Demographics of Edinburgh

The demography of Edinburgh, the capital city and second largest city of Scotland, is analysed by the National Records of Scotland. The population of the council area of Edinburgh was in .

Population

Historical

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the population expanded rapidly, rising from 49,000 in 1751 to 136,000 in 1831, primarily due to migration from rural areas. As the population grew, problems of overcrowding in the Old Town, particularly in the cramped tenements that lined the present day Royal Mile and the Cowgate, were exacerbated. Poor sanitary arrangements resulted in a high incidence of disease, with outbreaks of cholera occurring in 1832, 1848 and 1866.

Age

Sex

Ethnicity Ethnic Group1991As 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. (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 Licence200120112022 Alternative URL 'Search data by location' > 'Local Authority (CA2019)' > 'City of Edinburgh' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Ethnic Group'Number%Number%Number%Number%White: Total409,04497.64%430,36995.9%437,16791.5%436,74284.9%White: Scottish – –354,05378.9%334,98770.2%298,53358.0%White: Other British – –51,40711.4%56,13211.7%69,82913.6%White: Irish5,5181.31%6,4701.4%8,6031.8%10,3262.0%White: Gypsy/Traveller – – – –388 –256 –White: Polish – – – –12,8202.68%16,3513.18%White: Other – –18,4394.1%24,2375.1%41,4498.1%Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Total6,9791.66%11,6002.5%26,2645.5%44,0708.6%Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian1,1760.28%2,3840.53%6,4701.35%12,4142.41%Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Pakistani2,6250.62%3,9280.87%5,8581.22%7,4541.45%Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi328 –6360.14%1,2770.26%2,6850.52%Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese1,9400.46%3,5320.78%8,0761.69%15,0762.93%Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Asian Other9100.21%1,2010.26%4,5830.96%6,4411.25%Black, Black Scottish or Black British1,1710.3%1,5770.3%5,5051.2%10,8812.1%African: Total603-1,2850.2%4,4740.9%9,4621.84%African: African, African Scottish or African British603 –1,2850.2%4,3640.91%8090.16%African: Other African – – – –110 –8,6531.68%Caribbean or Black: Total568–292–1,0310.2%1,4190.3%Caribbean175 –292 –5050.1%4770.1%Black – – – –403 –80 –Caribbean or Black: Other393 – – –123 –8620.17%Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: Total––2,7760.6%4,0870.8%12,8822.5%Other: Total1,7200.41%2,0470.45%3,6030.8%9,9661.9%Other: Arab – – – –2,5000.52%4,1190.8%Other: Any other ethnic group1,7200.41%2,0470.45%1,1030.23%5,8491.14%Total:418,914100%448,624100%476,626100%514,543100%

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 '2022' > 'City of Edinburgh' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204' 2011 2001 '2001' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204' Poland 13,842 11,651 416 9,445 4,888 1,733 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 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 religion2001 20112022Number%Number%Number%Christianity245,87654.81%206,56543.34%154,89930.10%–Church of Scotland158,30535.29%115,63424.26%69,35613.48%–Roman Catholic48,71210.86%57,86812.14%51,95010.10%–Other Christian38,8598.66%33,0636.94%33,5936.53%Islam6,7591.51%12,4342.61%18,0343.50%Hinduism1,2090.27%3,9960.84%8,4591.64%Buddhism1,1930.27%2,3800.50%2,7960.54%Sikhism7920.18%1,1100.23%1,3950.27%Judaism7740.17%8550.18%1,2700.25%Paganism2,0550.40%Other religion5,6961.27%1,8640.39%1,6290.32%No religion163,93036.54%213,65144.83%289,94456.35%Religion not stated22,3954.99%33,7717.09%34,0616.62%No religion/Not stated total186,32541.53%247,42251.91%324,00562.97%Total population448,624100.00%476,626100.00%514,543100.00%

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.

Demographics of Edinburgh

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