This dataset does not contain any sensitive or personal information.

Details of the methodology used to produce these statistics is available in the methodology section of the National Statistics publication on the NRS website. More information on the methods used to produce these projections is also available from the National Population Projections Quality and Methodology report on the ONS Website.

The assumptions about future patterns in fertility, mortality and migration are based on analysis of past trends.

For the national population projections, the final decisions on assumptions take into account the views of a range of groups who are consulted including a UK expert advisory panel and key users in Scotland.

The assumptions for the sub-national population projections are also based on past trends and are consistent with the assumptions for the national population projections at Scotland level.

There is limited accuracy of migration estimates as there is no comprehensive registration system in the UK.

More information can be found in the Population Projections section of the NRS website.

Coherence - Further information on the population projections can be found in the Population Projections on the National Records of Scotland (NRS) website.

Comparability - Population projections of Scotland are comparable with national projections for other countries within the UK and Europe.

Population projections are also produced for similar small areas in England, by the Office for National Statistics, Wales, by the Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland, by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. However, it should be noted that these projections are not directly comparable due to differences in methodology and base years. More information on the similarities and differences in these projections is available in the subnational population projections across the UK page on the ONS website.

It is the policy of the National Records of Scotland to make its website and products accessible according to published guidelines. More information is available in the Accessibility section of the NRS website.

The primary purpose of NRS population projections is to provide estimates of the future population of areas in Scotland as a common framework for use in resource allocation and local planning in a number of different fields such as education and health, for environmental scanning and for land-use and transport models. These projections are used as inputs to Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) funding allocations and looking at the implications of an ageing population. They are also used for making comparisons between areas, as inputs to the National Records of Scotland household projections, and as controls for small area population projections.

The most recent mid-year estimate is used as the base year for the projections.

National projections for Scotland are published on the same day as the national population projections for the UK produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Sub-national projections are published following the national population projections in October or November.

The dates of publications are preannounced on the Future Publications section of the NRS website.

Projections are not subject to scheduled revision. Revisions and corrections to previously published statistics are dealt with in accordance with the Scottish Government Statistician Group corporate policy statement on revisions and corrections - a copy of which is available on the Scottish Government website.