Scotland’s population growing at lowest rate of any UK nation, census reveals

The number of people over 65 was 1,091,000, according to the census, with many living in remote rural areas, often alone. Photograph: Pearl Bucknall/Alamy

Scotland’s population has grown at the lowest rate of any nation in the UK and is ageing at the fastest rate on record, according to the first data from last year’s census.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) estimated the country’s total population was 5,436,600 last year. Its increase of 141,220, or 2.7%, was driven entirely by inward migration.