Glasgow city centre population rises by third in decade, figures show

The number of people living in Glasgow city centre has risen by a third in the last decade, according to the latest figures.

According to data shared by Glasgow City Council, there are now 28,341 people living in the area, up from 21,185 in 2011.

The council approved its city centre living strategy in 2019 with the target of increasing the area’s residential population to 40,000 by 2035.

The strategy says increasing population density in cities contributes to making the area more sustainable and economically successful.

Other trends include a move to a younger population, with people aged 16-44 years making up 80.9% of the Glasgow city centre population in 2022, up from 77.1% in 2011.

Those aged 45 and over make up 14.8% of the population, a drop from 19% in 2011.

Angus Millar, a councillor and convener for City Centre Recovery at Glasgow City Council, said: “The population of Glasgow’s city centre has been steadily increasing, and continuing to support more people to live in the city centre will be essential for its future vitality.

“Comparable cities across the UK and beyond tend to have significantly more densely populated city centres than Glasgow, with a strong city centre population promoting sustainability and supporting local economies.

“With new residential development continuing to be delivered, we are continuing work to help make the city centre a more attractive place to live in.

“With the city centre population growing by a third over the past decade and more and more people continuing to choose city centre living, we are well on track to meet our target of 40,000 people living in the city centre by 2035.”

The city centre population is projected to increase to 34,604 by 2029-30.

The council’s strategy objectives include the repurposing of vacant commercial space, offering a responsive and innovative approach to investment opportunities that will assist in the aims of the strategy; and to help create resilient and cohesive neighbourhoods.

Residential developments complete and underway in city centre locations such as the Barclays campus, Candleriggs Square and the Holland Park development at Pitt Street are just some of the projects helping to drive the population increase, with others – at Port Dundas, for example – in the pipeline.

A rough boundary for what the council classes as the city centre is the M8 to the north, the Kingston Bridge and up to Charing Cross to the west, over the Clyde into the nearest parts of Tradeston and Laurieston in the south, and about a five-minute walk east from High Street.