The statistics show that the estimated population of Scotland as of June 2007 was 5,144,200, which was a rise of 27,300 from the previous year.

 Commenting on the publication of "Mid-2007 Population Estimates, Scotland", Registrar General for Scotland Duncan Macniven said:  

"By June 2007, Scotland's population reached its highest level since 1983. Part of the reason for the increase was because the number of births was 1,100 higher than the number of deaths - the first year there have been more births than deaths since 1996-97.” 

However, he said the increase was mostly due to migration. In the 12 months leading up to 30 June 2007 51,500 people came to Scotland from England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 42,700 left Scotland to go in the opposite direction. Overall, however, there was a net migration gain of 26,800, which included a net gain of 8,800 people from the rest of the UK, 16,800 from overseas (including asylum seekers) and 1,200 members of the armed forces. 

Macniven continued: "More than 63,000 people left Scotland - but nearly 90,000 came here, mostly from the rest of the UK.  The net migration gain was over 26,000, with 9,000 coming from the rest of the UK and 17,000 from overseas.  That is the highest net in-migration figure since our records began in the early 1950s.   

"And migrants helped increase the birth rate too.  Mothers from Eastern Europe accounted for one in three of the increase in the number of births between 2006 and 2007, although only one in fifty of all births in Scotland was to a mother from Eastern Europe." 

The full publication is available here