# Demographics of Glasgow

Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth most populous city in the United Kingdom.

## Population

Glasgow's total population, according to the 2011 UK census, was 593,245. The population density was 3,390/km$^2$ (8,780/sq mi).

## Ethnicity

The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the previous four censuses in Glasgow alongside two estimates.
A Home Office report officially estimated that the 'coloured' population of Glasgow in 1958 was likely around 3,000 to 5,000, the majority being Asian (2,000 Pakistanis and 2,000 Indians).
| Ethnic Group | 1971 estimations | 1971 estimations | 1981 estimations | 1981 estimations | 1991 census | 1991 census | 2001 census | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2011 census | 2022 census | 2022 census |
| Ethnic Group | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| White: Total | – | – | 729,092 | 97.9% | 641,336 | 96.75% | 546,359 | 94.55% | 524,561 | 88.42% | 501,029 | 80.71% |
| White: Scottish | – | – | – | – | – | – | 503,614 | 87.15% | 466,241 | 78.59% | 416,634 | 67.12% |
| White: Other British | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20,934 | 3.62% | 24,154 | 4.07% | 35,011 | 5.64% |
| White: Irish | – | – | – | – | 10,384 | 1.56% | 11,467 | 1.98% | 11,228 | 1.89% | 11,130 | 1.79% |
| White: Gypsy/Traveller | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 407 | 0.07% | 201 | 0.03% |
| White: Polish | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8,406 | 1.42% | 12,183 | 1.96% |
| White: Other | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,344 | 1.79% | 14,125 | 2.38% | 25,870 | 4.17% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Total | 12,000 | 1.3% | – | – | 18,242 | 2.75% | 25,636 | 4.44% | 47,758 | 8.05% | 68,793 | 11.08% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian | – | – | – | – | 3,374 | 0.5% | 4,173 | 0.72% | 8,640 | 1.46% | 13,990 | 2.25% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Pakistani | – | – | – | – | 10,945 | 1.65% | 15,330 | 2.65% | 22,405 | 3.78% | 30,912 | 4.98% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi | – | – | – | – | 191 | – | 237 | 0.04% | 458 | 0.08% | 954 | 0.15% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese | – | – | – | – | 2,780 | 0.41% | 3,876 | 0.67% | 10,689 | 1.80% | 14,300 | 2.30% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Asian Other | – | – | – | – | 952 | 0.14% | 2,020 | 0.35% | 5,566 | 0.94% | 8,640 | 1.39% |
| Black, Black Scottish or Black British | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,792 | 0.31% | – | – | – | – |
| African: Total | – | – | – | – | 489 | – | – | – | 12,440 | 2.10% | 22,272 | 3.59% |
| African: African, African Scottish or African British | – | – | – | – | 489 | – | – | – | 12,298 | 2.07% | 2,798 | 0.45% |
| African: Other African | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 142 | 0.02% | 19,474 | 3.14% |
| Caribbean or Black: Total | – | – | – | – | 709 | – | – | – | 1,806 | 0.30% | 1,471 | 0.24% |
| Caribbean | – | – | – | – | 220 | | – | – | 783 | 0.13% | 335 | 0.05% |
| Black | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 820 | 0.14% | 96 | 0.02% |
| Caribbean or Black: Other | – | – | – | – | 489 | | – | – | 203 | 0.03% | 1,033 | 0.17% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,046 | 0.35% | 2,879 | 0.49% | 10,624 | 1.71% |
| Other: Total | – | – | – | – | 1,840 | 0.27% | 2,036 | 0.35% | 3,801 | 0.64% | 16,571 | 2.67% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,631 | 0.44% | 8,671 | 1.40% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | 1,840 | 0.27% | 2,036 | 0.35% | 1,170 | 0.20% | 7,903 | 1.27% |
| Non-White: Total | – | – | 15,286 | 2.1% | 21,517 | 3.25% | 31,510 | 5.45% | 68,684 | 11.58% | 119,726 | 19.29% |
| Total: | – | – | 744,378 | 100% | 662,853 | 100% | 577,869 | 100% | 593,245 | 100% | 620,756 | 100% |
* White
* White-Scottish
* White-Other British
* White-Irish
* White-Polish
* White-Other
* Asian
* Asian-Indian
* Asian-Pakistani
* Asian-Bangladeshi
* Asian-Chinese
* African
* Caribbean or Black
* Other-Arab

## Country of Birth

The proportion of people residing in Glasgow born outside the UK was 19.1% in 2022, compared with 12.2% in 2011 and 5.7% in 2001. Below are the fifteen largest overseas-born groups in Glasgow according to the 2022 census, alongside the two previous censuses.
| Country of birth | 2022 | 2011 | 2001 |
| Pakistan | 12,508 | 9,319 | 5,995 |
| Poland | 10,601 | 7,577 | 281 |
| India | 10,212 | 5,789 | 2,364 |
| China | 7,857 | 5,513 | 730 |
| Nigeria | 5,448 | 2,761 | 199 |
| United States | 3,964 | 1,866 | 1,122 |
| Ireland | 3,643 | 4,339 | 5,113 |
| Italy | 3,189 | 1,028 | 674 |
| Iran | 2,647 | 1,136 | 592 |
| Spain | 2,290 | 722 | 367 |
| Germany | 2,262 | 1,948 | 1,379 |
| Hong Kong | 2,095 | 1,430 | 1,406 |
| Iraq | 2,029 | 1,191 | 750 |
| Romania | 1,830 | 460 | 43 |
| France | 1,688 | 1,077 | 701 |
| Overall – all overseas-born | 118,819 | 72,607 | 32,690 |
The country of birth of Glasgow for 1981 is as follows;
| Country of Birth | Year | Year |
| 1981 ||
| Country of Birth | Number | % |
| United Kingdom | 728,050 | 96.4% |
| England | 19,592 | 2.6% |
| Scotland | 701,054 | 92.8% |
| Wales | 921 | |
| Northern Ireland | – | – |
| United Kingdom (not otherwise specified) | 6,483 | 0.9% |
| Europe (non-UK) | 12,778 | 1.7% |
| Ireland | 9,341 | |
| Other EEC | 2,334 | |
| Other Europe | 1,103 | |
| Asia and Middle East | 8,286 | 1.1% |
| India | 2,624 | |
| Pakistan | 3,532 | |
| Bangladesh | 152 | |
| Far East | 1,978 | |
| Middle East | – | – |
| Africa | 1,227 | 0.2% |
| North America | – | – |
| South America | – | – |
| Oceania | – | – |
| Other: New Commonwealth | 356 | |
| Other: Old Commonwealth | 1,479 | 0.2% |
| Other: | 3,012 | 0.4% |
| Total | 755,377 | 100% |
* ↑ Used as main option for when no other options are given, for example in 1971. This group contains all for Canada, Australia and New Zealand
* ↑ Used as a conglomerate for New Commonwealth for when there are no other options as for example in 1971. This group contains all for remenents of the British Empire after 1945 (if not already indicated).

## Languages

The languages other than English used at home in Glasgow according to the 2011 census are shown below.
| Language | Usual residents aged 3+ | Proportion |
| English only | 496,027 | 86.62% |
| Gaelic | 2,305 | 0.40% |
| Scots | 2,826 | 0.49% |
| British Sign Language | 1,717 | 0.30% |
| Polish | 7,379 | 1.29% |
| Other | 62,379 | 10.89% |

## Religion

The following table shows the religion of respondents in the 2001, 2011 and 2022 censuses in Glasgow.
| Current religion | 2001 | 2001 | 2011 | 2011 | 2022 | 2022 |
| Current religion | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Christianity | 374,393 | 64.79% | 322,954 | 54.44% | 240,337 | 38.72% |
| –Roman Catholic | 168,733 | 29.20% | 161,685 | 27.25% | 128,743 | 20.74% |
| –Church of Scotland | 182,172 | 31.52% | 136,889 | 23.07% | 82,585 | 13.30% |
| –Other Christian | 23,488 | 4.06% | 24,380 | 4.11% | 29,009 | 4.67% |
| Islam | 17,792 | 3.08% | 32,117 | 5.41% | 48,766 | 7.86% |
| Hinduism | 1,209 | 0.21% | 4,074 | 0.69% | 8,166 | 1.32% |
| Buddhism | 1,194 | 0.21% | 2,570 | 0.43% | 2,854 | 0.46% |
| Sikhism | 2,374 | 0.41% | 3,149 | 0.53% | 3,456 | 0.56% |
| Judaism | 1,083 | 0.19% | 897 | 0.15% | 973 | 0.16% |
| Paganism | — | — | — | — | 2,001 | 0.32% |
| Other religion | 3,799 | 0.66% | 1,599 | 0.27% | 1,817 | 0.29% |
| No religion | 131,189 | 22.70% | 183,835 | 30.99% | 268,327 | 43.23% |
| Religion not stated | 44,836 | 7.76% | 42,050 | 7.09% | 44,076 | 7.10% |
| No religion/Not stated total | 176,025 | 30.46% | 225,885 | 38.08% | 312,403 | 50.33% |
| Total population | 577,869 | 100.00% | 593,245 | 100.00% | 620,756 | 100.00% |
* Christianity
* Church of Scotland
* Roman Catholic
* Other Christian
* Islam
* Judaism
* Hinduism
* Sikhism
* Buddhism
* Other religion
* No religion

## National identity

The 2022 census found that of the 620,756 people residing in Glasgow, 62.3% identified with the Scottish identity only, 11.8% identified with the British identity only and 7.1% identified with both identities. 2.5% identified with other UK identities (including English identity), 12.9% identified with an other identity only and the remaining 0.5% identified with at least one UK identity and an other identity.