MORE than 4.2 million people are registered to vote in the upcoming Holyrood election, according to statistics published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

The figure, which was accurate as of December 1, represents an increase of 41,600 registered voters over the previous year.

The statistics also show 675,100 electors were registered for postal voting, representing a decrease of 15,700.

Meanwhile, 73,300 electors were aged between 16 and 17, representing a drop of 500 voters compared to December 2019.

A total of 157,400 electors were from EU or other qualifying foreign nationals resident in Scotland, representing an increase of 15,000 voters.

More than four million were registered to vote in UK parliamentary elections, representing an increase of 23,900 when compared to the previous year.

As at December 2020, there were almost 200,000 more people registered to vote for the Scottish elections than the UK parliamentary elections.

Sandy Taylor, head of electoral statistics at the NRS, said: "These latest statistics show a continuation of the overall upward trend that we have seen over the last ten years.

"This trend is broadly consistent with the increase in the size of the population eligible to vote, which rose by around 5 per cent over this period."