Population pyramids

On this page the age structure of Glasgow’s population in 1901 is compared to its age structure in 2021.

Age structure of Glasgow’s population, 1901
Glasgow’s population has changed considerably over the last century in terms of size and of age structure, as the graphs illustrate. In 1901, more than half of Glasgow’s population was under 25 years of age and the city’s population was still growing. However, life expectancy was much lower than it is now - only 3% of the population were aged 65 or older.

Age structure of Glasgow’s population, 2021
In 2021, 120 years later, the size and structure of Glasgow’s population had changed significantly. Glasgow’s population of 635,130 is 140,000 lower than it was in 1901. Children make up a much smaller proportion of the city’s population - children aged 14 or under constitute 15% of the overall population, compared to 32% in 1901. There are also more older people; in 2020, 14% of Glaswegians were 65 years of age or older, compared to 3% in 1901. 

As has been the case throughout Glasgow’s history, women outnumber men overall (by 10,000), and most notably in older age groups.