Geography of Scotland - Human Geography

Human Geography

According to the General Register Office for Scotland, the total population of Scotland stood at 5,168,500 in June 2008, an increase of 2.1% since the census of April 2001. Scotland's share of the United Kingdom population has been declining in recent years and stands at just over 8.5% due to differential rates of growth in the home nations. However an increasing birth rate and higher levels of inward migration to Scotland have reversed the decline and contributed to the recent population growth.

Compared with the rest of Europe, Scotland has a low population density at 65 people per square kilometre. However Scotland is a highly urbanised country, with 82% of the population living in settlements of 3,000 people or more. As a result, the majority of the population live in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, surrounding the chief cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Other concentrations of population include the northeast coast of Scotland - principally surrounding the city of Aberdeen and its environs - and around Inverness. With a population density of 8 people per square kilometre, the Highlands are the most sparsely populated part of the country. In these areas, the population is scattered in villages, small towns and isolated farmsteads or crofts.

Nearly 100 of Scotland's islands are inhabited, the most populous being Lewis with 16,782 people resident in 2001, primarily concentrated in Stornoway, the only burgh of the Outer Hebrides. Other island populations range down to very low levels on certain small isles. Between 1991 and 2001, the total number of people living on Scotland's islands fell by 3%. Conversely, islands such as Tiree, Skye and Eigg experienced increases in their respective populations over the same decade.

There are seven cities in Scotland; Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth and Stirling. The 2001 census identified Glasgow as being the largest city in Scotland, with a total population of 629,501, while the Scottish capital, Edinburgh had a population of 448,624, in the same year. Between 1991 and 2001, the populations of Edinburgh and Stirling grew by 2.9% and 6.5% respectively. Inverness experienced population growth of over 10% during the same period. At the same time, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen all witnessed population decline. Aside from the cities, the greatest intra-census population growth was experienced in the local authorities of West Lothian, East Lothian, Aberdeenshire and Perth and Kinross. The Western Isles saw a 9.8% decrease in population between 1991 and 2001.