Nexxus Scotland

Living and Working in Scotland

Living and working in Scotland has many attractions - below are some facts and figures to help you gain a better understanding of the area. Continue to the links provided below for even more more facts & figures.

• The population of Scotland is 5,194,000 (as of the latest estimate, made 30 June 2009). This is the highest population since 1979. The population is projected to continue to increase gradually to 5.54 million in 2033.

Students

• More than 279,615 students (undergraduate and post graduate) are enrolled in higher education in Scotland
• More than 80,000 of these students are enrolled in Science & Engineering subjects, and more than 40,000 in Medical Studies (medicine, dentistry, or subjects allied to medicine).

Business

• Scotland had 291,380 private sector enterprises (as of March 2009); 289,065 of these are Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• SMEs account for more than 99% of enterprises and 52% of employment in Scotland
• Total employment in private sector enterprises in Scotland was 2 million
• Scotland's GVA is £104 billion (2008)

Travel & Tourism

• Scottish residents travelled an average of 7,056 miles per person per year (measured over 2007-2008), with 75% of that travel in cars, 8% via rail, and 7% by local bus. 
• In 2008, around 15 million tourists took overnight trips to Scotland
• Expenditure on tourism-related activities is worth about £4.2 billion per year to the Scottish economy (2007 data)
• In a 2008 visitor survey, 6 out of 10 felt their holiday in Scotland was better than expected, 73% would ‘very likely' recommend Scotland, and nearly all UK visitors are likely to visit again. Scotland is perceived as different and original.
• UK residents took 1.68 million trips to the city of Glasgow and 2.1 million trips to the city of Edinburgh in 2008.
• There were an estimated 105, 000 conferences and meetings in Scotland in 2007, attended by business travellers. The peak conference season is late summer/autumn.

Culture & Sport

• 75% of adults in Scotland attend arts & cultural activities, according to a 2007 survey
• The National Museums of Scotland had 1.5 million visits in 2007-8, and 1.5 million visits to the National Galleries of Scotland.
• About 80% of adults aged 16 to 24 and 45% of people over 55 participate in sports.
• As of 2006, the total number of sports pitches in Scotland was estimated at 5,900
• There are 550 golf courses in Scotland

Energy & Environment

• In 2008, the amount of energy generated in Scotland by renewable sources equated to 22% of the gross consumption of electricity in Scotland. The Scottish Government has set targets of 31% of energy from renewable sources by 2011 and 50% by 2020.
• In 2007, Scotland generated 48,216 GWh of electricity.
• As of 2009, more than 1,038,000 hectares of land in Scotland were designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest, protecting flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features of outstanding quality.
• About 6,241,000 hectares of Scotland's land are used for agricultural purposes (2008).
• The tallest mountain in Scotland is Ben Nevis at 1344 m; the largest loch is Loch Lomond at 56 sq km; the longest river is the River Tay at 193 km
• Scotland has 800 islands and approximately 10,000 km of coastline

All statistics listed here originate from  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics ,  or http://www.scotland.org/