Demographics of Edinburgh
Demographics of Edinburgh Population pyramid of Edinburgh
Population 514,990 (2022)
The demography of Edinburgh , the capital city and second largest city of Scotland , is analysed by the National Records of Scotland .[ 1] The population of the council area of Edinburgh was 514,990 in 2022.[ 2]
Population
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(June 2024 )
Historical
Age
Sex
Ethnicity
Ethnic Group
1991[ 3] [ 4]
2001[ 5] [ 6]
2011[ 5] [ 6]
2022[ 7]
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
White : Total
409,044
97.64%
430,369
95.9%
437,167
91.7%
436,742
84.9%
White: Scottish
–
–
354,053
78.9%
334,987
70.2%
298,533
58.0%
White: Other British
–
–
51,407
11.4%
56,132
11.7%
69,829
13.6%
White: Irish
5,518
1.31%
6,470
1.4%
8,603
1.8%
10,326
2.0%
White: Gypsy/Traveller [ a]
–
–
–
–
388
–
256
–
White: Polish [ a]
–
–
–
–
12,820
2.68%
16,351
3.18%
White: Other
–
–
18,439
4.1%
24,237
5.1%
41,449
8.1%
Asian , Asian Scottish or Asian British : Total
6,979
1.66%
11,600
2.5%
26,264
5.5%
44,070
8.6%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian
1,176
0.28%
2,384
0.53%
6,470
1.35%
12,414
2.41%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Pakistani
2,625
0.62%
3,928
0.87%
5,858
1.22%
7,454
1.45%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi
328
–
636
0.14%
1,277
0.26%
2,685
0.52%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese
1,940
0.46%
3,532
0.78%
8,076
1.69%
15,076
2.93%
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Asian Other
910
0.21%
1,201
0.26%
4,583
0.96%
6,441
1.25%
Black , Black Scottish or Black British [ b]
1,171
0.3%
1,577
0.3%
5,505
1.2%
10,881
2.1%
African : Total
603
-
1,285
0.2%
4,474
0.9%
9,462
1.84%
African: African , African Scottish or African British
603
–
1,285
0.2%
4,364
0.91%
809
0.16%
African: Other African
–
–
–
–
110
–
8,653
1.68%
Caribbean or Black : Total
568
–
292
–
1,031
0.2%
1,419
0.3%
Caribbean
175
–
292
–
505
0.1%
477
0.1%
Black
–
–
–
–
403
–
80
–
Caribbean or Black: Other
393
–
–
–
123
–
862
0.17%
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups : Total
–
–
2,776
0.6%
4,087
0.8%
12,882
2.5%
Other: Total
1,720
0.41%
2,047
0.45%
3,603
0.8%
9,966
1.9%
Other: Arab [ a]
–
–
–
–
2,500
0.52%
4,119
0.8%
Other: Any other ethnic group
1,720
0.41%
2,047
0.45%
1,103
0.23%
5,849
1.14%
Total:
418,914
100%
448,624
100%
476,626
100%
514,543
100%
Country of birth
The proportion of people residing in Edinburgh born outside the UK was 23.5% in 2022, compared with 15.9% in 2011 and 8.3% in 2001. Below are the largest overseas-born groups in Edinburgh according to the 2022 census, alongside the two previous censuses.
Place of birth
2022[ 8]
2011[ 9]
2001[ 10]
Poland
13,842
11,651
416
India
9,445
4,888
1,733
Mainland China [ c]
8,229
4,188
978
United States
6,539
3,715
2,184
Italy
4,885
1,716
1,257
Spain
4,837
2,011
1,058
Ireland
4,774
4,743
3,324
Germany
3,843
3,526
2,760
Hong Kong
3,556
1,622
1,416
Pakistan
3,220
2,472
1,663
Nigeria
2,978
1,186
231
France
2,973
2,039
1,412
South Africa
2,464
1,824
1,331
Greece
2,377
992
575
Australia
2,189
2,086
2,012
Canada
2,079
1,760
1,332
Overall – all overseas-born
120,978
75,698
37,420
Religion
The following table shows the religion of respondents in the 2001, 2011 and 2022 censuses in Edinburgh.
Current religion
2001[ 11]
2011[ 12]
2022[ 7]
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Christianity
245,876
54.81%
206,565
43.34%
154,899
30.10%
–Church of Scotland
158,305
35.29%
115,634
24.26%
69,356
13.48%
–Roman Catholic
48,712
10.86%
57,868
12.14%
51,950
10.10%
–Other Christian
38,859
8.66%
33,063
6.94%
33,593
6.53%
Islam
6,759
1.51%
12,434
2.61%
18,034
3.50%
Hinduism
1,209
0.27%
3,996
0.84%
8,459
1.64%
Buddhism
1,193
0.27%
2,380
0.50%
2,796
0.54%
Sikhism
792
0.18%
1,110
0.23%
1,395
0.27%
Judaism
774
0.17%
855
0.18%
1,270
0.25%
Paganism [ d]
—
—
—
—
2,055
0.40%
Other religion
5,696
1.27%
1,864
0.39%
1,629
0.32%
No religion
163,930
36.54%
213,651
44.83%
289,944
56.35%
Religion not stated
22,395
4.99%
33,771
7.09%
34,061
6.62%
No religion/Not stated total
186,325
41.53%
247,422
51.91%
324,005
62.97%
Total population
448,624
100.00%
476,626
100.00%
514,543
100.00%
National identity
The 2022 census found that of the 514,543 people residing in Edinburgh, 47.9% identified with the Scottish identity only, 16.6% identified with the British identity only and 8.9% identified with both identities. 5.0% identified with other UK identities (including English identity), 16.5% identified with an other identity only and the final 0.9% identified with at least one UK identity and an other identity.[ 13]
See also
Notes
^ a b c New category created for the 2011 census
^ Category restructured for the 2011 census
^ This figure does not include Hong Kong and Macau .
^ New category created for the 2022 census
References
^ "City of Edinburgh Council Area Profile" . National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 31 July 2022 .
^ "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022" . Office for National Statistics . 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024 .
^ As UK Census data post 2001 is unavailable through the ONS website, it has been recommended to use archival census collection websites to obtain data. Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for Scotland. Archived 5 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine (Table 6)
^ Office of Population Censuses and Surveys; General Register Office for Scotland; Registrar General for Northern Ireland (1997): 1991 Census aggregate data. UK Data Service (Edition: 1997). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-1991-1 This information is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence
^ a b Census Dissemination Unit, Mimas (5 May 2011). "InFuse" . infuse2011gf.ukdataservice.ac.uk . Retrieved 24 June 2022 .
^ a b Council, The City of Edinburgh. "Census 2011 – The Results for Edinburgh – The City of Edinburgh Council" . www.edinburgh.gov.uk . Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2019 .
^ a b "Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion - Chart data" . Scotland's Census . National Records of Scotland . 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024 . Alternative URL 'Search data by location' > 'Local Authority (CA2019)' > 'City of Edinburgh' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Ethnic Group'
^ "Table UV204 - Country of birth: Country by Country of Birth by Individuals" . National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 24 May 2024 . '2022' > 'City of Edinburgh' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204'
^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2018 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
^ "Table UV08 - Country of birth: Final council area/LAD by Country of Birth by Person and Termtime Address Indicator" . National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 24 May 2024 . '2001' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204'
^ "Scotland's Census 2001 - National Records of Scotland Table UV16 - Current religion" . National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 21 June 2024 .
^ "Scotland's Census 2011 – Table KS209SCb" . scotlandscensus.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2015 .
^ "Scotland's Census 2022 - UV202 - National identity" . UK Data Service. Retrieved 6 June 2024 .
External links
City of Edinburgh: Council Area Profile, National Records of Scotland