Deprivation

Deprivation in Glasgow

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is the main source for measuring relative deprivation in Scotland. In the graph below the latest SIMD revision (SIMD 2020) has been applied to population estimates for 2020. 
PopDep2020Click on graph to expand

Just over 185,000 Glaswegians - 29% of the city’s population - reside in the most deprived 10% of areas in Scotland, and nearly half of Glasgow’s residents - over 281,000 people (44%) - reside in the most deprived 20% of areas.

In contrast, around 37,000 people (6% of the population) live in the least deprived 10% of areas in Scotland.

Despite these stark figures, the level of relative deprivation in Glasgow compared to the rest of Scotland has reduced over recent years.

Notes and definitions

SIMD – Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation provides a relative measure of deprivation based on indicators from 7 domains – income, employment, health, education, access, housing and crime. The index identifies multiple deprivation for 6505 small areas (data zones) across Scotland.  There have been four versions of SIMD to date. The initial index of 2004 (SIMD 2004) has been revised five times in 2006 (SIMD 2006), 2009 (SIMD 2009), 2012 (SIMD 2012), 2016 (SIMD 2016) and 2020 (SIMD 2020). For more information go to the SIMD site.

Deprivation deciles -  the term ‘deprivation decile’ is used to represent 10% of a population with a particular level of deprivation. Thus, the most deprived decile equates to the most deprived 10% within a population, while the least deprived decile represents the 10% of a population living in the least deprived circumstances.

Data zones - Small areas of between 500 and 1000 residents used by the Scottish Government for statistical comparison. The SIMD interactive mapping page illustrates patterns of deprivation across Scotland at a data zone level. There are 6976 data zones in Scotland, 746 of which are in Glasgow.

Additional Resources

  • Resource
    Wednesday, 2 June 2010

    SIMD Analysis: Future Projections

    An analysis of the reasons behind the recent decline of deprivation in Glasgow, with tend projections towards 2015.
  • Resource
    Sunday, 1 November 2009

    Miniature Glasgow - Video

    An extension of the GCPH's work profiling Glasgow's health, produced in collaboration with the International Future Forum.
View more Resources »