"Statistical accounts" giving fascinating insights into the local topography and history, social and economic conditions, and even the daily lives of people, were written by the parish ministers in the 1790s and the 1840s. For more information see the main Fife pages

• The 'Old' Statistical Account is at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.
• The 'New' Statistical Account is also at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland and Google Books.

"Statistical accounts" were written on nearly every parish in Scotland on three occasions - in the 1790s (the "Old Statistical Account"), in the 1840s (the "New Statistical Account") and in the 1950s (the "Third Statistical Account"). The author was usually the parish minister. They give fascinating insights into the local topography and history, social and economic conditions, and even the daily lives of people of those times. Published versions include:

1. The 'Old' Statistical Account, 1791-1799
   • is available online at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland.
   • is also online at Google Books, but the parishes are not arranged in any order. Links are given on the parish pages.
   • It was reprinted as The Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791-1799 edited by Sir John Sinclair. Vol. X: Fife. With a new Introduction by R G Cant. Published by EP Publishing, Wakefield 1978. pp 816, and:
   • The Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791-1799 edited by Sir John Sinclair. Vol. XI: South and East Perthshire, Kinross-shire. With a new Introduction by Bruce Lenman. Published by EP Publishing, Wakefield 1976. pp 685. [This volume includes Arngask, Abernethy, Culross and Tulliallan.]
2. The 'New' Statistical Account, 1845
   • the Fife volume (vol. IX) is online at Google Books
   • the Perthshire volume (vol. X) is online at Google Books. [This volume includes Arngask, Abernethy, Culross and Tulliallan.]
   • they are also available online at The Statistical Accounts of Scotland.
3. The Third Statistical Account of Scotland - The County of Fife. Alexander Smith. Published by Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1952. 815pp.

A Vision of Britain provides statistics on population, housing, industry and social class from the 1801 census onwards.

Histpop, the online historical population reports website, provides statistics in the published population (census) reports (1801 - 1937), and the reports of the Registrar General for Scotland (1855 - 1920).

The ScotlandsPlaces website has a copy of the 1891 Medical Officer of Health's Report for Fife. (Those parts of Fife which were at that time in Perthshire are not included.)

• For a social and economic record of the parishes of Scotland, together with masses of statistical material, see Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland which was compiled in the 1790s and reprinted in more recent years by EP Publishing Limited of Wakefield, England.
• Follow-up works to this were the New Statistical Account (also known as the Second Statistical Account) which was prepared in the 1830s and 1840s; and more recently the Third Statistical Account which has been prepared since the Second World War.
• The online version of The Statistical Account of Scotland 1791-1799 and 1845.
• The Old Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799) is also available free on Electric Scotland as a series of downloads.
• Statistics from Scotland's Census are available at the National Records of Scotland. These are used by central and local government, health authorities and other organisations to allocate resources and plan services.
• For population figures see the Population section above.

• A Vision of Britain Through Time from the University of Portsmouth provides a vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001, including maps, statistical trends (from 1801 to 2001 census data) and historic descriptions.