We use cookies on our website to track and enhance your user experience. For more information or to update your cookie settings, please refer to our cookie policy.

AcceptDecline
Skip to Content

Glasgow City Region

Population trends within the Glasgow City Region, 1991-2023

Population estimates, Glasgow City Region local authorities, 1991 - 2023

There were contrasting population trends in the local authorities in Glasgow City Region over the last three decades (1991-2023). In this period, the population of some local authorities had reduced – Inverclyde (-14.3%) and West Dunbartonshire (-8.7%). However, in contrast, over the same period, the populations of East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire increased by 15.0% and 9.2%, respectively.

Between 2007 and 2020, there was a steady rise in Glasgow's population, but in 2021 the city's population reduced slightly, in common with trends seen in Scotland's other large cities. This is being interpreted by NRS as a COVID-19-related impact with reductions in city populations attributed to people moving out of cities into surrounding local authorities. While Glasgow's population contracted slightly between 2020 and 2021, reducing by 0.3%, it increased again in 2023 by 1.6%.

Population by deprivation decile, Glasgow City Region local authorities, 2022

Population distribution by deprivation decile, Glasgow City Region local authorities, 2023

There was wide variation in the distribution of populations living in deprivation across the Glasgow City Region. Glasgow has the greatest concentration of people living in deprived circumstances, followed by West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde, while at the other extreme the populations in East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire were much less deprived. Nevertheless, every local authority contained a proportion of their population who live in the most-deprived decile in Scotland.

Under the latest version of Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD 2020), Inverclyde remained higher than Glasgow in terms of having the highest proportion of its population residing in the most-deprived decile; 31.1% compared to 30.2% in Glasgow. This was in part because Glasgow's population remained marginally less deprived relative to other areas over time. 

Nevertheless three-out-of-ten Glaswegians still lived in the most deprived 10% of areas in Scotland while only 5.2% of Glaswegians lived in the least deprived 10% of areas in Scotland. In contrast, 26.8% and 33.3% respectively of the populations of East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire resided in the least deprived 10% of areas.

Notes 

The graph above shows the proportions of population across the eight local authorities in the Glasgow City Region split by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (2020) deciles. These deciles break down the population of Scotland into ten groups each containing approximately 10% of the population. Decile 1 represents the most deprived 10% of areas by population, decile 2 the next most deprived 10% of areas and so on, until decile 10 which represents the least deprived 10% of areas.

This page was last updated in March 2025.

Further reading under ‘Population estimates’