Coatbridge - Demography

Demography

According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the census locality of Coatbridge had a total resident population of 41,170, or 13% of the total of North Lanarkshire. This figure, combined with an area of 6.818 square miles (17.7 km2), provides Coatbridge with a population density figure of 6,038 inhabitants per square mile (2,331 /km2).

The median age of males and females living in Coatbridge was 35 and 38 years respectively, compared to 37 and 39 years for those in the whole of Scotland. Thirty four percent were married, 6.1% were cohabiting couples, 14.7% were lone parent families and 32.5% of households were made up of individuals.

The place of birth of the town's residents was as follows: 98.7% United Kingdom (including 96% from Scotland), 0.32% Republic of Ireland, 0.30% from other European Union countries, and 0.72% from elsewhere in the world. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39.3% in full-time employment, 9.4% in part-time employment, 3.6% self-employed, 5.3% unemployed, 2.5% students with jobs, 3.2% students without jobs, 13.4% retired, 5.7% looking after home or family, 12.0% permanently sick or disabled, and 5.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Compared with the average demography of Scotland, Coatbridge has low proportions of people born outside the United Kingdom, and people over 75 years of age.

During the 19th century, Irish people began to arrive in large numbers in Coatbridge. The 1851 census recorded that the Irish constituted 35.8% of the local population. Although while a significant proportion of these emigrants were Protestant, the majority were Catholic. By 1901, the percentage of Irish-born people in Coatbridge had fallen to around 15%, but remained the highest of all the major towns in Scotland. In the 2001 census Irish ethnicity was recorded at just over 1%, although just over half the population claimed their religious denomination as Roman Catholicism. In 1985, 56% of the population of Coatbridge were Roman Catholic.

In 2006, Coatbridge (along with Port Glasgow and Clydebank) was voted 'the least Scottish town in Scotland' due to having the highest percentage of Irish names in the country. Reportedly more than 28% of adults in Coatbridge had names with Irish origins.

Other immigrants to Coatbridge have included in 1880s a small number Lithuanians. In 1905, part of a 'wave' of immigrants from Monte Cassino in Italy settled in Coatbridge. A small number of Polish people had stayed in Coatbridge after a Polish tank regiment was stationed in the town during WWII. The 1960 Coatbridge town plan forecast the population to reach 76,000 by 1990.

One local author argued that despite the population apparently remaining relatively static during the 1970s, Coatbridge's population has declined by around 15,000 due to emigration.