Scottish Cities

Population trends for selected Scottish cities, 1982 - 2021
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Over the period 1982-2021, Glasgow’s population dropped by 67,000 (10%), although there has been modest population growth since 2007. Dundee's population has also reduced since 1982 by 12%, while over the same period Edinburgh's population increased by 18% and Aberdeen's by 7%.

In 2021, the populations of all Scotland's largest cities decreased slightly. This is being interpreted by NRS as a COVID-19 related impact with reductions in city populations attributed to people moving out of cities into surrounding local authorities.

Notes

It is worth noting that these city populations are based on local authority boundaries and thus do not reflect the size of the wider surrounding conurbation for each city. For example, the Greater Glasgow and Clyde population is 1.2 million, and using a wider definition of the Glasgow conurbation, encompassing the West of Scotland and including Lanarkshire and parts of Ayrshire, would bring the population to above 2 million.