Census facts:
The Scottish diaspora - Population
The Edwardian period saw Scots migrating at twice the rate of the English. With the harsh conditions of urban overcrowding at home and the lure of North America and Commonwealth countries abroad, the 1911 census records the largest loss of population by migration in one decade yet recorded.
*From Scotland's Census 1911.
A drain on healthcare - Health
People’s general health improves following better sewage and drainage systems. Although tuberculosis was still a common deadly threat, infectious diseases such as typhus, scarlet fever and smallpox had been almost eradicated.
*The Census is only interested in your general health.
Country cousins - Culture
Around 70 per cent of Scotland’s population lives in towns of 2,000 or more people. By 1911, Scotland has become the second most urbanised country in the world, exceeded only by England. Only 50 years earlier, life was more rural.
*From Scotland’s Census 1861, 1901 and 1911.
Contemporary historical facts:
22 January 1901 – Queen Victoria, the longest reigning monarch in British history, dies age 81 heralding the start of the Edwardian era.
17 December 1903 – Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright make the world’s first flight, covering 120 metres in 12 seconds.
1905 - A 26-year-old Albert Einstein publishes his theory of special relativity, transforming man’s understanding of physical knowledge and nature.
1907 - The Scottish coal industry reaches a peak in the early 20th century, with coal output reaching 40 million tons – a huge leap from 2 million tons a century before.