GB Historical DB

Age-Sex Structure in 5-year bands for Scottish Counties, Burghs and Districts of County

Table ID:
AGE_SCOT     (1246624)
Contents:
Age-Sex Structure in 5-year bands for Scottish Counties, Burghs and Districts of County
Approx. number of rows:
2,279
Table type:
Raw Data
Documentation Author:
Humphrey Southall
Chronology:
The data cover the period 1851 to 1971.
Dates and times are identified by:
   Year

Sources:

  1. County-level data for the period 1851-1891 and 1911 were all computerised by the Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis at Queen's University, Belfast in 2000-1, as part of the original ESRC-funded research. Their original documentation stated: "The database table represents a complete version of county data from each of the original paper tables. It does not include data for higher level units (such as Scotland as a whole or divisions) or lower level units (such as parishes). It should also be noted that the conjugal condition data for 1911 have not been OCR'd. None of the tables digitised include foot or end notes." Additional data for burghs and Scottish national totals plus 0-4 individual year totals was added at Portsmouth in 2016-17.
  2. 1851: National totals and county data are taken from the table "Ages of Males and Females enumerated March 31st 1851", on pp. 897-8 of Population Tables II. Ages, Civil Conditions, Occupations and Birthplace of the People: with the Numbers and Ages of the Blind, the Deaf-and-Dumb, and the inmates of workhouses, prisons, Lunatic Asylums, and Hospitals, Part II, England and Wales, VII.-XI.; Scotland (BPP 1852-3, LXXXVIII). The data listed are ages in 5-year bands from 0-4 to 100 and up, with no additional detail of the under-5s. Additional data for the principal towns was taken from "Ages of Males and Females enumerated March 31st, 1851 - In the principal towns" on p. 898 of the same volume. The footnote to this Towns table states: "This is a selection of the principal Towns in Scotland. The occupations of the inhabitants are given in subsequent Tables (p.1016). For the Parishes and Places contained in the respective Towns, see Population tables.--I. Numbers of the Inhabitants."
  3. 1861: National and county totals are taken from the table "Ages of the people of Scotland, and its Registration Divisions, in 1861" on pp.1-3 of "Abstracts: Ages of the people" within Census of Scotland 1861: Report Volume II., Ages, Civil or Conjugal Condition, Occupations, and Birth places of the People in Scotland. Additional data for town districts were added from "Ages of the people in the Towns, or Town Districts, of Scotland, according to the Registration Districts, arranged Alphabetically." on p. 58 of the same volume. This data was all added by Harold Price in Portsmouth in Winter 2016. Data on burghs was unavailable at this date so Town Districts as the closest equivalent were captured instead. Town Districts equate to a partial, single or multiple Registration Districts. Multiples are: Dumfries (821 - all) and Torqueer (882 - all); Paisley (573 - all) and Abbey (559 - 1). Partials are: Aberdeen (168 - 1 & 2); Perth (387 - 1); Dumfermline (424 - 1); Airdrie (651 - 1); Coatbridge (652 - 2). NB these have been matched aggressively to unit IDs for burghs, but the results should be used with considerable caution.
  4. 1871: National totals are taken from the table "Ages of the People, in Quinquennial Periods, in Scotland and its Registration Divisions in 1871", on page 7 of Census of Scotland 1871: Report Volume II (BPP 1873 C.842). County statistics are taken from the table "Ages of the People, in Quinquennial Periods, in the Registration Counties of Scotland in 1871", on pages 8-9 of the same report.
  5. 1881: All data (national totals and counties) are from Population, Scotland, Vol. II, Section XI, "Ages of the people". CDDA computerised the table "Ages of the People, in quinquennial periods, in the Registration Counties of Scotland in 1881" on pp. 4-5. Additional data for burghs were added in 2017 from "Ages of males and females in each of the burghs having populations of 10,000 and upwards", on pp. 72-3. This table has multiple rows for burghs which had different boundaries for their different types of burgh: "parliamentary", "municipal", "municipal or royal", "municipal or police", "police". Where there was a choice we avoid using data for Parliamentary burghs, but matching to the AUO otherwise ignored status. The age groups listed are the same as 1851. Data for 0-4 individual years for the National totals and county totals transcribed from 'XII. Educational Statistics - Scotland and its Registration Divisions, 1881', pp78-136. Data for 0-4 individual years for the burghs transcribed from the table 'Number of boys and girls at each year of life under fifteen years, and the number of these at each year of life in the receipt of education, in each of the burghs having populations of 10000 and upwards', pp138-141. both are in Population, Scotland, Vol. II, Abstracts, Section XII. Education Statistics.
  6. 1891: The national totals are from "Ages of the People, in quinquennial periods, in Scotland and its Civil Divisions in 1891", p. 2 in Census of Scotland 1891: Report Volume II. Part I., Ages, Education, Civil Condition, Birthplaces, Occupations, Working Status, Indices. County figures are from "Ages of the People, in quinquennial periods, in the Civil Counties and Parishes of Scotland in 1891", pp. 4-5 in the same report. Additional data for burghs were added in 2017 by Harold Price. It was taken from "Ages of the People, in the Parliamentary Brughs of Scotland, having populations of 10,000 and upwards; Also in Municipal or Police Burghs of like populations, which are not Parliamentary Burghs or which have areas greater than the Parliamentary", pp.54-56 in the same volume.
  7. 1901: No data are currently held. A very old note says: "It should be noted that this table will, in due course, include data for 1901. These data have been digitised but include both county and burgh data, unlike data for other years. We are investigating the most appropriate way to process this information. If the 1901 data is urgently required please contact Paul Ell."
  8. 1911: National totals are taken from table C2, "Scotland.--Ages of Males and Females--1911 and 1901" on page lvi. of Census of Scotland, 1911. Report on the twelfth decennial census of Scotland. Volume II. (BPP 1913 Cd.8396), except for the overall total population which comes from table C1 on the previous page. Data for counties were extracted from Table 20A in each of the separate County Reports of the 1911 Census of Scotland, "Population of the county and its civil parishes by sex and conjugal condition in quinquennial age-groups". Note that a complete transcription of the parish-level data in the above tables is held in age_scot_par. The data held here include rows for the four cities, and the relevant county totals exclude the populations of the cities. Data for 0-4 years individually for the cities downloaded as a spreadsheet from Histpop taken from the Table XIX 'City of XXXX - Conjugal Condition and Age Distribution of Population' in each city section of the Report on the twelfth decennial census of Scotland, Vol. 1 from 1911.
  9. 1931: Data are a partial transcription of Table 21, "Quinquennial Age-Groups and Conjugal Condition" in the Scottish 1931 County Reports. CDDA noted that the original table included data on marital status, and also "total males and females in each area. These data were used for checking the digitised table but have not been included in the final table". However, these data have been re-computed and included in the final table. The table lists ages under 1 year separately from 1-4, and then lists 5-year bands from 5-9 to 85 and upwards, plus an "age unspecified" category. Data for 0-4 years individually for the National totals transcribed from Table 30 'Age distribution by Single Years and Conjugal Condition - Scotland', p79 in Populations, ages and conjugal conditions, birthplaces, Gaelic speaking and housing, Scotland, Vol. II, 1931. Data for 0-4 years individually for the cities and counties transcribed from the Table 16 'Age distribution by Single Years and Conjugal Condition' plus for the 20 largest burghs from Table 16A 'Age distribution by Single Years under 21 in Large Burghs' in each of the separate County Reports of the 1931 Census of Scotland.
  10. 1951: Data are a partial transcription of Table 15, ""Quinquennial age-groups and Conjugal Condition", in the 1951 Scottish County Reports. The full table also includes data on the age structure of married females, and separately provides a classification of males and females by marital status: Single, Married, Widowed, Divorced and Not Stated. The age groups listed are the same as in 1931.
  11. 1961: Data are a partial transcription of Table 6, "Age and Marital Condition" for "County, Large Burghs, Small Burghs, Districts of County, New Towns" and "County of City, City Wards", in the 1961 Scottish County Reports. The age groups listed are 5-year bands from 0-4 to 95 and upwards. The full table also includes data broken down into classification of males and females by marital status: Single, Married, Widowed, and Divorced, this has not been transcribed. National totals were added from Table 8, 'Age (single years) by marital condition', pp.65-66 in Census 1961 Scotland: Leaflets: Age, Marital Condition and General Tables.
  12. 1971: Data are a partial transcription of Table 8, "Population by sex, age and marital condition" in the 1971 Scottish County Reports. The age groups listed are 5-year bands from 0-4 to 95 and upwards. Initially it was very partial, limited to just the total number of persons, males and females. Harold Price extended this in August 2016 to cover the age structure breakdown for males and females.

Notes:

  1. From 1931 onwards, this table holds data for the well-defined Scottish local government geography consisting of Large and Small Burghs, and Districts of County, plus totals for the Counties and the four Cities. For earlier dates, it holds county totals plus, for some years, data for selected burghs. NB the legal status of the latter burghs is sometimes unclear, and it is never clear exactly why the particular set of burghs was selected for inclusion, other than they are broadly the larger burghs.
  2. The table holds 5-years bands from "0-4" to "85 and upwards" for all years. It also holds data on individual years under 5, and on specific age groups above 85, for some years as explained in the documentation on individual columns. We have added derived values wherever possible.
  3. In 1851 Orkney and Shetland are a single row in this table, whilst in later years they are recorded separately.
  4. To simplify using the data with the GIS, for 1911-71 copies of the data for the four cities have been inserted with g_unit set to the corresponding burgh-level units we have defined in the AUO. These rows have sco_cnty null, cnty_unit set to the ID of the City, and sco_type set to 'Large Burgh'.
  5. The table includes 1931 data for the following values of sco_type:
    • Nation (1 area): overall Scottish total, transcribed from table 31 in Vol. II of the 1931 reports, "Age distribution by quinquennial age-groups, and intercensal changes, 1931 and 1921 Scotland".
    • Counties (33 areas): Aberdeenshire, Angus, Lanark and Midlothian have additional rows, for the totals including the associated cities, but these are flagged using the exclude_city column, and have g_unit unset.
    • City (4 areas): Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
    • Large Burgh (24 areas) These include copies of the data for the four Cities.
    • Small Burgh (170 areas). Note that one Small Burgh, Renfrew, included a small part which was in Lanarkshire rather than Renfrewshire, with a total population of 15 people. It is treated somewhat inconsistently in the table: the Renfrewshire report includes data for the entire Burgh, a footnote stating "including the small portion (population 15) in Lanark County", while the Lanarkshire report includes a row covering just those 15 people. The table as held here includes both these rows with the data as printed, but the Lanarkshire row has a null value of g_unit.
    • Landward (33 areas): This is the whole area of the county apart from the Burghs.
    • District of County (198 areas): Note that Kinross and Nairn were not divided into Districts, so the Landward is in a sense the single District of County.
    • Total (46 areas): Most counties include a total for all Small Burghs, and some include a total for everything except any Large Burghs. For details, see the value of sco_area. These rows have g_unit unset.
  6. The table includes 1951 data for the following values of sco_type:
    • Nation (1 area): overall Scottish total, transcribed from Table 22 in Volume II of the 1951 reports, "Age Distribution by Quinquennial Age-Groups and Intercensal Changes, 1931-1951 - Scotland".
    • Counties (33 areas): Aberdeenshire and Angus have two additional rows, for the totals including the Cities of Aberdeen and Dundee respectively, but these are flagged using the exclude_city column, and have g_unit unset.
    • City (4 areas): Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
    • Large Burgh (24 areas) These include copies of the data for the four Cities.
    • Small Burgh (172 areas).
    • Landward (33 areas): This is the whole area of the county apart from the Burghs.
    • District of County (199 areas): Note that Kinross and Nairn were not divided into Districts, so the Landward is in a sense the single District of County.
    • Total (44 areas): Most counties include a total for all Small Burghs, and some include a total for everything except any Large Burghs. For details, see the value of sco_area. These rows have g_unit unset.
    • Portion (6 areas): Three counties include totals for the Mainland and Insular portions. These again have g_unit unset.
  7. The table includes 1971 data for the following values of sco_type:
    • Nation (1 area): overall Scottish total, transcribed from Table 13 in the 1971 Population Tables report, "Population by age and sex at successive censuses, 1851-1971".
    • Counties (33 areas).
    • City (4 areas): Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
    • Large Burgh (25 areas). These include copies of the data for the four Cities
    • Small Burgh (176 areas).
    • Landward (33 areas): This is the whole area of the county apart from the Burghs.
    • District of County (196 areas): Note that Kinross and Nairn were not divided into Districts, so the Landward is in a sense the single District of County.
    • New Town (5 areas): Cumbernauld, East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Irive and Livingston. These come from a separate report on New Towns, and double count persons also listed in other areas.
  8. All values in the 1971 data were rounded in the census table to end in 5 or zero, so check sums are imprecise.
  9. When moved to postgres this table was created by combining separate tables that previously existed in Oracle: "age_cnty_1931_s", "age_cnty_1951_s". In February 2017 the two existing tables, "age_scot_cnty" and "age_scot_dist" were combined and renamed "age_scot".

Checking:

  1. Data for 1911 and earlier were checked as follows:
    • Comparing the total population given in the original report against the summed total for total males and total females for each county
    • Comparing totals for males and females for each county in the original report with summed data for each age group by gender
    • Comparing totals for males and females under 5 age group for each county in the original report with summed data for individual years under 5 by gender
  2. All 1951 rows have been matched to the AUO, with the exception of those with type 'Total' or 'Portion'.
  3. The data for 1931 onwards, at least as entered by CDDA, do not include overall totals for men and for women, so these were computed from the detailed age categories and then compared with those given in the relevant parish-level table for all rows to which we had assigned a g_unit value. We also checked that all such rows were finding a match in the parish table. After some correction work, all such rows now match.
  4. For 1931 onwards, we summed each of the age categories for all the Burghs and Districts of County within each county, and compared the results with the listed county totals. This procedure found errors for some age categories, while the previous comparison with the parish table identified which Burgh or District was responsible, so it was possible to identify exactly which value was wrong, and to correct it. Following these corrections, all rows now meet the above checks except for the county checks for Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, due to the double counting of part of the population of Renfrew Burgh (see above); however, the figures for Renfrew and the two county totals are in fact all correct, provided rows with null values of g_unit are ignored.
  5. We have also summed the County Totals and compared them with the overall totals for Scotland.
  6. Please note in 1851 figures for Edinburgh and Leith are given as a single combined total for the City and the Burgh. For statistical mapping reasons they have been manually matched to Edinburgh in this table. There is no evidence beyond this table they were legally a combined unit at this time.
  7. Data for pre 1931 burghs, towns and town districts have been matched to burgh units of the same name in the AUO. Govan (1861) Police burgh is manually matched as the AUO lists a start date of 1864. Maryhill (1881) and Kinning Park (1881-1891) Police burghs are manually matched as they only link to Glasgow in the AUO, but the city unit was not created until 1893. Further work on earlier Scottish district and burgh units is needed in the AUO, so these matches should not be considered final.

Indices:

IndexTypeColumn(s) indexed
age_scot_g_unit_idx Unique year, g_unit, rec_num
age_scot_idx Unique year, sco_cnty, sco_area, sco_type

Columns within table:

ColumnTypeContents
year Integer number. Census year the data are for.
cnty_num Integer number. Number of County.
sco_cnty Text string (max.len.=58). Name of County in table.
dist_num Integer number. Number of Registration District.
sco_area Text string (max.len.=56). Name of the area to which the row relates. In some cases, this will give more detail of the type of area covered, such as 'SMALL BURGHS' or 'AYR (EXCLUDING LARGE BURGHS)'.
sco_type Text string (max.len.=44). Type of area; see note 6 above.
clean_cnty Text string (max.len.=64). [No description available]
clean_area Text string (max.len.=104). [No description available]
clean_type Text string (max.len.=44). [No description available]
sco_cnty_unit Integer number. ID number from the GBHGIS AUO, identifying the county or city the unit was in. The table includes county total rows, identified via the g_unit column, and various sub-totals, so the value of cnty_unit should not be used to compute aggregates.
g_unit Integer number. ID number from the GBHGIS AUO identifying the current unit. Null for the various sub-totals with sco_type set to 'Total' or 'Portion'.
exclude_row Text string (max.len.=5). Flag identifying rows which should be excluded: (a)to avoid double-counting of city populations. Has value of 'Y' for two rows of data for counties, for Aberdeenshire and Angus, and otherwise null. (b) to identify Parliamentary Burghs in 1881 which should be excluded because the table also includes a different definition of the same town.
part_of Text string (max.len.=44). Identifies areas which were partly (?) in another county. There are currently only two non-null values, both for 1931, one of 'KINCARDINE', the other 'RENFREW'.
tot_pop Integer number. Total population. This is currently derived from m_tot + f_tot for 1931 and 1951, and input for all other dates.
m_tot Integer number. Total number of males, including those of unspecified age. This is raw data for all years except 1951. For that year, it is computed from the individual age groups, but then cross-checked with the same value in the parish-level table.
m_0 Integer number. Males aged under one year (reported in 1861, 1871, 1881, 1911, 1931 and 1951).
m_1 Integer number. Males aged 1 year and less than 2 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931).
m_2 Integer number. Males aged 2 years and less than 3 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931)
m_3 Integer number. Males aged 3 years and less than 4 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931).
m_4 Integer number. Males aged 4 years and less than 5 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931).
m_0_4 Integer number. Males 0 to 4 years of age (computed for 1861 and 1951; reported in all other years).
m_1_4 Integer number. Males aged 1 year and less than 5 (reported in 1931 and 1951; computed in 1861, 1871 and 1911).
m_5_9 Integer number. Males 5 to 9 years of age.
m_10_14 Integer number. Males 10 to 14 years of age.
m_15_19 Integer number. Males 15 to 19 years of age.
m_20_24 Integer number. Males 20 to 24 years of age.
m_25_29 Integer number. Males 25 to 29 years of age.
m_30_34 Integer number. Males 30 to 34 years of age.
m_35_39 Integer number. Males 35 to 39 years of age.
m_40_44 Integer number. Males 40 to 44 years of age.
m_45_49 Integer number. Males 45 to 49 years of age.
m_50_54 Integer number. Males 50 to 54 years of age.
m_55_59 Integer number. Males 55 to 59 years of age.
m_60_64 Integer number. Males 60 to 64 years of age.
m_65_69 Integer number. Males 65 to 69 years of age.
m_70_74 Integer number. Males 70 to 74 years of age.
m_75_79 Integer number. Males 75 to 79 years of age.
m_80_84 Integer number. Males 80 to 84 years of age.
m_85_up Integer number. Males aged 85 and upwards. This is the highest age band available for all years (reported in 1931 and 1951; computed for 1851-1911, 1961 and 1971).
m_85_89 Integer number. Males 85 to 89 years of age (not available in 1931 or 1951).
m_90_94 Integer number. Males 90 to 94 years of age (not available in 1931 or 1951).
m_95_up Integer number. Males aged 95 and upwards (not available in 1931 or 1951; reported in 1961 and 1971; computed for 1851-1911).
m_95_99 Integer number. Males 95 to 99 years of age (available for 1851-1911).
m_100_up Integer number. Males aged 100 and upwards (not available in 1931-71; reported in 1851, 1881-1911; computed in 1861 and 1871).
m_100_104 Integer number. Males 100 to 104 years of age (available for 1861 and 1871).
m_105_up Integer number. Males aged 105 and upwards (available for 1861 and 1871).
m_unspec Integer number. Males of unspecified age (listed in 1861, 1911, 1931 and 1951).
f_tot Integer number. Total number of females, including those of unspecified age. This is raw data for all years except 1951. For that year, it is computed from the individual age groups, but then cross-checked with the same value in the parish-level table.
f_0 Integer number. Females aged under one year (reported in 1861, 1871, 1881, 1911, 1931 and 1951).
f_1 Integer number. Females aged 1 year and less than 2 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931).
f_2 Integer number. Females aged 2 years and less than 3 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931).
f_3 Integer number. Females aged 3 years and less than 4 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931).
f_4 Integer number. Females aged 4 years and less than 5 (available only in 1861, 1871 1881, 1911 and 1931).
f_0_4 Integer number. Females 0 to 4 years of age (computed for 1861, 1931 and 1951; reported in all other years).
f_1_4 Integer number. Females aged 1 year and less than 5 (reported in 1931 and 1951; computed in 1861, 1871 and 1911).
f_5_9 Integer number. Females 5 to 9 years of age.
f_10_14 Integer number. Females 10 to 14 years of age.
f_15_19 Integer number. Females 15 to 19 years of age.
f_20_24 Integer number. Females 20 to 24 years of age.
f_25_29 Integer number. Females 25 to 29 years of age.
f_30_34 Integer number. Females 30 to 34 years of age.
f_35_39 Integer number. Females 35 to 39 years of age.
f_40_44 Integer number. Females 40 to 44 years of age.
f_45_49 Integer number. Females 45 to 49 years of age.
f_50_54 Integer number. Females 50 to 54 years of age.
f_55_59 Integer number. Females 55 to 59 years of age.
f_60_64 Integer number. Females 60 to 64 years of age.
f_65_69 Integer number. Females 65 to 69 years of age.
f_70_74 Integer number. Females 70 to 74 years of age.
f_75_79 Integer number. Females 75 to 79 years of age.
f_80_84 Integer number. Females 80 to 84 years of age.
f_85_up Integer number. Females aged 85 and upwards. This is the highest age band available for all years (reported in 1931 and 1951; computed for 1851-1911, 1961 and 1971).
f_85_89 Integer number. Females 85 to 89 years of age (not available in 1931 or 1951).
f_90_94 Integer number. Females 90 to 94 years of age (not available in 1931 or 1951).
f_95_up Integer number. Females aged 95 and upwards (not available in 1931 or 1951; reported in 1961 and1971; computed for 1851-1911).
f_95_99 Integer number. Females 95 to 99 years of age (available for 1851-1911).
f_100_up Integer number. Females aged 100 and upwards (not available in 1931-71; reported in 1851, 1881-1911; computed in 1861 and 1871).
f_100_104 Integer number. Females 100 to 104 years of age (available for 1861 and 1871).
f_105_up Integer number. Females aged 105 and upwards (available for 1861 and 1871).
f_unspec Integer number. Females of unspecified age (listed in 1861, 1911, 1931 and 1951).
dup_area_flag Integer number. [No description available]
rec_num Integer number. Sequence number keeping data in the order they were loaded in.