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Scottish cities

Number of households assessed as homeless 

HLN SC1

The overall number of households assessed as homeless in Glasgow more than halved between 2002/03 and 2021/22, although there has been an upward trend since 2017/18, and in 2021/22 there were 5,701 households assessed as homeless in Glasgow. Edinburgh also saw a drop over this time period, with 2,413 homeless households in 2021/22. In both Aberdeen and Dundee, figures were lower still at 1,113 and 1,010 homeless households, respectively, in 2021/22, but had risen slightly since 2002/03. Scottish homelessness household figures reduced by around 37% over the this period.

Glasgow had 12% of Scotland’s population in 2021/22 but 20% of Scotland’s homeless households. This was the largest difference among the cities shown, with Edinburgh and Aberdeen both having a greater proportion of overall population than they did of homeless households in 2021/22. 

The 5,701 households in Glasgow assessed as being homeless in 2021/22 were made up of 6,460 adults and 2,591 children (29% children). 

Homeless deaths

Deaths Cities

This chart shows the estimated homeless death rate in the four largest cities in Scotland, in 2020. Glasgow had the highest homeless death rate of the four cities, at 94.8, and Dundee had the lowest rate among the cities, at 41.7. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh were above the Scottish average of 61.9, with Aberdeen and Dundee below this average.

Across Scotland, estimated homeless death rates were higher for males than females, and highest in the age group 35-44. The majority of the deaths recorded (59%) were drug related, and 7% were recorded as suicide.

Notes

Homelessness deaths figures are experimental. They are derived from counting death registration records where the person was living in temporary accommodation or sleeping rough before they died. An estimate is then added, as this is likely to undercount the true number of deaths of people experiencing homelessness. Rates are then calculated per million population – using the full adult population (aged 15-74), not only the homeless population.

This page was updated in September 2022, using figures released in August 2022. The Scottish Government updates homelessness statistics annually.

Further reading under ‘Homelessness’