Scottish diaspora
The Scottish diaspora consists of Scottish people who emigrated from Scotland and their descendants. The diaspora is concentrated in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, England, New Zealand, Ireland, and to a lesser extent Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The Scottish diaspora has been estimated by the Scottish Government to be between 28 and 40 million people worldwide. Other estimates have ranged as high as 80 million.
According to Marjory Harper of the University of Aberdeen, Scottish emigrants and their descendants have maintained connections to Scotland though formal and informal means including "church, school and Scottish society" and "place names, correspondence, family and community networks, and chain migration". Rogers Brubaker wrote that immigrants from Scotland have regarded the ancestral homeland as "an authoritative source of value, identity and loyalty". According to Lauren Brancaz of the Centre for Breton and Celtic Research: "Scottish culture has not been contained within the borders of Scotland. It has lived on in the minds of migrants who have remained attached to it".
Americas
Argentina
A Scottish Argentine population has existed at least since 1825. There are an estimated 200,000 Argentines of Scottish ancestry, the most of any country outside the English-speaking world. Scottish Argentines have been incorrectly referred to as English.Brazil
Canada
Scottish people have a long history in Canada, dating back several centuries. Many towns, rivers and mountains have been named in honour of Scottish explorers and traders such as Mackenzie Bay and the major city of Calgary, Alberta, is named after a Scottish beach. Most notably, the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland. Once Scots formed the vanguard of the movement of Europeans across the continent. In more modern times, emigrants from Scotland have played a leading role in the social, political and economic history of Canada, being prominent in banking, labour unions, and politics.The first documented Scottish settlement in the Americas was of Nova Scotia in 1629. On 29 September 1621, the charter for the foundation of a colony was granted by James VI of Scotland to Sir William Alexander. Between 1622 and 1628, Sir William launched four attempts to send colonists to Nova Scotia; all failed for various reasons. A successful occupation of Nova Scotia was finally achieved in 1629. The colony's charter, in law, made Nova Scotia a part of mainland Scotland. The Scots have influenced the cultural mix of Nova Scotia for centuries and constitute the largest ethnic group in the province, at 29.3% of its population. Many Scottish immigrants were monoglot Scottish Gaelic speakers from the Gàidhealtachd. Canadian Gaelic was spoken as the first language in much of "Anglophone" Canada, such as Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Glengarry County in Ontario. Gaelic was the third most commonly spoken language in Canada.
As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a large impact on Canadian culture since colonial times. According to the 2011 Census of Canada, the number of Canadians claiming full or partial Scottish descent is 4,714,970, or 15.10% of the nation's total population.
Chile
A large proportion of Scottish Chileans are sheep farmers in the Magallanes region of the far south of the country, and the city of Punta Arenas has a large Scottish foundation dating back to the 18th century.A famous Scot, Thomas, Lord Cochrane formed the Chilean Navy to help liberate Chile from Spain in the independence period. Chile developed a strong diplomatic relationship with Great Britain and invited more British settlers to the country in the 19th century.
The Chilean government land deals invited settlement from Scotland and Wales in its southern provinces in the 1840s and 1850s. The number of Scottish Chileans is still higher in Patagonia and Magallanes regions.
The Mackay School, in Viña del Mar is an example of a school set up by Scottish Chileans. The Scottish and other British Chileans are primarily found in higher education as well in economic management and the country's cultural life.
Mexico
Scottish people came to Mexico as a component of larger British ventures that facilitated the nation's economic growth following its independence.United States
| Year | Ethnic group | Population | % of total population | Ref. |
| 1700 | Scottish | 7,526 | 3.0% | |
| 1755 est. | Scottish & Scots-Irish | 4.0% & 7.0% | ||
| 1775 est. | Scottish & Scots-Irish | 6.6% & 7.8% | ||
| 1790 est. | Scottish & Scots-Irish | 6.6% & 4.8% | ||
| 1980 | Scottish | 10,048,816 | 4.44% | |
| 1990 | Scottish & Scots-Irish | 5,393,581 & 5,617,773 | 2.2% & 2.3% | |
| 2000 | Scottish & Scots-Irish | 4,890,581 & 4,319,232 | 1.7% & 1.5% | |
| 2010 | Scottish & Scots-Irish | 5,460,679 & 3,257,161 | 1.9% & 3.1% | |
| 2013 | Scottish & Scots-Irish | 5,310,285 & 2,976,878 | 1.7% & 1% |
The table shows the ethnic Scottish population in the United States from 1700 to 2013. In 1700, the total population of the American colonies was 250,888 of whom 223,071 were white and 3.0% were ethnically Scottish. In the 2000 census, 4.8 million Americans self-reported Scottish ancestry, 1.7% of the total US population. Another 4.3 million self-reported Scots-Irish ancestry, for a total of 9.2 million Americans self-reporting some kind of Scottish descent.
The 2008 US Census 2008 American Community Survey figures showed approximately 5.8 million Americans self-identified as being of Scottish ancestry, and another 3.5 million Scots-Irish, for 9.3 million total. In the 2013 American Community Survey, 5.3 ;million identified as Scottish and another nearly 3 million as of Scots-Irish descent, for about 8.3 million total.
Self-reported numbers are regarded by demographers as massive under-counts, because Scottish ancestry is known to be disproportionately under-reported among the majority of mixed ancestry, and because areas where people reported "American" ancestry were the places where, historically,
Scottish and Scots-Irish Protestants settled in North America. The number of actual Americans of Scottish descent today is estimated to be 20 to 25 million, and Scots-Irish, 27 to 30 million, the subgroups overlapping and not always distinguishable because of their shared ancestral surnames.
Large-scale emigration from Scotland to America began in the 1700s after the Battle of Culloden, when the Clan structures were broken up. Anti-Catholic persecution and the Highland Clearances also obliged many Scottish Gaels to emigrate. The Scots went in search of a better life and settled in the thirteen colonies, mainly around South Carolina and Virginia.
The majority of Scots-Irish originally came from Lowland Scotland and the Scottish Borders before migrating to the province of Ulster in Ireland mostly in the 17th century and from there, beginning about five generations later, to North America in large numbers during the 18th century.
Later Scottish Americans descended from 19th-century Scottish immigrants tend to be concentrated in the West, while others in New England are the descendants of immigrants from the Maritime Provinces of Canada, especially in the 1920s.
Americans who identify themselves as of Scottish descent outnumber the population of Scotland, where 4,459,071 or 88.09% of people identified as ethnic Scottish in the 2000 Census. There are many US-based Scottish clan societies and other heritage organizations, through which "Scottish migrants have remained attached to their homeland".
Asia-Pacific
Australia
A steady rate of Scottish immigration continued into the 20th century, with substantial numbers of Scots continued to arrive after 1945. From 1900 until the 1950s, Scots favoured New South Wales, as well as Western Australia and Southern Australia. A strong cultural Scottish presence is evident in the Highland games, dance, Tartan day celebrations, Clan and Gaelic speaking societies found throughout modern Australia.According to the 2021 Australian census 118,496 Australian residents were born in Scotland, while 2,176,777 claimed Scottish ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry. This is the fourth most commonly nominated ancestry and represents 8.6% of the total population of Australia.
New Zealand
Scottish migration to New Zealand dates back to the earliest period of European colonisation, with a large proportion of Pākehā New Zealanders being of Scottish descent. However, identification as "British" or "European" New Zealanders can sometimes obscure their origin. Many Scottish New Zealanders also have Māori or other non-European ancestry.The majority of Scottish immigrants settled in the South Island. All over New Zealand, the Scots developed different means to bridge the old homeland and the new. Many Caledonian societies were formed, well over 100 by the early twentieth century, who helped maintain Scottish culture and traditions. From the 1860s, these societies organised annual Caledonian Games throughout New Zealand. The games were sports meets that brought together Scottish settlers and the wider New Zealand public. In so doing, the games gave Scots a path to cultural integration as Scottish New Zealanders.
The Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland founded Dunedin at the head of Otago Harbour in 1848 as the principal town of its Scottish settlement. The name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. Charles Kettle, the city's surveyor, instructed to emulate the characteristics of Edinburgh, produced a striking, "Romantic" design. The result was both grand and quirky streets as the builders struggled and sometimes failed to construct his bold vision across the challenging landscape. Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the war against Napoleon, was the secular leader. The Reverend Thomas Burns, a nephew of the poet Robert Burns, was the spiritual guide.