The annual pupil census records data for Scottish schools, providing more precise figures than the ONS population estimates, if only for children and young people. As shown below, schools in Aberdeenshire and Moray have smaller proportions of ethnic minority pupils than the Scottish average, while Aberdeen City has a much higher proportion. This makes sense, given that Aberdeen City has a large immigrant and ethnic minority population, and that 1/3 of babies born in Aberdeen City have foreign-born mothers.
Pupil Ethnicity, 2021
| Total Pupils | Scottish/ British | % | Total Ethnic Minorities | % | · | ‘White’ Ethnic Minorities | % | Other Ethnic Minorities | % | Not known/ disclosed | % | |
| Aberdeen City | 24260 | 16017 | 66% | 7902 | 33% | · | 3496 | 14% | 4406 | 18% | 341 | 1% |
| Aberdeenshire | 36647 | 32398 | 88% | 3973 | 11% | · | 2419 | 7% | 1554 | 4% | 276 | 1% |
| Moray | 12217 | 11063 | 91% | 1053 | 9% | · | 627 | 5% | 426 | 3% | 101 | 1% |
| Scotland | 704723 | 581846 | 83% | 108001 | 15% | · | 42975 | 6% | 65026 | 9% | 14876 | 2% |
The proportion of ethnic minority pupils has been rising in the past decade, from 19% to 33% in Aberdeen City, 6% to 11% in Aberdeenshire, 5% to 9% in Moray, and 9% to 15% across Scotland as a whole.
Ethnic Minority Proportion of Pupils, 2012-2021
Data Source: 2021, Scottish Government Pupil Census, supplementary statistics (table 5.7). Link.