Demography
| Edinburgh compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Census 2001 | Edinburgh | Lothian | Scotland |
| Total population | 448,624 | 778,367 | 5,062,011 |
| Population growth 1991–2001 | 7.1% | 7.2% | 1.3% |
| White | 95.9% | 97.2% | 98.8% |
| Asian | 2.6% | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| Under 16 years old | 16.3% | 18.6% | 19.2% |
| Over 65 years old | 15.4% | 14.8% | 16.0% |
| Christian | 54.8% | 58.1% | 65.1% |
| Muslim | 1.5% | 1.1% | 0.8% |
At the United Kingdom Census 2001, Edinburgh had a population of 448,624, a rise of 7.1% from 1991. Estimates in 2010 placed the total resident population at 486,120 split between 235,249 males and 250,871 females. This makes Edinburgh the second largest city in Scotland after Glasgow and the seventh largest in Britain. According to the European Statistical agency, Eurostat, Edinburgh sits at the heart of a Larger Urban Zone covering 665 square miles (1,720 km2) with a population of 778,000.
Edinburgh has a higher proportion of those aged between 16 and 24 than the Scottish average, but has a lower proportion of those classified as elderly or pre-school. Over 95% of Edinburgh respondents classed their ethnicity as White in 2001, with those identifying as being Indian and Chinese at 1.6% and 0.8% of the population respectively. In 2001, 22% of the population were born outside Scotland with the largest group of people within this category being born in England at 12.1%. Since the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, a large number of migrants from the accession states such as Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have settled in the city, with many working in the service industry.
There is evidence of human habitation on Castle Rock from as early as 3,000 years ago. A census conducted by the Edinburgh presbytery in 1592 estimated a population of 8,000 scattered equally north and south of the High Street which runs down the spine of the ridge leading from the Castle. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, the population began to expand rapidly, rising from 49,000 in 1751 to 136,000 in 1831 primarily due to rural out-migration. As the population swelled, overcrowding problems in the Old Town, particularly in the cramped tenements that lined the present day Royal Mile and Cowgate, were exacerbated. Sanitary problems and disease were rife. The construction of James Craig's masterplanned New Town from 1766 onwards witnessed the migration of the professional classes from the Old Town to the lower density, higher quality surroundings taking shape on land to the north. Expansion southwards from the Royal Mile/Cowgate axis of the Old Town saw more tenements being built in the 19th century, giving rise to present day areas such as Marchmont, Newington and Bruntsfield.
Early 20th century population growth coincided with lower density suburban development in areas such as Gilmerton, Liberton and South Gyle. As the city expanded to the south and west, detached and semi detached villas with large gardens replaced tenements as the predominant building style. Nonetheless, the 2001 census revealed that over 55% of Edinburgh's population live in tenements or blocks of flats compared to the Scottish average of 33.5%.
Throughout the early to mid 20th century many new estates were built in areas such as Craigmillar, Niddrie, Pilton, Muirhouse, Piershill and Sighthill, linked to slum clearances in the Old Town.
There were estates built in North Edinburgh in the 1950s to cope with overcrowding in the inner city, Clermiston is one such estate.
Read more about this topic: Edinburgh