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Migration: estimates by council

Estimates of net migration in the period 2020/21 at council level are presented in Chart 1. The estimate of net migration in this chart takes account of: in and out migration from overseas, movements to and from the rest of the UK and movements within Scotland.

In the period 2020/21, 27 of the 32 councils gained population though migration with the largest increase in Highland (+3,390). Over the same period, three of Scotland’s city local authorities lost population due to net out-migration: Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee.

Net migration into Scotland increased during 2020/21 compared to the previous year. It is particularly noticeable that there were rises in in-migration to rural and island local authorities, areas which in previous years have often seen net out-migration.

Notes:

Please note that net migration is calculated as the difference between inward migration to an area and outward migration from an area. The data are estimates of civilian migration, and exclude movements of prisoners and armed forces. The figures include movements of asylum seekers and refugees.

These estimates are based on all long-term migrants (this is those that stay for 12 months or more) at council and NHS Board area level. Estimates are only produced annually, about 10 months after the period to which they refer, and rely on administrative and survey data rather than a comprehensive count of people moving.

More information on migration patterns within Scotland can be accessed from National Records of Scotland.

Please note: If you require the most up-to-date data available, please check the data sources directly as new data may have been published since these data pages were last updated. Although we endeavour to ensure that the data pages are kept up-to-date, there may be a time lag between new data being published and the relevant ScotPHO web pages being updated.