | 0.2% | |||||
| Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 2,202 | 2,248 | 2,637 | 3,707 | 4,922 | 0.7% | |||||
| Asian or Asian British: Asian Other | 1,532 | 2,749 | 3,244 | 3,687 | 4,667 | 0.7% | |||||
| African Total | 1,529 | 0.2% | 2,815 | 0.4% | 4,257 | 0.6% | 6,555 | 0.9% | 10,295 | 1.4% | |
| African: African, African Scottish or African British | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6,556 | 0.9% | |
| African: Other African | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,739 | 0.5% | |
| Caribbean or Black: Total | 595 | – | 586 | – | 708 | 0.1% | 1,033 | 0.1% | 1,429 | 0.2% | |
| Caribbean/Black: Scottish | 105 | 126 | – | – | – | – | 930 | 0.1% | |||
| Caribbean or Black: Other | 490 | 460 | – | – | – | – | 499 | 0.1% | |||
| Mixed Total | 4,814 | 0.6% | 6,146 | 0.9% | 6,956 | 1% | 8,408 | 1.2% | 11,533 | 1.6% | |
| Other: Total | 2,500 | 0.3% | 3,005 | 0.4% | 3,034 | 0.4% | 5,250 | 0.7% | 8,608 | 1.2 | |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | 2,346 | 3,118 | 4,523 | 0.6% | |||
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 688 | 2,132 | 4,085 | 0.6% | |||
| Unknown or not stated | 27,074 | 3.7% | 16,467 | 2.4% | 11,330 | 1.7% | 11,939 | 1.7% | 14,876 | 2.1% | |
| Total: | 723,175 | 100% | 681,277 | 100% | 670,962 | 100% | 684,208 | 100% | 704,723 | 100% | |