Dundee is a city and council area on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, on the east coast of Scotland. It had a population of 148,697 at the 2022 census and covers 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi), making it the fourth largest city in Scotland and, after Glasgow, the most densely populated council area in the country.
The city is built on a slope between the Tay and the Law, a volcanic plug 174 metres above the streets. Its Gaelic name is Dun Deagh. Dundee was known for jute, jam and journalism; two of the three are gone, and the third, publishing, is still here.
| Country | Scotland, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Status | Council area and city |
| Area | 60 km2 (23 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | 148,697 |
| Population (2011) | 147,268 |
| Density | 2,478 people per km2 |
| Highest point | Dundee Law, 174 m |
| Council | Dundee City Council, Dundee House |
| River | Firth of Tay |
| Postcode area | DD |
Towns and Villages in Dundee
Dundee City is almost entirely built up, so it has only one settlement of its own beyond the city: Denhead of Gray, a hamlet on the western boundary. Broughty Ferry, four miles east, was a separate burgh until 1913 and is still treated locally as a distinct town.
- Dundee
- Broughty Ferry
- Denhead of Gray
Within the city, these are the main districts and neighbourhoods.
- Ardler
- Ballumbie
- Balmossie
- Brackens
- Charleston
- Claverhouse
- Craigie
- Douglas and Angus
- Linlathen
- Lochee
- Maryfield
- Menzieshill
- Ninewells
- Stannergate
- Trottick
- West Ferry
Geography
Dundee borders Angus to the north and east and Perth and Kinross to the west. Across the Firth of Tay to the south lies Fife, reached by the Tay Road Bridge and the Tay Rail Bridge.
The council area is a narrow strip about nine miles along the firth and three miles deep. The ground rises from the waterfront through the centre to the Law, then to the Sidlaw foothills at Balgay and Camperdown on the northern edge.
The tidal Tay is the largest river by flow in Britain. Its estuary carries extensive mudflats and reedbeds east of the city, and the sandbar at Buddon Ness marks the mouth.
Demographics
The 2022 census counted 148,697 residents, up 1,429 on 2011. Around a fifth of the population are students, giving the city a young age profile, but Dundee also has some of the highest concentrations of deprivation in Scotland, particularly in the northern housing schemes.
Density is about 2,478 people per square kilometre, second only to Glasgow among Scottish council areas. That reflects the small land area rather than high-rise living: most of the city is tenement and terraced housing.
The city’s travel-to-work area extends well beyond the boundary into Angus, Perthshire and north-east Fife, so the working population using the city each day is considerably larger than the resident count.
Economy and Local Life
Dundee’s economy now rests on health, higher education, digital industries and publishing. Ninewells Hospital, opened in 1974, is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe and the biggest single employer in the city. The University of Dundee and Abertay University together teach more than 20,000 students, and Dundee’s life-sciences research is internationally rated.
The city has an unusual concentration of video-game developers, traceable to Abertay running the world’s first computer-games degree in 1997 and to the local studio that created Lemmings and the first Grand Theft Auto. DC Thomson, publisher of The Beano, The Dandy and The Courier, has been based in the city since 1905.
The waterfront has been rebuilt over the past decade. V&A Dundee, the first V&A museum outside London, opened on the Tay in 2018, beside RRS Discovery, the ship built in Dundee that carried Scott and Shackleton to Antarctica in 1901. Dundee was named a UNESCO City of Design in 2014.
History
Dundee was made a royal burgh by the late twelfth century and traded hides, wool and grain across the North Sea. It was sacked repeatedly, by the English in 1385 and 1547 and by General Monck’s Parliamentarian army in 1651.
Whaling in the nineteenth century gave the town whale oil, which softened raw jute fibre for spinning. That combination made Dundee the jute capital of the world: by 1900 more than 50,000 people, mostly women, worked in its mills. Marmalade production, begun by the Keiller family in the 1790s, gave the second of the three Js.
On 28 December 1879 the first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed in a gale with a train on it, killing all aboard. The replacement, opened in 1887, still carries the East Coast Main Line. Jute spinning ended in the city in the late twentieth century, and the last mill closed in 1999.
Getting There
The A90 runs through the city, north to Forfar and Aberdeen and south over the Tay Road Bridge to Fife and Edinburgh. The A92 follows the coast east to Arbroath, and the A85 runs west to Perth, where the M90 heads south.
Dundee station is on the East Coast Main Line, with direct trains to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and London. Broughty Ferry has its own station. Dundee Airport, on the waterfront just west of the centre, flies to London City; Edinburgh Airport is about an hour away by road.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Dundee?
148,697 at the 2022 census, up 1,429 on 2011.
Is Dundee the fourth largest city in Scotland?
Yes. Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen are larger by population.
What are the areas of Dundee?
The main districts include Broughty Ferry, Lochee, Maryfield, Craigie, Menzieshill, Ardler, Charleston, Douglas and Angus, West Ferry, Ninewells, Linlathen, Trottick, Ballumbie, Balmossie, Brackens, Claverhouse and Stannergate.
Is Broughty Ferry part of Dundee?
Yes. It was a separate burgh until 1913 and is now a suburb of the city, four miles east of the centre.
What is Dundee known for?
Historically jute, jam and journalism. Today it is known for design, video games, life sciences and the V&A museum on the waterfront.
What is the postcode for Dundee?
DD. The city uses DD1 to DD5, with DD5 covering Broughty Ferry and Barnhill.