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have grown to 1,000,000. In 1755, according to the returns furnished by the clergy to the Rev. Dr Alexander Webster (1707–1784), minister of the Tron Kirk, Edinburgh—who had been commissioned by Lord President Dundas to prepare a census for government,—it was 1,265,380. At the first government census (1801) it had reached 1,608,420. The increase at succeeding decades has been continuous though fluctuating in amount, and in 1901 the population amounted to 4,472,103 (females, 2,298,348). In 1902 the Registrar-General for Scotland calculated that if the rate of increase (11·09%) manifest during 1891–1901 were uniformly maintained, the population would double itself in the course of about 66 years.

Table I.—Area and Population of Civil Counties in 1891 and 1901.

Civil Counties.	Area in Acres.	Population.		Pop. per  sq. m. 1901.
		1891.	1901.
I. Northern.
1. Shetland	352,889	28,711	28,166	51
2. Orkney	240,476	30,453	28,699	76
3. Caithness	438,878	37,177	33,870	49
4. Sutherland	1,297,849	21,896	21,440	11
	2,330,092	118,237	112,175	31
II. North-Western.
5. Ross and Cromarty	1,976,707	78,727	76,450	25
6. Inverness	2,695,037	90,121	90,104	21
	4,671,744	168,848	166,554	23
III. North-Eastern.
7. Nairn	103,429	9,155	9,291	57
8. Elgin (or Moray)	305,119	43,471	44,890	94
9. Banff	403,364	61,684	61,488	98
10. Aberdeen	1,261,887	284,036	304,439	154
11. Kincardine	243,974	35,492	40,923	107
	2,317,773	433,838	460,941	127
IV. East Midland.
12. Forfar	559,171	277,735	284,082	325
13. Perth	1,595,774	122,185	123,283	49
14. Fife	322,844	190,365	218,840	434
15. Kinross	52,410	6,673	6,981	85
16. Clackmannan	34,927	33,140	32,029	587
	2,565,126	630,098	665,215	166
V. West Midland.
17. Stirling	288,842	118,021	142,291	315
18. Dumbarton	157,433	98,014	113,865	463
19. Argyll	1,990,471	74,085	73,642	24
20. Bute	139,658	18,404	18,787	86
	2,576,404	308,524	348,585	87
VI. South-Western.
21. Renfrew	153,332	230,812	268,980	1123
22. Ayr	724,523	226,386	254,468	225
23. Lanark	562,821	1,105,899	1,339,327	1523
	1,440,676	1,563,097	1,862,775	827
VII. South-Eastern.
24. Linlithgow	76,861	52,808	65,708	547
25. Edinburgh	234,339	434,276	488,796	1335
26. Haddington	171,011	37,377	38,665	145
27. Berwick	292,577	32,290	30,824	67
28. Peebles	222,599	14,750	15,066	43
29. Selkirk	170,762	27,712	23,356	88
	1,168,149	599,213	662,415	363
VIII. Southern.
30. Roxburgh	426,060	53,500	48,804	73
31. Dumfries	686,302	74,245	72,571	68
32. Kirkcudbright	575,565	39,985	39,383	44
33. Wigtown	311,609	36,062	32,685	67
Grand Total	1,999,536	203,792	193,443	62
Scotland	19,069,500	4,025,647	4,472,103	150

In 1901 there were 150 persons to each square mile, and 4·3 acres (excluding inland waters, tidal rivers and foreshore) to each person. The distribution of population is illustrated in the preceding table, which gives the names and areas of the counties and other particulars.

In the northern, north-western and southern divisions the population declined during the decade, the fifteen counties thus affected being, in the order of decrease, beginning with the shire in which it was smallest, Inverness, Banff, Argyll, Kirkcudbright, Shetland, Sutherland, Dumfries, Ross and Cromarty, Clackmannan, Berwick, Orkney, Roxburgh, Caithness, Wigtown and Selkirk. It will thus be seen that the far north and far south alike decreased in population, the decline being largely due to physical conditions, though it need not be supposed that the limit of population was reached in either area. The most sparsely inhabited county was Sutherland, the most densely Lanark. The counties in which there was the largest increase in the decennial period—with Linlithgow first, followed by Lanark, Stirling, Renfrew, Dumbarton and thirteen others—principally belonged to the Central Plain, or Lowlands, in which, broadly stated, industries and manufactures, trade, commerce and agriculture and educational facilities have attained their highest development. In every county the population increased between 1801 and 1841, the increase being more than 10% in each county with the exception of Argyll, Perth and Sutherland. After 1841, however, the population in several Highland shires—in which the clearance of crofters to make way for deer was one of the most strongly-felt grievances among the Celtic part of the people—in the islands, and in some of the southern counties, diminished. The next table affords a comparison of the numbers of the population as grouped in towns, villages and rural districts, and in the mainland and islands.

Table II.—Population in Towns, Villages and Rural Districts, Mainland and Islands, 1891 and 1901.

Groups.	Population.		Percentage of Pop.& in  each to total Pop.
	1891.	1901.	1891.	1901.
Towns*	2,631,298	3,120,241	65·37	69·77
Villages*	465,836	466,053	11·57	10·42
Rural districts	928,513	885,809	23·06	19·81
Total	4,025,647	4,472,103	100·00	100·00
Mainland	3,865,748	4,316,551	96·03	96·52
Islands	159,899	155,552	3·97	3·48
Total	4,025,647	4,472,103	100·00	100·00

 *Villages have populations of from 300 to 2000; towns from 2000 upwards.

Table III. gives the population of towns with more than 30,000 inhabitants.

Table III.—Population in chief Towns in 1881, 1891 and 1901.

Town.	1881.	1891.	1901.
Glasgow	551,415	565,839 (of enlarged area, 658,198)	760,468
Edinburgh	228,357	261,225 (of enlarged area)	316,523
Dundee	140,239	153,330	160,878
Aberdeen	105,189	121,623	153,503
Paisley	55,638	166,425	79,354
Leith	59,485	67,700	76,668
Govan	50,492	63,625	76,350
Greenock	66,704	63,423	67,672
Partick	27,410	36,538	54,281
Coatbridge	24,812	30,034	36,991
Kilmarnock	23,901	28,447	34,165
Kirkcaldy	23,632	27,151	34,063
Perth	28,980	29,899	32,886
Hamilton	18,517	24,859	32,775
Motherwell	12,904	18,726	30,418

The burghs in which the largest proportion of Scottish-born persons lived in 1901 were Kirkcaldy (with 95·997 in every 100 of its inhabitants), Aberdeen (with 94·997), Perth (with 94·442) and Kilmarnock (with 94·046) The largest proportion of English-born were found in Edinburgh (with 5·438%) and Leith (with 4·481). Irish-born were most in evidence in Coatbridge (with 15·158 in every 100), Partick (with 12·05) and Govan (with 11·51). Welsh nationality was most marked in Motherwell (with 0·250%) Those of British-Colonial birth were most numerous in Edinburgh (with 0·933%), and foreigners in Glasgow (with 0·890), Leith (with 0·741) and Hamilton (with 0·720). In addition to the 17,654 resident foreigners there were 4973 foreigners casually in Scotland at the taking of the census in 1901 (1839 men and women on board foreign and British vessels), raising the total of foreigners actually enumerated