Trends in Rural Scotland: a working paper (2025)

4. Population and skills

Population Change in Rural Classified Locations 2001-2022^[4]

Source: Population and Migration Statistics, National Records of Scotland

The population of both Rural Scotland and Scotland as a whole has grown over the last two decades. In mid-2022 the population of Accessible Rural areas was 19% higher than in 2001 while the population of Remote Rural Areas had increased by 4%. These figures compare to a population increase of 8% across Scotland as a whole. The picture compared to 2011 is slightly different with a small decline in Remote Rural Areas (-1%) between 2011 and 2022 while the population of Accessible Rural areas grew by 11%. Scotland's population grew by 3% over this period.

The population of rural Scotland is ageing as demonstrated by the chart above. Between 2001 and 2022 the number of people aged 65 or over in Accessible Rural areas increased by almost three-quarters (74%) whilst it increased by more than half (53%) in Remote Rural Areas. Compared to 2011 the population of Accessible Rural areas increased by 37% whilst the population of Remote Rural areas grew by 26%. These increases were greater than those across Scotland as a whole.

Population by age

The median age across rural Scotland maintained from 2020 to 2021. The median age for accesible rural areas is 47 (behind only remote small town areas and remote rural areas), while the median age for remote rural areas is 51 (the highest for all areas in Scotland).

Population growth, 2001-2022

Population numbers increased marginally across most areas in Scotland from 2001-2022 with the exception being Remote small towns where the population has fallen slightly. As of 2022^[5], remote small towns have the smallest population at 142,153, followed by remote rural areas at 294,798, then accessible small towns at 466,708, accessible rural at 664,114, other urban areas at 1,836,877 and finally large urban areas with the highest count at 2,042,350. The population of rural areas makes up around 18% of Scotland's total population.

Projected percentage change in population^[6]

The most recent sub-national population projections, which are based on data up to 2018, suggest that the population of 'Islands & Remote Rural' council areas and of 'Mainly Rural' council areas will decrease between 2022 and 2032 while the populations of more urban areas are expected to increase over the same period. More up-to-date population projections, reflecting the latest data on migration, mortality and fertility, will be published later in 2025.

Working age employment rate (residence based)

Working age employment rate has remained relatively steady across from 2004-2023, with rural areas seeing a slight decline (by 3 percentage points in island and remote rural local authorities and by 1 percentage point in mainly rural local authorities). In 2023, all areas in Scotland have converged to an identical working age employment rate of 75%.

Annual Participation Measure

The percentage of 16-19 year olds participating in education has decreased slightly in rural areas in Scotland from 2016-2024 (from 73.4% to 70.8% in accessible rural areas and (71.5% to 66.7% in remote rural areas). Accessible rural areas however have the second largest percentage of 16-19 year olds participating in education, behind only large urban areas at 74.7%.

On the other hand, the percentage of 16-19 year olds participating in employment has increased in all areas in Scotland from 2016-2024 (from 18.2% to 21.6% in accessible rural areas and (21.7% to 26.9% in remote rural areas). Remote rural areas have the second largest percentage of 16-19 year olds participating in employment, behind only remote small towns at 27.3%.