The line graph illustrates changes in the birth rate, population growth rate and death rate in Scotland over the period from 1940 to 2020.
Overall, all three indicators declined during most of the period. The birth rate remained the highest figure throughout, although it fell considerably over time. Population growth also decreased steadily and eventually became negative, while the death rate dropped until the early 1990s before rising again towards the end of the period.
In 1940, Scotland recorded a birth rate at 2.5%, compared with around 1.5% for the death rate and roughly 0.8% for population growth. Although the birth rate fluctuated slightly during the 1940s and early 1950s, it then declined sharply to just over 1% by 1960. After a brief recovery to around 1.2% in the late 1960s, it continued to fall gradually, reaching approximately 0.5% in 2020.
Population growth followed a different pattern in the first two decades. It increased from 0.8% in 1940 to a peak of nearly 1.5% during the mid- 1950s before beginning a long downward trend. By the early 2000s, the figure had fallen below zero and remained slightly negative thereafter. Meanwhile, the death rate declined steadily from roughly 1.5% in 1940 to around 0.2% by the early 1990s. It then remained relatively stable for a number of years before rising gradually after 2010 to approximately 0.7% by the end of the period.