Here are some statistics showing Scotland's population throughout the ages
(sources: old directories, gazetteers, almanacs, census statistics etc):
- before 1800 (mostly very approximate)
| Year | Population |
| 1600 | 800,000 |
| 1707 | 1,000,000 |
| 1755 | 1,265,380 |
- 19th century
| Year | Population |
| 1801 | 1,608,420 |
| 1811 | 1,805,864 |
| 1821 | 2,091,521 |
| 1831 | 2,364,386 |
| 1841 | 2,620,184 |
| 1851 | 2,888,742 |
| 1861 | 3,062,294 |
| 1871 | 3,360,018 |
| 1881 | 3,735,573 |
| 1891 | 4,025,647 |
- 20th century
| Year | Population |
| 1901 | 4,472,103 |
| 1911 | 4,760,904 |
| 1921 | 4,882,497 |
| 1931 | 4,842,554 |
| 1939 | 5,006,700 |
| 1951 | 5,096,000 (*) |
| 1961 | 5,179,000 (*) |
| 1971 | 5,229,000 (*) |
| 1981 | 5,130,735 |
| 1991 | 4,962,152 |
Note: (*) indicates that a figure is the population total
accurate to the nearest thousand.
Page created by Vivienne S Dunstan
[Last updated: 23rd August 2002]
