Official sources · Questions

Scottish official statistics: who publishes what

Scottish official statistics are produced by the Scottish Government's statistics service and by separate bodies including National Records of Scotland (NRS), Public Health Scotland (PHS), Revenue Scotland and Qualifications Scotland. Together they cover devolved areas such as health, education, justice, local government and devolved taxes, plus Scotland-only measures such as GERS and quarterly Scottish GDP. Fact-checkers use them to test claims about Scotland that UK-wide statistics either do not cover or measure differently.

Covers: Scotland · Release calendar

What it publishes

• Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS), an annual estimate of all public revenue raised in Scotland and all spending for Scotland by both governments, published each August.
• Onshore Scottish GDP, monthly and quarterly, with Quarterly National Accounts that add cash GDP and estimates including a share of North Sea output.
• NRS population estimates and projections, births, deaths, life expectancy, drug-related and alcohol-specific deaths, and the 2022 census.
• PHS statistics on hospital waiting times, A&E, cancer, mental health, drug and alcohol harms, plus health open data.
• Scottish Government statistics on schools and school leavers, police officer numbers, recorded crime, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, poverty and income inequality, labour market summaries and housing.
• Local government finance statistics, including council tax by band for every council, collection rates and council tax reduction.
• Revenue Scotland statistics on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Scottish Landfill Tax, and HMRC statistics on Scottish Income Tax receipts.
• Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts of the Scottish economy, devolved tax revenue and devolved social security spending, which the Scottish Budget must use.

Key datasets

• Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS)
  Revenue, spending and the notional net fiscal balance for Scotland, with and without North Sea revenue, compared with the UK. Financial years, with a long back series and methodology note.
  Updated: Annual (August)
• Scottish GDP and economy statistics
  Monthly and quarterly onshore GDP, Quarterly National Accounts, GERS and background papers. Real growth by industry for Scotland.
  Updated: Monthly and quarterly
• NRS mid-year population estimates
  Population of Scotland, council areas and health boards by age and sex at 30 June, with components of change such as migration and natural change.
  Updated: Annual
• NRS drug-related deaths in Scotland
  Drug use deaths registered each year by age, sex, deprivation, council area, health board and substances implicated, with UK and European comparisons.
  Updated: Annual
• PHS stage of treatment waiting times
  New outpatient and inpatient or day case waits by NHS board and specialty against Scotland's 12-week standards, plus links to A&E, cancer and diagnostic waits.
  Updated: Monthly
• Qualifications Scotland attainment statistics
  Provisional entries and passes for National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher and other qualifications by subject, sex, centre type and education authority.
  Updated: Annual (August)
• Police officer quarterly strength statistics
  Full-time equivalent police officers in Police Scotland at each quarter end, including by local policing division.
  Updated: Quarterly
• Council tax datasets
  Council tax by band for each council, average council tax per dwelling, Band D series from 1996-97 and second home and empty property policies.
  Updated: Annual
• Revenue Scotland statistics
  Land and Buildings Transaction Tax returns and tax due, including the additional dwelling supplement, and Scottish Landfill Tax receipts.
  Updated: Monthly and quarterly
• Scottish Fiscal Commission publications
  Economic and fiscal forecasts for each Scottish Budget, fiscal sustainability reports and forecast evaluations.
  Updated: At each budget, plus annual reports

APIs and downloads

• data.gov.scot
  The Scottish Government's new open data platform, in public beta and replacing statistics.gov.scot, with downloadable datasets from several public bodies and an API. No key needed for public data.
• Scotland Health and Social Care Open Data (PHS)
  CKAN portal with CSV files for waiting times, A&E, prescribing and other health series. Standard CKAN JSON API with no key.
• PHS open data CKAN API
  Lists all datasets as JSON; use datastore_search to query table resources. No key; large queries can be slow.
• Scotland's Census data search
  Census 2022 and earlier tables, with downloads by area. No registration needed.
• HMRC Scottish and Welsh Income Tax outturn statistics
  Annual spreadsheets of Scottish Income Tax receipts and taxpayers by band, published by HMRC on GOV.UK.

When it publishes

Scottish Government and NRS official statistics are usually released at 9:30am on dates pre-announced in the Scottish Government's forthcoming publications list and the NRS upcoming publications page. GERS appears each August, quarterly GDP first estimates about two months after the quarter, NRS population estimates in the summer and drug deaths in late summer or autumn. PHS publishes at 9:30am, with monthly waiting times on Tuesdays. Qualifications Scotland attainment statistics come out on results day in early August.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Decide first whether the claim is about the Scottish Government's own budget or all public spending in Scotland. The Budget covers devolved spending; GERS covers both governments.
2. For deficit claims, note the GERS year and whether North Sea revenue is included, and quote the notional net fiscal balance as a share of GDP alongside the UK figure.
3. For economic growth, check whether the figure is onshore Scottish GDP from the Scottish Government or the ONS regional estimate, and whether it is real or cash.
4. For drug deaths, confirm whether the figure is NRS 'drug use deaths' or the wider drug poisoning definition used for UK comparisons, and the registration year.
5. For NHS waits, check which standard is quoted (12-week outpatient standard or Treatment Time Guarantee) and whether the figure counts waits or estimated individuals.
6. For exam results, distinguish Qualifications Scotland entry-based pass rates from Scottish Government school leaver attainment, which are different measures.
7. For income tax claims, check the tax year and whether a band threshold or the marginal rate is being quoted; HMRC outturn shows actual receipts some time later.

Common mistakes

• Treating the GERS notional deficit as the Scottish Government's own borrowing, when the devolved budget must balance and has only limited borrowing powers.
• Comparing Scottish waiting times with England's 18-week referral to treatment measure, although Scotland reports separate stages against 12-week standards.
• Comparing NRS drug use deaths directly with ONS drug misuse figures for England and Wales, which use a different definition.
• Reading SQA or Qualifications Scotland pass rates across 2020 to 2023 as like for like with exam years, despite changed assessment arrangements.
• Using council tax Band D as an average bill, when most Scottish homes are in lower bands and water and sewerage charges are added.

What is GERS?

Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland is an annual Scottish Government official statistics publication estimating the public revenue raised in Scotland and the spending carried out for Scotland by the UK and Scottish governments. The difference is Scotland's notional net fiscal balance, shown in cash and as a share of GDP, with and without a geographic share of North Sea revenue. It is published each August for the previous financial year.

Is National Records of Scotland the same as the ONS?

No. NRS is a Scottish non-ministerial department that registers births, marriages and deaths in Scotland and produces Scotland's population, mortality and census statistics. The ONS covers England and Wales for those topics and combines the nations' figures for UK totals, so Scottish population and death figures should be taken from NRS.

Where is Scottish health data published?

Public Health Scotland publishes most NHS Scotland statistics, including waiting times, A&E, cancer waits and drug and alcohol harms, with open data downloads. NHS Education for Scotland publishes the NHS workforce, and NRS publishes deaths and life expectancy.

Questions answered using this source

• How do I make a Freedom of Information request?
• What are NHS waiting times in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
• Where can I find official GCSE results statistics?
• Where can I find UK census data?
• How much tax revenue does the UK collect?
• How do I find school performance tables?
• Where can I download UK government data?
• When are UK official statistics published?
• How do I check a government spending or tax promise?
• How much income tax does the UK raise?
• How is UK tax revenue spent?

Links checked 2026-10-13. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.