Figures from the 19th yearly Edinburgh by Numbers report show that people living in Scotland’s Capital spend around 80% of their lives in good health — the largest proportion of any Scottish city — while Edinburgh has the highest employment rate (83.2%) of all major UK cities including London.

Edinburgh by Numbers is collated by the City of Edinburgh Council and is based on data from a variety of sources including the ONS, National Records of Scotland and the Scottish Household Survey.

The report reveals that Edinburgh has the highest life expectancy of all Scottish cities — 82 years for women and 78 for men — and that 86% of people participate in some kind of sport or fitness activity, including walking.

The report said the Capital City’s median hourly pay is £20.49 – more than any comparable city other than London and over 50% above the UK Real Living Wage.

However, 17% of the city’s population continues to live in relative poverty, while property prices are rising – Edinburgh’s average property price is higher than the rest of the major UK cities outside London, except for Bristol.

Edinburgh’s population is growing, increasing by 9.4% in the decade leading up to 2024, compared to a national average of 4%.

“Overseas migration is attributed as the main driver behind the growth – with a net migratory effect over ten times greater than the net effect of births and deaths,” said the City of Edinburgh Council.

“Despite its growth, Edinburgh remains a relatively low-density city at 2,015 residents per km² which is well below comparable cities such as Manchester (5,099) and Sheffield (4,755).”

Other statistics published in Edinburgh by Numbers include:

• Edinburgh attracted 5 million overnight visits in 2024, generating £2.57 billion in total visitor spend — a 14.3% increase on 2023
• Renewable electricity generation rose from 27.3 GWh in 2019 to a peak of 39.7 GWh in 2023, before dipping to 35.5 GWh in 2024 due to reduced bioenergy output
• 17% of the city’s residents live in relative poverty (households whose income is below 60% of UK median income in the same year) though this is below the national average of 21%
• Close to 23,000 new trees were planted in the council area as part of Edinburgh’s Million Tree City project
• Around 60% of trips involve walking or public transport, 68% of short journeys under two miles are made on foot or by bike
• 86% of residents are satisfied with public transport, more than 20 percentage points above the Scottish average
• Edinburgh has the second highest number of higher education students per 1,000 residents (140) of all major UK cities, behind Manchester (148)
• The Capital has 36 Green Flag parks – over twice as many as Sheffield, the city with the next highest number of parks with the award
• 25% of people moving to Scotland from other countries outside the UK come to live in Edinburgh