1/8 Ever wondered about Scotland’s population, its growth or rather lack of growth? Here is a perspective (all data from Wikipedia).

The UK/Ireland population has grown strongly over the last couple of centuries but almost all of that growth has been in England

2/8 To give clarity on relative growth, consider only population growth over the last 100 years. This is revealing. England/NI populations have grown strongly, Ireland’s similarly but only since its 1973 accession to the EU, whereas Scotland & Wales show little growth.

3/8 The limited population growth in Scotland’s over the last 20 years is entirely due to inward migration. This is not surprising when you realise that Scotland’s birth rate is less than its death rate.

4/8 Scotland is often compared to the Nordic nations. If you look at their population changes, they have all grown strongly. Scotland’s population, by comparison has stagnated.

5/8 Have the Nordic countries shown anomalous growth? Absolutely not. If you compare Scottish population growth to all other European nations, Scotland’s population change sits hard at the bottom of the growth curve. Wales is little better.

6/8 It is clear that a so-called developed nation which can barely maintain a population, let alone grow it, is failing, highlighting clear and urgent problems with the economy. At the very least Scotland needs young & skilled immigrants. Political change is a must.

7/8 Scotland needs the EU & its free movement. It needs to create incentives for people to come here. It we allow the effects of #Brexit to prevail, the future of Scotland is poor. The lack of population growth is Wales is similarly troubling.

8/8 It is reasonable to expect that independence in the EU will give the economic boost to Scotland (& Wales) that Ireland saw from its accession in 1973. Never forget that Scotland is not a small country by EU standards. It would be the 18th largest out of 28. Not bad.