Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2012 - Executive Summary

Key Findings

A summary of key findings from the SIMD 2012 is presented below. Please access the SIMD 2012 Publication Web Portal for further information about the SIMD 2012 and to access the full publication.

• The SIMD 2012 shows that multiple deprivation in Scotland has become less concentrated over time. In SIMD 2004, nearly half of all datazones in the most deprived 10% across Scotland were in Glasgow City. In SIMD 2012 this has dropped to just over one third, with corresponding rises in other Local Authorities. Note that this does not provide any information on overall absolute levels of deprivation; the Index is based only upon rankings, and it is not possible to compare absolute levels of multiple deprivation from one index to the next.
• The areas identified as multiply deprived by SIMD 2012 are similar to those identified by previous editions of the Index (SIMD 2004, 2006, 2009). Of the 976 datazones in the 15% most deprived in SIMD 2012, about three quarters (77%) were also in the 15% most deprived in all the previous editions of the Index. Of the datazones appearing in the 15% most deprived in SIMD 2012, only 5.1% have never appeared in this category before.
• The most deprived datazone in Scotland in SIMD 2012 is S01005247, in the Ferguslie Park area of Paisley, Renfrewshire This datazone was also the most deprived in Scotland in SIMD 2006. It was ranked 2nd most deprived in SIMD 2009 and ranked 20^th most deprived in SIMD 2004.
• The other datazones in the list of top five most deprived datazones in SIMD 2012 include:

Possil Park, Glasgow City (datazone S01003582, ranked 2^nd)
Keppochhill, Glasgow City (datazone S01003564, ranked 3^rd)
Paisley Ferguslie area, Renfrewshire (datazone S01005265, ranked 4^th)
Parkhead West and Barrowfield area, Glasgow City (datazone S01003253, ranked 5^th)

• The most deprived datazone in SIMD 2009 was S01003279, in the Parkhead West and Barrowfield area of Glasgow. In SIMD 2012, this datazone is now ranked 7^th.
• The least deprived datazone in SIMD 2012 is S01001929 in the Craiglockhart area of Edinburgh.
• There were 742,200 people living in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland. However, it is important to remember that the SIMD identifies deprived areas not individuals, so not everyone living in a deprived area is deprived, and not all deprived people live in deprived areas. Of the 742,200 people living in deprived areas, just under a third (31.3%) were income deprived.
• North Lanarkshire, Fife, Renfrewshire and East Ayrshire have seen relatively large increases in their share of datazones in the 15% most deprived areas in Scotland between SIMD 2009 and SIMD 2012.
• Glasgow City, Edinburgh City, West Lothian, Aberdeen City and South Lanarkshire have seen relatively large decreases in their share of datazones in the 15% most deprived areas in Scotland between SIMD 2009 and SIMD 2012.
• Eilean Siar, Moray, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands do not have any datazones in the 15% most deprived in the SIMD 2012. This does not mean that there is no deprivation in these areas; rather that it is not concentrated in small areas.

Figure 1 provides a map of Scotland showing the areas with highest concentrations of multiple deprivation across the country. The SIMD interactive mapping can be used to drill down and visualise results for any area of Scotland.

Figure 1: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2012, Scotland