About Scotland.
The population of Scotland in the 2001 Census was 5,062,011. This
has risen to 5,168,500 according to June 2008 estimates.[128] This
would make Scotland the 112th largest country by population if it
were a sovereign state. Although Edinburgh is the capital of
Scotland it is not the largest city. With a population of just over
584,000, this honor falls to Glasgow. Indeed, the Greater Glasgow
conurbation, with a population of almost 1.2 million, is home to
nearly a quarter of Scotland's population.
The Central Belt is where most of the main towns and cities are
located. Glasgow is to the west, while Edinburgh and Dundee lie on
the east coast. Scotland's only major city outside the Central Belt
is Aberdeen, on the east coast to the north. The Highlands are
sparsely populated, although the city of Inverness has experienced
rapid growth in recent years.
In general only the more accessible and larger islands retain human
populations, and fewer than 90 are currently inhabited. The Southern
Uplands are essentially rural in nature and dominated by agriculture
and forestry. Because of housing problems in Glasgow and Edinburgh,
five new towns were created between 1947 and 1966. They are East
Kilbride, Glenrothes, Livingston, Cumbernauld, and Irvine.
Because of immigration since World War II, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and
Dundee have small South Asian communities. Since the recent
Enlargement of the European Union there has been an increased number
of people from Central and Eastern Europe moving to Scotland, and it
is estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 Poles are now living in
the country. As of 2001, there are 16,310 ethnic Chinese residing in
Scotland. The ethnic groups within Scotland are as follows: White,
97.99%; South Asian, 1.09%; Black, 0.16%; Mixed, 0.25%; Chinese,
0.32% and Other, 0.19%.
Scotland has three officially recognised languages: English, Scots,
and Scottish Gaelic. Almost all Scots speak Scottish Standard
English, and in 1996, the General Register Office for Scotland
estimated that 30% of the population are fluent in Scots. Gaelic is
mostly spoken in the Western Isles, where a large number of people
still speak it; however, nationally its use is confined to just 1%
of the population. The number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland dropped
from 250,000 – 7% of the population – in 1881 to 60,000 today
List of towns and cities in Scotland by population
This is a list of towns and cities in Scotland ordered by
population, according to the General Register Office for Scotland
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Population estimates for localities
in Scotland.
1 Glasgow 581,320 City Glasgow City
2 Edinburgh 454,280 City City of Edinburgh
3 Aberdeen 183,030 City Aberdeen City
4 Dundee 142,070 City Dundee City
5 Paisley 141,500 City Renfrewshire
6 East Kilbride 73,200 Town South Lanarkshire
7 Inverness 72,745 City Highland
8 Livingston 59,511 Town West Lothian
9 Cumbernauld 50,480 Town North Lanarkshire
10 Hamilton 48,900 Town South Lanarkshire
11 Kirkcaldy 48,630 Town Fife
12 Dunfermline 46,430 Town Fife
13 Ayr 46,070 Town South Ayrshire
14 Perth 44,820 Town Perth and Kinross
15 Kilmarnock 44,390 Town East Ayrshire
16 Greenock 43,130 Town Inverclyde
17 Coatbridge 42,000 Town North Lanarkshire
18 Glenrothes 38,750 Town Fife
19 Airdrie 35,500 Town North Lanarkshire
20 Falkirk 34,570 Town Falkirk
21 Stirling 33,710 City Stirling
22 Irvine 32,920 Town North Ayrshire
23 Rutherglen 31,700 Town South Lanarkshire
24 Dumfries 31,610 Town Dumfries and Galloway
25 Motherwell 31,180 Town North Lanarkshire
26 Wishaw 29,040 Town North Lanarkshire
27 Clydebank 29,020 Town West Dunbartonshire
28 Bearsden 27,220 Town East Dunbartonshire
29 Cambuslang 25,630 Town South Lanarkshire
30 Newton Mearns 23,610 Town East Renfrewshire
31 Bishopbriggs 22,940 Town East Dunbartonshire
32 Musselburgh 22,380 Town East Lothian
33 Arbroath 22,110 Town Angus
34 Polmont 21,070 Town Falkirk
35 Elgin 21,040 Town[1] Moray
36 Renfrew 20,370 Town Renfrewshire
37 Bellshill 20,090 Town North Lanarkshire
38 Alloa 20,040 Town Clackmannanshire
39 Blantyre 19,870 Town South Lanarkshire
40 Dumbarton 19,860 Town West Dunbartonshire
41 Kirkintilloch 19,200 Town East Dunbartonshire
42 Clarkston 18,980 Town East Renfrewshire
43 Bathgate 18,270 Town West Lothian
44 Stenhousemuir 17,980 Town Falkirk
45 Peterhead 17,450 Town Aberdeenshire
46 Barrhead 16,990 Town East Renfrewshire
47 Grangemouth 16,740 Town Falkirk
48 St Andrews 16,680 Town Fife
49 Kilwinning 16,380 Town North Ayrshire
50 Giffnock 16,090 Town East Renfrewshire
51 Viewpark 16,090 Area* North Lanarkshire
52 Buckhaven 16,030 Town Fife
53 Penicuik 16,010 Town Midlothian
54 Johnstone 15,680 Town Renfrewshire
55 Erskine 15,510 Town Renfrewshire
56 Larkhall 15,420 Town South Lanarkshire |
