Key Facts and Data from the 2001 Census

Key Facts and Data from the 2001 Census

Key results from Scotland's Census in 2001 highlights a number of key points:

Demography

An ageing population

Of the 5,062,011 residents in Scotland on Census day, 36 per cent were under 30 compared with 41 per cent in the 1991 Census.

Fewer married people

The proportion of the population who were married (including remarried and separated) fell from 58 per cent in 1991 to 54 per cent in 2001. The proportion widowed fell from 10 to nine per cent and the proportion whose marital status was divorced rose from five to seven per cent.

Households and families

Households are getting smaller

On average there were 2.27 people per household compared to 2.44 per household in 1991.

Fewer married couple families and more cohabiting couples

Dependent children were more likely to be in a cohabiting couple or lone parent family than in 1991.

Housing

Large increase in owner occupation

The proportion of households owning their own accommodation rose from 52 to 63 per cent between 1991 and 2001. The proportions varied considerably across Council areas from over 80 per cent ownership in East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire to less than 50 per cent in Glasgow City.

Cultural attributes

More non-Whites than in 1991

Some two per cent of Scotland’s population were from a minority (non-White) ethnic group, compared with 1.3 per cent in 1991. The largest number of people, after the White ethnic group, was in the Pakistani group.

More English-born in Scotland

Nearly 13 per cent, or one in eight, of the population were born outwith Scotland, an increase from nearly 11 per cent in 1991. Most people born outwith Scotland were born in England. Eight per cent of the population were born in England compared with seven per cent in 1991.

Census data on religion

For the first time the census asked two questions on religion, religion of upbringing and current religion. For religion of upbringing the largest groups were Church of Scotland (47 per cent), None (18 per cent), and Roman Catholic (17 per cent). The equivalent percentages for current religion were 42 per cent, 28 per cent, and 16 per cent.

Fewer Gaelic speakers

58,650 people aged three and over spoke Gaelic compared with 65,980 in 1991 - a fall of 11 per cent.

Illness and health

Large increase in recorded long-term illness

20 per cent of the population indicated that they had a long-term illness, health problem or disability that limited their daily activities or the work they could do, a considerable increase on the 14 per cent reported in 1991.

More poor health in social rented and rent-free sectors

The 2001 Census asked a new question about general health over the previous twelve months. Looking at responses to general health with household tenure, the highest proportions of reporting of health 'not good' were found in the social rented sector and in households living rent free (both 18 per cent compared with 10 per cent for all people in households).

Economic activity

Fewer men in full-time employment

The proportion of males in full-time employment fell from 55 per cent in 1991 to 51 per cent.

Glasgow City has most unemployed

Relatively high numbers of unemployed people as a proportion of those economically active were found in Glasgow City (10 per cent) and Dundee City, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire (all nine per cent), while the lowest rate of unemployment was in the Shetland Islands (three per cent).

One in 10 a carer

A new question on the 2001 Census asked about the amount of time people spent providing care or unpaid help to a family member, friend or neighbour because of long-term physical or mental ill-health or disability (including problems related to old age). Ninety per cent of the population provided no care; six per cent provided care for less than 19 hours a week; 1.2 per cent provided 20 to 49 hours a week; and 2.3 per cent provided at least 50 hours a week.

Over a fifth of working women employed in Health and Social Work

The health and social work industry contained over 20 per cent of all female workers.
Asians more likely to be self-employed – Self-employment was relatively high among ethnic groups with Asian origins.

Travel

More households with cars

About a third of households were without a car or van - a fall from over two-fifths in 1991.

More go to work by car - 64 per cent of workers travelled to work by car or motorcycle, an increase of eight percentage points from 1991. The increase in cars and motorcycles was at the expense of travel by bus etc, which fell from 16 per cent to 13 per cent, and other means of transport (chiefly on foot or bicycle) which fell from 20 per cent to 14 per cent.

Educational qualifications

One-third with no qualifications

A third of people aged 16 to 74 had no qualifications recorded in the categories listed against the tick boxes on the questionnaire.

General census facts and figures

• Census details from 1841-1901 have been transcribed and indexed and are available online
• A census of population in Scotland has been held every 10 years since 1801 (except 1941 during the war)
• Parish schoolmasters carried out the census until 1831
• The first official census recorded Scotland’s population at 1.6 million in 1801. It doubled to around 3 million in 1861 – and by 2001 it was 5.1 million
• The 2011 Census marks the 150th anniversary since the General Register Office for Scotland took responsibility for organising Scotland’s census in 1861
• Census records for the past 100 years amounting to 25,000,000 documents are in permanent, secure storage, and other records, back to 1807, are open to the public for research

Facts and figures from the 2001 Census

• The 2001 Census was the first to ask about religion
• 2001 was the first time householders could post back questionnaires instead of having them collected by an enumerator
• Scotland’s population estimate in 2001 was 5,062,011
• The average age in Scotland was 38
• The average Scottish male was 37
• The average Scottish female was 39
• In 2001 the most populated age group was 30 to 44 year olds
• There were 52,102 babies under one-year-old in Scotland
• 0.01 per cent of the population were over 100-years-old
• The two oldest people recorded in Scotland in 2001 were both 109
• The average age of people living alone in Scotland in 2001 was 58
• There were 2,192,246 households in Scotland
• 513,557 houses were owned outright in Scotland
• 4,547 people lived in caravans, mobile homes or other temporary structures
• The average number of rooms in Scottish households was 4.75
• 13 homes in Scotland had 90 rooms or more
• The average number of people living in households in Scotland was 2.27
• Six households had 20 or more people living in them
• There were 2,044,018 cars and vans recorded in Scotland in the last census
• 18,034 households in Scotland had four or more vehicles
• 32.19 per cent of Scotland’s population travelled to work by car or van (includes passengers). A further 14.17 per cent travelled by foot, 10 per cent by bus and 1.79 per cent by train
• There were 26,133 full time students aged 30+
• People were practicing the following religions in Scotland:
  • Church of Scotland – 2,146,251
  • Roman Catholic – 803,732
  • Other Christian – 344,562
  • Buddhist – 6,830
  • Hindu – 5,564
  • Jewish – 6,448
  • Muslim – 42,557
  • Sikh – 6,572
  • Other – 26,974
  • Not answered – 278,061
• 93,282 people in Scotland could speak, read, write or understand Gaelic
• 1,027,872 people in Scotland Census stated they had a limiting long-term illness
• The average number of hours worked in Scotland was 37 hours per week
• 2,261,281 people in Scotland were in employment