Study finds Muslims more likely to have degree than other Scots
The number of Muslims educated to degree level is more than 27% for Scotland's population as a whole.
Muslims in Scotland are more likely to have a degree or their own business than other Scots, according to a new study.
The number of Muslims educated to degree level, or above, has increased from 22% in 2001 to 38% in 2011, exceeding the 27% figure for Scotland's population as a whole.
The University of Edinburgh analysis also indicates Scottish Muslims are strongly entrepreneurial as a third of those working full-time are self-employed compared with 12% of the overall population.
However, while about a third (31%) of the Muslim population is "economically active'' full-time, this is below the population as a whole, where the figure is 51%.
Analysts said the lower proportion of "economically active'' Muslims is offset by the higher proportion of Muslims who are students.
Researchers analysed data from the 2001 census - when a question of religion was introduced - and the subsequent census of 2011 to gain insight into the experience of Scottish Muslims.
The report said much of the data indicates a highly aspirational Scottish Muslim population with an eye on social mobility and a tendency towards financial independence and self-sufficiency''.
It added: "Muslim young people - both school age and students - represent a tremendous resource in terms of their capacity to contribute positively to the nation and this can be facilitated by greater cultural understanding and recognition in educational and other public spaces, as well as cross-community and government-community partnerships on matters of mutual interest.''
Other key findings were that a quarter of Muslim women look after home and family compared with 5.6% of all Scottish women.
Researchers at the university's Alwaleed centre for the study of Islam in the contemporary world suggest a relatively young Muslim population in Scotland may be a factor in this.
Statistics show that 30% of Muslims were aged 15 and under in 2011, compared with 17% of the total population.
Muslims constitute 1.45% of the population in Scotland, where there are 76,737 Muslims. They make up 2.8% of all Muslims in the UK.
The study found that Muslims are widely dispersed across Scotland, with the highest concentration in Glasgow at 5%.
It also highlights that less than 4.5% of the Muslim population have weak or no English language skills - compared with an estimated 6% south of the border. Dr Khadijah Elshayyal, who led the study, said: "Our report encompasses numerous aspects of life for Muslims in Scotland.
"Its findings will form the basis of a wider project that aims to encourage conversations at a national and local level, concerning the present and future needs of Scotland's growing Muslim population.''