The number of people living in Scotland who describe themselves as British has risen by 50% over the last decade while the number of Scottish people has hit a record low, according to research.
New analysis by the Press Association comparing the latest results of the Scottish Household Survey with the same survey conducted in 2001 reveals a steady slide in the number of people who regard themselves as Scottish, though they still represent a large majority.
Last month the survey showed that four-fifths of respondents (80.3%) gave their ethnicity as Scottish in 2011 and one in eight (12.6%) said they are British.
The latest results suggest a 1% drop in Scottish respondents in a year, down from 81.5% in 2010 and down about 10% over a decade, from 88.1% in 2001.
Last year's figure represents the lowest number of Scottish respondents since the survey began in 1999.
Respondents who say they are British have risen in number by 7% in a year, up from 11.7% in 2010 and up 50% over a decade, from 8.4% in 2001.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "More than 80% of people in the survey identified themselves as Scottish. Scotland is a nation with a diverse mix of identities, faiths and cultures - all of which are equally valued and all of which will continue to flourish in an independent country."
Labour MSP Patricia Ferguson said: "The great thing with being British is that you can have that dual identity and most of us are perfectly comfortable with this.
"The referendum will be decided not on identity politics but on the issues that matter. I believe that we are all stronger and better together."
Conservative constitution spokesman David McLetchie said: "These figures demonstrate that people in Scotland are part and parcel of an integrated British society and have no desire to deem their families who live elsewhere in the UK as foreigners."
