Multiple reports from government offices in the United Kingdom (UK) are bringing attention to increasing migration to Scotland from the rest of the UK, which includes England and Wales as well as Northern Ireland. This is a change from the previous century when Scotland had negative net migration until 2001, according to an article from the University of St. Andrews that cited the Scottish Government’s Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population (University of St. Andrews). This means that that more people were leaving Scotland than there were people migrating to Scotland. According to a report from the Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population, net migration is now positive, with Scotland gaining an additional 20,000 people annually from 2001-2021 (Scottish Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population). The advisory group stated that “Around two-fifths of these flows represent migration between Scotland and rUK” (rest of UK), with the rest coming in from outside the UK (Scottish Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population).
A report from the National Records of Scotland shows that the country’s population increased by 2.2% over the years of 2011-2021, and migration into Scotland was the primary factor contributing to this (National Records of Scotland). Data shows that many who migrate to Scotland are young and educated, with the percentage of migrants with degrees higher than the percentage of non-migrants with degrees (Scottish Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population). The report from the National Records of Scotland show that much of this migration into Scotland is concentrated in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh (National Records of Scotland). Major cities like these have a variety of education opportunities, and this is considered a driving force in migration to Scotland (Scottish Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population).
References
University of St. Andrews: https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/increased-migration-to-scotland-from-the-rest-of-the-uk/
Scottish Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population: https://www.gov.scot/publications/internal-migration-scotland-uk-trends-policy-lessons/pages/2/
National Records of Scotland: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/population-estimates/mid-year-pop-est-revised-11-21-report.pdf