Scotland becoming increasingly popular as a place to move to

Immigration has fuelled a rise in Scotland’s population to a record 5,404,700.

The annual increase of 31,700 people has been attributed to migration both from within the UK and abroad.

A total of 40,400 people came here from overseas, with 17,500 Scots leaving the country to settle in other parts of the world.

Another 46,300 moved to Scotland from other parts of the UK, compared with 37,500 heading the other way.

An influx of people over the last decade has swelled the Perth and Kinross population by 8.1% to more than 150,000, the biggest increase in the country outside the central belt.

Liz Smith, the Perthshire-based Tory MSP, welcomed the rise but warned about the strain on public services.

“People making Perth and Kinross their home from other parts of the UK and the rest of the world is a significant strength for the local economy but it is also vital public services continue to match demand,” she said.

Fife saw its population go up by 3.7% since 2006, compared with Angus at 3.6% and Dundee’s 3.4%.

Tim Ellis, the registrar general of Scotland, said: “Scotland’s population has grown 5% over the last decade to a record 5.4 million.

“The majority of this growth has been due to migration, as natural change (births minus deaths) has not contributed significantly to Scotland’s population growth.”

SNP MSP Joan McAlpine said the report shows how important it is to retain free movement of people from the EU.

“We must ensure there continues to be a healthy working age population, to guarantee economic growth and support our public services,” she said.

we must ensure there continues to be a healthy working age population