What the average number of people on council housing waiting lists has been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Scottish Government annual statistics on the number of household applicants on local authority or common housing register lists as at the end of March each year from 2001 to 2019 are published at
https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-scotland-2019-key-trends-summary/ , with detailed local authority level Excel tables available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-management-of-local-authority-housing/ .
More recent figures as at March 2020 are not yet available due to a delay in the publication of annual housing statistics for 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19 on data provision and staff resourcing.
The annual statistics figures are sourced from local authority data returns that provide information on the number of applicants on local authority or common housing register lists (excluding stock transfer authorities), and will include households using choice based lettings where the application details registered as part of these schemes are considered to form part of the main housing register. Some applicants will be on more than one waiting list, and therefore the total figures presented will include an unidentifiable level of multiple counting of applicants.
Separate survey based estimates of the proportion of households on housing lists or using choice based letting are published as part of the Scottish Government Scottish Household Survey outputs, with local authority level figures available in Tables 3.18a and 3.18b at https://scotland.shinyapps.io/sg-scottish-household-survey-data-explorer/ . Note that the Scottish Household Survey figures are based on the proportion of households reporting to be on any type of housing list, which will include housing association lists as well as council lists.
The Scottish Household Survey figures are subject to sampling variation, especially at a local authority level, however the results are not subject to any double counting issues. In addition the figures cover all local authorities, including stock transfer authorities, so they provide the most reliable national level estimates available.
The published figures for the number of households on housing lists or using choice based lettings equate to an estimated number of households as presented in the following table.
Note that the Scottish Household Survey figures in Table 1 include households who are already living in the social rented sector who are looking to transfer to another social rented home, as well as households looking to move into social rented properties from other housing tenures.
Table 1: Scottish Household Survey: Estimated number of households on a housing list, 2013 to 2019.
(Figures for 2013 to 2016 include households on a housing list. Figures for 2017 to 2019 include households either on a housing list or who are seeking social housing using choice based lettings)
Estimated number of households on a housing list
Estimated number of households either on a housing list or seeking social housing using choice based lettings
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Scotland
175,000
159,000
126,000
108,000
145,000
144,000
142,000
Aberdeen City
8,000
11,000
7,000
5,000
3,000
6,000
3,000
Aberdeenshire
7,000
8,000
4,000
3,000
4,000
6,000
4,000
Angus
4,000
2,000
3,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
3,000
Argyll & Bute
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
2,000
1,000
1,000
Clackmannanshire
1,000
3,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
2,000
1,000
Dumfries & Galloway
5,000
7,000
7,000
4,000
2,000
4,000
3,000
Dundee City
6,000
9,000
6,000
6,000
8,000
7,000
7,000
East Ayrshire
5,000
2,000
2,000
4,000
4,000
2,000
3,000
East Dunbartonshire
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
1,000
1,000
2,000
East Lothian
4,000
4,000
1,000
2,000
4,000
2,000
2,000
East Renfrewshire
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
2,000
1,000
1,000
Edinburgh, City of
10,000
12,000
11,000
8,000
11,000
6,000
6,000
Eilean Siar
1,000
0
0
0
0
1,000
0
Falkirk
3,000