Good to know
Good to Know
- Edinburgh's foreign-born percentage has nearly tripled since 2001 (8.3% → 23.5%), driven by international migration for education, employment, and tourism.
- Polish, Indian, and Chinese communities are the largest overseas-born groups; Edinburgh hosts approximately one-fifth of Scotland's Polish population.
- More than one in five people living in Edinburgh were not born in the UK, compared to about one in ten across Scotland.
- The tech sector employs over 34,000 people and is a major draw for international talent, with record VC investment (£940m+ since 2011) and support from world-class universities.
- Digital nomads describe Edinburgh as charming and walkable with good infrastructure, but note it's relatively expensive and has a smaller nomad community than major hubs like Lisbon or Bali.
Ethnic Diversity
- Non White Percentage
- 15.1
- Year
- 2022
- Largest Group
- Asian (approximately 44,000 people, with Chinese as largest subgroup at 2.9% of population)
Official Population
- Year
- 2024
- Figure
- 530680
- Source Type
- National Records of Scotland (NRS) official estimate
European Composition
- Percentage Of Foreign Born
- 45.7
- Note
- 47% of non-UK born population are of European origin—highest percentage of any UK city
Foreign Born Percentage Official
- Percentage
- 23.5
- Year
- 2022
- Note
- 2022 Census - up from 15.9% in 2011 and 8.3% in 2001
Business And Tech Sector Presence
- Key Companies
- Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, IBM, Huawei, Adobe, Skyscanner (founded in Edinburgh), FanDuel, FreeAgent, Rockstar North
- Startup Ecosystem
- CodeBase (UK's largest tech incubator), 280+ high-growth tech companies
- Tech Workers Total
- 34000
- Tech Sector Valuation
- £5.5 billion (2022), named leading AI City of the Future by Deloitte 2025
- Note
- Over 34,000 people working in tech sector, with continuous growth
Notable Nationalities And Origins
Poland
- Percentage Of Total Population
- 2.7
- Census Year
- 2022
India
- Percentage Of Total Population
- 1.8
- Census Year
- 2022
China
- Percentage Of Total Population
- 1.6
- Census Year
- 2022
Most recent detailed figure available
- Percentage Of Total Population
- 1.8
- Origin
- Republic of Ireland
- Census Year
- 2011
Pakistan
- Percentage Of Total Population
- 1.5
- Census Year
- 2022
United States
- Percentage Of Total Population
- 1.3
- Census Year
- 2022
- Note
- Edinburgh has highest count of US-born residents of any UK city except London
Long Term Resident And Expat Estimate
- Note
- Digital nomad community described as present but smaller than major hubs. No precise quantified estimate of unregistered long-term visa residents available, but 23.5% foreign-born + ongoing net migration (overseas migration is primary growth driver per 2026 Edinburgh by Numbers report) suggests broader expat/long-term resident population exceeds official statistics.
- Migration Context
- Overseas migration is the main driver of Edinburgh's 9.4% population growth in the decade to 2024, with net migratory effect more than ten times greater than births minus deaths
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Edinburgh
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.