Population of Glasgow 2023
The population of Glasgow is 612,040.
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, the fourth largest city in the United Kingdom. Until recently it was also the 40th largest city in the European Union.
Although Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland it is not the capital city of Scotland. That honour belongs to Edinburgh), Scotland’s second largest city.
The Greater Glasgow Urban Area has a population of 1,209,143.
More than 10% of the population of Scotland lives in Glasgow, and more than 20% lives int eh Greater Glasgow Urban Area.
Glasgow population growth
The population of Glasgow reached a high of 1,128,473 in 1939, after a hundred and fifty years of sustained growth during the Industrial Revolution and the first part of the 20th century. At that time it was one of most densely populated cities in the UK, if not the world.
Since then Glasgow’s population has decreased because people have moved to new towns and suburbs surrounding Glasgow, and because the boundaries of the city itself have changed so that Glasgow covers a smaller area than it used to.
Although today’s population is relatively healthy at just over 600,000, in recent years Glasgow’s population growth has slowed dramatically. The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics reports that Glasgow’s population grew by just 1% between 2011 and 2016. This is one of the lowest rates of growth of any major UK city, and under half the rate of growth of neighbouring Edinburgh.
Population growth is likely to remain slow over the next 10 years. The ONS predicts that the population of Glasgow will grow by a further 2.2% between 2016 and 2025. By contrast it predicts population of Edinburgh will grow by 7.3% by 2025.
Ethnicity in Glasgow
The largest single ethnic group in Glasgow is White Scottish. In the 2011 census results, 78.59% of the population of Glasgow was reported to be White Scottish. This represents a decrease from 2011 figures when the White Scottish population of Glasgow was 87.15%.
In addition, 4.07% of the population is White Other British, 1.89% is White Irish, 1.42% is White Polish, 0.07% is White Gypsy/Traveller, and 2.38% is White Other. This means that the total White population of Glasgow is 88.42%.
Other major ethnic groups in Glasgow with more than 1% of population are Asian (8.05%) and African (2.10%). The Asian population in Glasgow almost doubled between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In 2001 the Asian population in Glasgow was 4.44% and in 2011 it was 8.05%.
Groups that make up less than 1% of the population are Caribbean or Black (0.30%), Mixed (0.49%) and Other (0.64%).
This data comes from the 2011 census. Categories are slightly different to those used in the rest of the UK.
Religion in Glasgow
Christianity is the largest single religion in Glasgow. In the 2011 census 54.44% of people reported that they were Christian. This includes 27.25% who reported that they were Catholic, 23.07% who reported that they were Church of Scotland, and 4.11% who reported that they were members of another Christian religion.
The Church of Scotland saw a dramatic fall in numbers between 2001 (31.52%) and 2011 (23.07%). The Roman Catholic Church also saw a decline in numbers, although not as dramatic as the fall in the Church of Scotland to nomination. Number of Catholics in Glasgow fell from 29.20% in 2001 to 27.25% in 2011.
The second largest single group is those who reported that they had no religion or who did not state their religion. The number of people in this group increased from 30.46% in 2001 to 38.08% in 2011.
Islam is the only other religion followed by more than 1% of people in Glasgow. In 2011 5.41% of the population of Glasgow was Muslim. This is an increase from 3.08% a decade earlier.