Population: policy context

Over the last seven years the Scottish population has continually increased, and it is now at its highest level since 1979.  Population growth in 2009 is catching up with the EU 15 countries and the gap in annual growth rates has decreased.  It was outlined in the Government Economic Strategy (GES) that population growth is a key contributor to, and consequence of, a more vibrant and a more dynamic economy.

The Scottish Government has set a target to match average European (EU15) population growth over the period 2007 to 2017, supported by increased healthy life expectancy in Scotland over this period. Details of how Scotland performs against this target can be found on the Scotland Performs website.