SafekipediaDemographics of Edinburgh
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and the second largest city in the country. Understanding the people who live in Edinburgh helps us learn about the city's culture, history, and growth. The National Records of Scotland keeps track of information about the people living in Edinburgh.
In 2024, the population of the Edinburgh council area was 530,680. This means many families, children, and adults call Edinburgh their home. Knowing how many people live in a city and where they come from helps leaders make good choices for schools, parks, and other important places.
Population
Long ago, in the 1700s and 1800s, the number of people in Edinburgh grew very fast. It started with about 49,000 people in 1751 and reached 136,000 by 1831. Many people moved into the city from the countryside. As more people arrived, the old parts of the city became very crowded, especially in the narrow buildings called tenements along the Royal Mile and Cowgate. The poor living conditions caused many health problems, including sickness like cholera in several years.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 82,560 | — |
| 1811 | 102,987 | +24.7% |
| 1821 | 138,235 | +34.2% |
| 1831 | 161,909 | +17.1% |
| 1841 | 166,450 | +2.8% |
| 1851 | 193,929 | +16.5% |
| 1901 | 303,638 | +56.6% |
| 1911 | 320,318 | +5.5% |
| 1921 | 420,264 | +31.2% |
| 1931 | 439,010 | +4.5% |
| 1951 | 466,761 | +6.3% |
| Source: | ||
Ethnicity
| Ethnic Group | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 409,044 | 97.64% | 430,369 | 95.9% | 437,167 | 91.5% | 436,742 | 84.9% |
| White: Scottish | – | – | 354,053 | 78.9% | 334,987 | 70.2% | 298,533 | 58.0% |
| White: Other British | – | – | 51,407 | 11.4% | 56,132 | 11.7% | 69,829 | 13.6% |
| White: Irish | 5,518 | 1.31% | 6,470 | 1.4% | 8,603 | 1.8% | 10,326 | 2.0% |
| White: Gypsy/Traveller | – | – | – | – | 388 | – | 256 | – |
| White: Polish | – | – | – | – | 12,820 | 2.68% | 16,351 | 3.18% |
| White: Other | – | – | 18,439 | 4.1% | 24,237 | 5.1% | 41,449 | 8.1% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Total | 6,979 | 1.66% | 11,600 | 2.5% | 26,264 | 5.5% | 44,070 | 8.6% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian | 1,176 | 0.28% | 2,384 | 0.53% | 6,470 | 1.35% | 12,414 | 2.41% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Pakistani | 2,625 | 0.62% | 3,928 | 0.87% | 5,858 | 1.22% | 7,454 | 1.45% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 328 | – | 636 | 0.14% | 1,277 | 0.26% | 2,685 | 0.52% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese | 1,940 | 0.46% | 3,532 | 0.78% | 8,076 | 1.69% | 15,076 | 2.93% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Asian Other | 910 | 0.21% | 1,201 | 0.26% | 4,583 | 0.96% | 6,441 | 1.25% |
| Black, Black Scottish or Black British | 1,171 | 0.3% | 1,577 | 0.3% | 5,505 | 1.2% | 10,881 | 2.1% |
| African: Total | 603 | - | 1,285 | 0.2% | 4,474 | 0.9% | 9,462 | 1.84% |
| African: African, African Scottish or African British | 603 | – | 1,285 | 0.2% | 4,364 | 0.91% | 809 | 0.16% |
| African: Other African | – | – | – | – | 110 | – | 8,653 | 1.68% |
| Caribbean or Black: Total | 568 | – | 292 | – | 1,031 | 0.2% | 1,419 | 0.3% |
| Caribbean | 175 | – | 292 | – | 505 | 0.1% | 477 | 0.1% |
| Black | – | – | – | – | 403 | – | 80 | – |
| Caribbean or Black: Other | 393 | – | – | – | 123 | – | 862 | 0.17% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: Total | – | – | 2,776 | 0.6% | 4,087 | 0.8% | 12,882 | 2.5% |
| Other: Total | 1,720 | 0.41% | 2,047 | 0.45% | 3,603 | 0.8% | 9,966 | 1.9% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 2,500 | 0.52% | 4,119 | 0.8% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | 1,720 | 0.41% | 2,047 | 0.45% | 1,103 | 0.23% | 5,849 | 1.14% |
| Total: | 418,914 | 100% | 448,624 | 100% | 476,626 | 100% | 514,543 | 100% |
Country of birth
In 2022, about 23.5% of people living in Edinburgh were born outside the United Kingdom. This number has been growing over the years—it was 15.9% in 2011 and even smaller, at 8.3%, in 2001. The table below shows the biggest groups of people in Edinburgh who were born in other countries, comparing data from 2022 and the two earlier years.
| Place of birth | 2022 | 2011 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Poland | 13,842 | 11,651 | 416 |
 India | 9,445 | 4,888 | 1,733 |
 Mainland China | 8,229 | 4,188 | 978 |
 United States | 6,539 | 3,715 | 2,184 |
 Italy | 4,885 | 1,716 | 1,257 |
 Spain | 4,837 | 2,011 | 1,058 |
 Ireland | 4,774 | 4,743 | 3,324 |
 Germany | 3,843 | 3,526 | 2,760 |
 Hong Kong | 3,556 | 1,622 | 1,416 |
 Pakistan | 3,220 | 2,472 | 1,663 |
 Nigeria | 2,978 | 1,186 | 231 |
 France | 2,973 | 2,039 | 1,412 |
 South Africa | 2,464 | 1,824 | 1,331 |
 Greece | 2,377 | 992 | 575 |
 Australia | 2,189 | 2,086 | 2,012 |
 Canada | 2,079 | 1,760 | 1,332 |
| Overall – all overseas-born | 120,978 | 75,698 | 37,420 |
Religion
The table below shows what people in Edinburgh said about their religion in the censuses from 2001, 2011, and 2022.
| Current religion | 2001 | 2011 | 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Christianity | 245,876 | 54.81% | 206,565 | 43.34% | 154,899 | 30.10% |
| –Church of Scotland | 158,305 | 35.29% | 115,634 | 24.26% | 69,356 | 13.48% |
| –Roman Catholic | 48,712 | 10.86% | 57,868 | 12.14% | 51,950 | 10.10% |
| –Other Christian | 38,859 | 8.66% | 33,063 | 6.94% | 33,593 | 6.53% |
| Islam | 6,759 | 1.51% | 12,434 | 2.61% | 18,034 | 3.50% |
| Hinduism | 1,209 | 0.27% | 3,996 | 0.84% | 8,459 | 1.64% |
| Buddhism | 1,193 | 0.27% | 2,380 | 0.50% | 2,796 | 0.54% |
| Sikhism | 792 | 0.18% | 1,110 | 0.23% | 1,395 | 0.27% |
| Judaism | 774 | 0.17% | 855 | 0.18% | 1,270 | 0.25% |
| Paganism | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | 2,055 | 0.40% |
| Other religion | 5,696 | 1.27% | 1,864 | 0.39% | 1,629 | 0.32% |
| No religion | 163,930 | 36.54% | 213,651 | 44.83% | 289,944 | 56.35% |
| Religion not stated | 22,395 | 4.99% | 33,771 | 7.09% | 34,061 | 6.62% |
| No religion/Not stated total | 186,325 | 41.53% | 247,422 | 51.91% | 324,005 | 62.97% |
| Total population | 448,624 | 100.00% | 476,626 | 100.00% | 514,543 | 100.00% |
National identity
In 2022, people living in Edinburgh were asked about their identity. Of the 514,543 people living there, almost half, or 47.9%, said they felt only Scottish identity. About 16.6% felt only British, and 8.9% felt both Scottish and British. Some people chose other identities, with 5.0% picking other UK identities like English, and 16.5% choosing identities outside the UK. A small group, 0.9%, felt both a UK identity and another identity.
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Demographics of Edinburgh, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.