Attendance at cultural events or places of culture
Percentage of adults who have attended or visited a cultural event or place in the last 12 months. Find out more about this indicator.
2019 data show that around eight in ten adults (81 per cent) in Scotland had had attended or visited a cultural event or place of culture in the last 12 months.
Data Breakdowns
This indicator can be broken down by age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, and urban/rural location in the drop down menus below.
This indicator can also be broken down by highest level of qualification. This breakdown can be viewed on the Equality Evidence Finder and is below.
Important Information
Data for this indicator is available for 2020. However, please note that the 2020 results are not directly comparable to results for previous years, which is why the indicator shows "performance to be confirmed". Data for 2020, and further information can be viewed here.
Performance to be confirmed
Overall, attendance was higher among those living in less deprived areas.
Growth in the arts, culture and creative economy
Latest Update: 05 July 2023
The amount of income generated by businesses, measured by Approximate Gross Value Added (aGVA), of the Creative Industries Growth Sector (GBP Millions). Substantial changes were made to this indicator in May 2023 to improve the measurement approach. These included changing the measurement of GVA growth from nominal to real terms, broadening the definition of the sector and revising the criteria for change used to gauge the performance of the indicator over time. Find out more about this indicator.
Approximate gross value added (GVA) of Scotland’s Arts, Culture and Creative sector was estimated at £4,445 million in 2020, a decrease of £79 million (-1.8%) in real terms on 2019.
Over the longer term, approximate GVA in the Arts, Culture and Creative sector has increased by £1,049m (31%) in real terms since 2010. The increase since 2010 has primarily been driven by the Digital Industries sub-sector.
Data Breakdowns
This indicator can also be broken down by Local Authority and Cultural domain, . These breakdowns can be viewed on the Equality Evidence Finder and are noted below.
- Most sub-sectors experienced a reduction in approximate GVA between 2019 and 2020 as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, however approximate GVA in the Digital Industries sub-sector increased by 21% which softened the overall GVA reduction of the sector.
- The local authority with the largest contribution to approximate GVA within the Arts, Culture and Creative sector in 2020 was City of Edinburgh (34%), followed by Glasgow City (18%), then Dundee and Aberdeen (both 5%).
- North Lanarkshire experienced the largest decline in real GVA between 2019 and 2020, a decrease of £147m (-46%). The City of Edinburgh experienced the largest increase in real GVA over this period, an increase of £107m (8%).
- The largest contribution to approximate GVA within the Arts, Culture and Creative sector in 2020 came from Digital Industries sub-sector (55%), followed by Visual Arts (29%).
Important Information
Most sub-sectors, including Visual Arts, Performance, Audio-Visual and Books & Press, experienced a reduction in approximate real GVA between 2019 and 2020 as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. The exception was the Digital Industries sub-sector, which increased by 21% in real terms which helped soften the overall GVA reduction of the sector.
Performance Maintaining
Participation in a cultural activity
Percentage of adults who have participated in a cultural activity in the last 12 months. Find out more about this indicator.
2019 data show that three-quarters (75 per cent) of adults had participated in some form of cultural activity in the last 12 months.
Data Breakdowns
This indicator can be broken down by age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, and urban/rural location in the drop down menus below.
This indicator can also be broken down by highest level of qualification and Local Authority. These breakdowns can be viewed on the Equality Evidence Finder and is below.
Important Information
Data for this indicator is available for 2020. However, please note that the 2020 results are not directly comparable to results for previous years, which is why the indicator shows "performance to be confirmed". Data for 2020, and further information can be viewed here.
Performance to be confirmed
Differences in participation between age groups were less marked.
Overall participation in cultural activities was higher among women.
Overall participation in cultural activities was higher among those with no long-term physical or mental health conditions (when comparing those with no reported long-term physical or mental health conditions and those with any reported long-term physical or mental health conditions).
Overall participation in cultural activities was higher among those living in less deprived areas.
People working in arts, culture and creative industries
Latest Update: 07 July 2023
The number of jobs in the Creative Industries Growth Sector (culture and arts). Find out more about this indicator.
In 2022, employment in Scotland’s arts, culture and creative industries sector was 155,000, down by 10,000 (5.9%) on 2021.
The decrease over the latest year was driven by a fall in jobs in the Heritage and Digital Industries sub-sectors.
Data Breakdowns
This indicator can be broken down by age, gender, disability, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, and urban/rural location in the drop down menus below the charts.
This indicator can also be broken down by cultural domain. This breakdown can be viewed on the Equality Evidence Finder and trends are noted below.
- In 2022, 49,000 people aged 16 and over were employed in the Digital Industries sub-sector, representing 31.9% of total employment in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector. 44,000 were employed in Visual Arts (28.6%), 29,000 were employed in Audio-Visual (18.5%), 15,000 were employed in Books and Press (9.6%), and 6,000 were employed in Heritage (3.7%).
- All sub-sectors, with the exception of Visual Arts and Audio-Visual, experienced a decrease in employment between 2021 and 2022. The Visual Arts sub-sector increased by 3.2% (1,000) and the Audio Visual sub-sector, increased by 18.5% (4,000 people). Estimates for Performance and Cultural education are based on small sample sizes and have been omitted.
- In 2022, there were 25,000 people aged 16 and over employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector in Rural Scotland. This accounts for 16.4% of people employed in these industries. Over the year, there was an increase of 4,000 people employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector in Rural Scotland. This contrasts with the rest of Scotland where there was a decrease of 14,000 between 2021 and 2022.
Important Information
Annual employment estimates rounded to the nearest 1,000. Performance assessment of annual change is based on unrounded estimates.
Estimates by local authority and ethnicity have been omitted as the disaggregation of most local authorities and minority ethnic groups are unreliable due to small sample sizes.
Performance Maintaining
Employment varied by age group in 2022 with younger age groups (16 to 24 and 25 to 34) accounting for over 40% of people employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector (17,000 and 48,000 people respectively). The age group with the largest number of people employed in the sector was 35 to 49 year olds (50,000 people) and was also the age group to see the largest decrease over the year (down 13,000 between 2021 and 2022).
More men aged 16 and over were employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector than women in 2022 (95,000 compared to 60,000). Compared with 2021, the number of men employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector decreased by 16,000 people whereas the number of women increased by 7,000.
There were an estimated 25,000 disabled people aged 16 to 64 working in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector in 2022. This is 3,000 more than in 2021. Disabled people represent 16.8% of people aged 16 to 64 employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector, an increase of 2.8 percentage points since 2021 (14.0%).
In 2022, the vast majority of people aged 16 and over in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector had no religion (69.2%). This was the same proportion as in 2021. Of the remaining people, 36,000 were Christian and 11,000 followed another religion (23.4% and 7.4% respectively).
Over half of all people aged 16 and over employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector are from the 40% least deprived areas in Scotland (41,000 in quintile 4 and 39,000 in quintile 5). In contrast, 14.0% of people employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector are from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland (22,000 in quintile 1). Since 2021, there has been a decrease in the number of people employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector in the most deprived areas (down 6,000 in quintile 1, down 1,000 in quintile 2, down 5,000 in quintile 3). There has been an increase in quintile 4 of 2,000 people, and the least deprived 20% (quintile 5) has remained unchanged.
In 2022, there were 25,000 people aged 16 and over employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector in Rural Scotland. This accounts for 16.4% of people employed in these industries. Over the year, there was an increase of 4,000 people employed in the Arts, culture and creative industries sector in Rural Scotland. This contrasts with the rest of Scotland where there was a decrease of 14,000 between 2021 and 2022.