Migration and ethnicity in Scotland's 2022 Census

Migration is a multi-dimensional and multi-level process which is difficult to record and monitor even for the most well-resourced governments and organizations. The 2022 decennial census’s (attempted) enumeration of the entire population thus offers a valuable means of assessing the degree and manner of the impact migration has on Scotland. While sub-national migration may reflect sociologically and politically significant phenomena such as urbanization, gentrification and rural depopulation, this article focusses upon cross-border migration and its legacies: specifically, migration between Scotland and other parts of the UK; migration from overseas; and ethnicity, which may reflect people’s own migration but also that of their parents, grandparents or more distant ancestors.