# Most and least populated places in Scotland (2021)

Glasgow was the most populated of Scotland’s 32 councils in 2021 (population 620,719).

Orkney Islands was the least populated (21,962). The middle council, East Ayrshire, had 120,320.

| Rank | Area | Population | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Glasgow](https://openindex.co.uk/glasgow) | 620,719 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 2 | [Edinburgh](https://openindex.co.uk/edinburgh) | 514,501 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 3 | [Fife](https://openindex.co.uk/fife) | 371,740 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 4 | [North Lanarkshire](https://openindex.co.uk/north-lanarkshire) | 340,983 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 5 | [South Lanarkshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-lanarkshire) | 327,016 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 6 | [Aberdeenshire](https://openindex.co.uk/aberdeenshire) | 263,723 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 7 | [Highland](https://openindex.co.uk/highland) | 235,330 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 8 | [Aberdeen](https://openindex.co.uk/aberdeen) | 224,015 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 9 | [Renfrewshire](https://openindex.co.uk/renfrewshire) | 183,863 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 10 | [West Lothian](https://openindex.co.uk/west-lothian) | 181,285 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 11 | [Falkirk](https://openindex.co.uk/falkirk) | 158,418 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 12 | [Perth and Kinross](https://openindex.co.uk/perth-and-kinross) | 150,923 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 13 | [Dundee](https://openindex.co.uk/dundee) | 148,717 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 14 | [Dumfries and Galloway](https://openindex.co.uk/dumfries-and-galloway) | 145,868 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 15 | [North Ayrshire](https://openindex.co.uk/north-ayrshire) | 133,425 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 16 | [East Ayrshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-ayrshire) | 120,320 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 17 | [Scottish Borders](https://openindex.co.uk/scottish-borders) | 116,823 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 18 | [Angus](https://openindex.co.uk/angus) | 114,352 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 19 | [East Lothian](https://openindex.co.uk/east-lothian) | 112,288 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 20 | [South Ayrshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire) | 111,533 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 21 | [East Dunbartonshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-dunbartonshire) | 108,913 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 22 | [East Renfrewshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-renfrewshire) | 96,795 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 23 | [Midlothian](https://openindex.co.uk/midlothian) | 96,530 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 24 | [Moray](https://openindex.co.uk/moray) | 93,282 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 25 | [Stirling](https://openindex.co.uk/stirling) | 92,605 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 26 | [West Dunbartonshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-dunbartonshire) | 88,390 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 27 | [Argyll and Bute](https://openindex.co.uk/argyll-and-bute) | 85,948 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 28 | [Inverclyde](https://openindex.co.uk/inverclyde) | 78,423 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 29 | [Clackmannanshire](https://openindex.co.uk/clackmannanshire) | 51,764 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 30 | [Na h-Eileanan Siar](https://openindex.co.uk/na-h-eileanan-siar) | 26,138 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 31 | [Shetland Islands](https://openindex.co.uk/shetland-islands) | 22,973 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |
| 32 | [Orkney Islands](https://openindex.co.uk/orkney-islands) | 21,962 | Worked out by Open Index by adding up the census figures for the Data Zones in this area. Scotland's census was held a year later than in the rest of the UK, on 20 March 2022. This figure is for that day. |

Source: Census 2021, England and Wales and Scotland's Census 2022 and Census 2021, Northern Ireland, ONS Census 2021. Period: 2021. Period: 2021.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/northern-ireland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/north-east)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/north-west)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/population)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/scotland.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/population/scotland