Scotland

Population size is 5,295,403

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  1. Learning disabilities
  2. Autism

Once every 10 years the Scottish Government holds a national census to provide a snapshot of all the people in Scotland on one night. For the first time, Scotland's Census 2011 (on 27.3.11), gave people the chance to say whether or not they had learning disabilities and/or autism. This provides a unique opportunity to analyse and present information about people with learning disabilities and people known to have autism, compared with the whole population. You can search the data from Scotland's Census, 2011 on this website.

If you have an enquiry related to Scotland's Census 2011, you can contact National Records of Scotland by following this link

Population characteristics

Number of people known to have autism

17,348

aged 0-15 yrs


13,666

aged 16-64 yrs


698

aged 65+ yrs


In the whole population, 0.6% of people are known to have autism. The prevalence of autism in the 0-15 age group is 1.9%. This reflects availability of diagnostic services for autism, which have improved considerably over the last two decades.

Health

People who are known to have autism rate their health as

11,867

Very good


10,967

Good


6,252

Fair


1,809

Bad


817

Very bad


Health

Households

People known to have autism in private households

11,736

rented from council/housing association


14,843

private ownership


4,037

rented privately or living rent free


Housing and accommodation

Employment and education

People aged 16 and over known to have autism

4,450

long-term sick or disabled


2,976

in paid employment


3,734

students


1,505

unemployed


664

retired


1,035

other


Employment and Education

Other topics

People known to have autism

96.8%

were born in the UK


87.7%

are white and Scottish


Other topics

Other topics

People know to have autism

92.4%

speak English at home


48.3%

are of no faith


Other topics

Summary information

0.6% of people in Scotland are known to have autism, that’s 31,712 people


  • 17,348 children, and 14,364 adults are known to have autism in Scotland


  • 7,222 females and 24,490 males are known to have autism in Scotland


  • 37.4% of people known to have autism rate their health as very good, compared with 52.5% of all people; 2.6% of people known to have autism rate their health as very bad, compared with 1.3% of all people in Scotland


  • 20.7% of adults known to have autism have paid employment, compared with 57.7% of all adults; 31% of adults known to have autism are long-term sick or disabled, compared with 4.8% of all adults in Scotland



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