Immigration creates 'brain gain'

The number of immigrants in Scotland is just over 3%

Scotland is attracting more highly qualified immigrants than anywhere in the UK, population research has shown.

The study, by the BBC and the Institute for Public Policy Research, showed 3.3% of people in Scotland were born abroad.

The 2001 figures revealed Easterhouse in Glasgow had fewer foreign-born residents than anywhere else.

Areas closest to the North Sea oil fields had the largest numbers of foreign residents, particularly from the US and the Netherlands.

In the last 10 years net immigration into the UK has been about 1.2 million.

Scotland now has the highest proportion of new immigrants with a degree Sarah Kyambi Study co-author

Scotland has the third lowest number of people who were born abroad, but it has seen one of the fastest rates of recent change.

There were 168,142 people born abroad at the time of the 2001 census, 3.3% of the population.

The largest group in the census were people born in Germany, probably because of the children of military personnel born while stationed there. After those born in Pakistan, the next largest group was US-born.

Edinburgh and Glasgow had the largest numbers of people born abroad, while Easterhouse was the lowest at 172 people, or 0.63% of residents.

BORN ABROAD Maps immigration to Britain Where people come from Where they live How well they do From report published by Institute for Public Policy Research Data processed by expert Sheffield University team Born Abroad: Full details

Sarah Kyambi, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, co-authored the report.

She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "Scotland is attracting more immigrants. One of the interesting changes is that Scotland now has the highest proportion of new immigrants with a degree.

"Scotland must be very successful in attracting people into its universities and very successful in attracting highly skilled immigrants.

"What you see is new immigrants coming from places like China, South Africa, Australia, and a lot of these groups are very well qualified."

Longer stays

BBC Scotland home affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson said: "The figure has gone up from 2.4% of the population to 3.3%, so very small numbers of people in Scotland have been born outside the UK, about half the national average.

"But people are obviously coming here and obviously staying and that might feed into First Minister Jack McConnell's debate. He is trying to ensure that those come into Scotland will be allowed to stay here longer."

But he said the figure for Easterhouse was likely to have altered: "It's probably changed since the 2001 census because of the asylum dispersal programme, which started a couple of months after the census was taken."

Political reaction

The Scottish Executive said: ¿It is a very interesting report, and useful background in taking forward the Fresh Talent initiative, however, we must remember that the report is based on data from the 2001 census, which predates the introduction of Fresh Talent.

¿Fresh Talent is a long-term initiative which is already building on these findings to attract bright, talented and hard working people to live, work and study in Scotland.¿

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Rosie Kane said the figures "bust some of the myths that exist around immigration".

"We need skilled workers like nurses, primary school teachers, plumbers and carpenters - yet we refuse to let asylum seekers work, we lock families up in Dungavel and make it near impossible for anyone to come here," she said.

"We have to tackle the racism that mars the experience of immigrants to Scotland - starting with the government's racist immigration laws."