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Annual Review – Life Expectancy

Each year since 1855, National Records of Scotland has published the Registrar General’s Annual Review, providing an annual overview of the latest demographic trends.

NRS statistician Maria Kaye summarises what we know about life expectancy in Scotland, as found in “Scotland’s Population 2016” – the 162nd Annual Review.

The most recent life expectancy figures published by the National Records of Scotland tell us that a baby girl born in Scotland around 2014 could expect to live for 81.1 years while a baby boy could expect to live until he was 77.1 years old.

Over the past three decades, life expectancy has steadily improved – increasing by 8.0 years for males and by 5.8 years for females since around 1981. The gap between male and female life expectancy has also decreased over the period, from a gap of 6.2 years for those born around 1981 to a gap of 4.1 years for those born around 2014.

Over the past few years, we have seen the rate of increase in life expectancy slow and the most recent estimates of life expectancy at birth remained unchanged. This was true both in Scotland and for the UK as a whole and is likely to have been affected by an increased number of deaths in 2015.

Over the next 25 years, life expectancy is projected to rise further, reaching 82.3 years for males and 85.0 years for females by 2039.

Scotland has the lowest life expectancy of all of the UK constituent countries and is lower than the UK as a whole which has a life expectancy of 82.8 years for females and 79.1 years for males.

Within Scotland, there is a difference of nearly five years in life expectancy for females between the council area with the highest (East Dunbartonshire) and the lowest (West Dunbartonshire) life expectancy. For males, there is a gap of seven years between the highest (East Dunbartonshire) and lowest (Glasgow city).

Life Expectancy Open Book 2
Change in life expectancy at birth between 1981 and 2014 for both males and females

 

More information about life expectancy statistics including estimates for Scottish Councils and NHS Boards are available on our website. Further commentary on our latest statistics can be found in the Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends for 2016, which was published on the 2nd of August.

Maria Kaye

Assistant Statistician

National Records of Scotland

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Annual Review – Scotland’s Households

Each year since 1855, National Records of Scotland has published the Registrar General’s Annual Review of Demographic Trends, an overview of all the statistics we have gathered.

NRS statistician Amelia Brereton summarises our findings on Scotland’s households, as found in Scotland’s Population 2016 – the 162nd Annual Review.

 

Scotland’s population is growing and ageing. This has affected both the total number of households in Scotland and the most common types of household.

Older people are more likely to live on their own, or with just one other person. This means that as the number of older people in the population has gone up, so has the number of these smaller household types.

According to our latest estimates from the Scottish Household Survey, one-person households are now the most common type of household in Scotland. We estimate that nearly 900,000 people in Scotland are living alone, many of whom will be older people.

Number of Households

We also project how many households of different types there might be in the future, based on past trends.

We have projected that the number of people aged 65 or over living alone will increase by 45 per cent in 2014 to 484,800 people by 2039. In the oldest age groups – 85 and over – we have projected that the number of people living alone will more than double between 2014 and 2039.

It is important that we can project how many households there might be in future; where they will be; how many people will live in them and how old they will be.

This helps with planning for how many homes of different types will be needed. Knowing how many older households there might be in different areas is also important for planning services, such as community care.

You can find out more in our report, Scotland’s Population 2016. This year, the report contains an invited chapter on household composition and housing provision in Scotland written by Prof Elspeth Graham, Dr Francesca Fiori and Dr Kim McKee.

They include an overview of the statistics and research on this topic, new analysis of the housing patterns of young adults and older adults, and analysis of interviews with young adults aged 18-35.

Amelia Brereton

Assistant Statistician

National Records of Scotland

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Connecticut Connection

National Records of Scotland is known for its records, research and other artefacts, but we also hold a number of antiques at various buildings around Edinburgh.

One interesting example is a chiming clock which hangs on the wall in a meeting room at West Register House, Charlotte Square. This clock, a Chauncey Jerome, was recently repaired by a specialist and is still in working order despite being over 150 years old.  The clock was manufactured in New Haven, Connecticut, by the Jerome Manufacturing Company, most likely in the 1840s, and its history is quite interesting.

Jerome Chauncey Clock

The clock was gifted to the Scottish Record Office, one of our predecessor bodies, in the early 1970s, although there are competing stories about the precise circumstances.

Jerome Post 2One is that a former Deputy Keeper, John Bates, bought it in an antiques shop as a gift for colleagues. The other story holds that the clock was gifted by members of the former kirk session of St George’s Church – now West Register House – and that it might have been kept in the church since the 1850s.  An examination of the kirk session minutes has shed no light on the truth of this story, however.

The surprising thing about this clock is its painted glass front, which depicts St George’s Church as seen from George Street. It may seem strange that an American-made clock would have an Edinburgh street scene on it, but these clocks were mass produced with a clear lower glass panel. Following sale, individuals could commission their own design to be painted onto the clear glass making them unique. Continue reading “Connecticut Connection” →

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Weeding Scotland’s Courts

Every summer, a team of NRS archivists visits Sheriff Courts all over Scotland to collect historical records for preservation and storage.

Case records must be retained for decades after the cases finish for future appeals, cold case reviews and police enquiries, so it’s vital they are kept safe and secure. Centuries from now, these cases will provide an insight for research and understanding of Scottish law, culture and society.

Between May and August each year, our Court & Legal Team visits up to six of Scotland’s 39 Sheriff Courts to collect records that are 25 years old or over. This isn’t a glamorous process as the records must be removed box-by-box, and they’re stored in attics, basements, turrets and other hard-to-access places. Continue reading “Weeding Scotland’s Courts” →

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Improving Mortality Statistics

In January 2017, NRS adopted new software for recording mortality statistics. This software – IRIS – will help us to improve data relating to deaths from certain diseases and disorders.  It will also help to create statistics that allow for more accurate comparison with other countries, particularly with England and Wales.

When a death is registered, it’s common for a number of diseases or conditions to be recorded on the death certificate. The IRIS software translates causes of death into a code that is recognised under the World Health Organisation’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Continue reading “Improving Mortality Statistics” →

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The Marquis of Montrose’s death and re-assembly

Marquess of MontroseOn 21 May 1650 the royalist hero James Graham, Marquess of Montrose, was publicly executed by hanging on a scaffold at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh, and his body dismembered. A remarkable account of expenses held by National Records of Scotland throws light on how, a decade later, Montrose’s remains were reassembled with pomp and ceremony, ready for his elaborate funeral. The revealing account is one a small group of papers in the miscellaneous series (National Records of Scotland, RH9/1/38).

The former Scottish covenanting commander was captured in 1650 by his enemies and condemned to death for his treachery to the covenanting cause and his military action against them during the 1640s. Rather than facing honourable execution by beheading, the Marquess was hanged like a common criminal. He went to his death defiantly, maintaining his adherence to the Covenant. He also went stylishly, dressed in a black suit, a scarlet coat with silver trimmings, and a beaver hat. In an exceptional move designed to inspire fear and awe in the populace, his head was placed on a spike on the Edinburgh Tolbooth next to the High Kirk (St Giles), his limbs distributed to other Scottish burghs, and his torso buried near the Burghmuir loch, at the east end of the modern Meadows.  Continue reading “The Marquis of Montrose’s death and re-assembly” →

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Preview: Medieval Charters Exhibition

NRS archivist Dr Tristram Clarke, Head of Outreach, talks about Scribes & Royal Authority: Scotland’s Charters, 1100-1250, a free exhibition at General Register House, Edinburgh.

The exhibition, which runs from 5 April to 17 May, is a rare opportunity to see examples from two of Scotland’s most important collections of medieval charters.

You can find out more here.

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Medieval Charters Exhibition

Scribes and Royal Authority: Scotland’s Charters 1100-1250

5 April – 17 May 2017

Free Exhibition, Matheson Dome, General Register House

For the first time precious examples from two of Scotland’s most important collections of medieval charters are going on show in National Records of Scotland.

1. GD_45_13_223
Charter of Thor, son of Swain for Holyrood Abbey, National Records of Scotland (GD45/13/223)

The charters from Holyrood Abbey and Melrose Abbey reveal how government developed in the period between 1100 and 1250, as part of the emergence in Western Europe of government as we recognise it today. These charters are but a tiny sample of what survives from the period and they offer a glimpse into the work of Scotland’s medieval scribes. This exhibition investigates how changes in the handwriting of the royal and monastic scribes reflect these crucial changes in charters that granted lands and rights.

Continue reading “Medieval Charters Exhibition” →