Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy lies in central and southern Fife and is centred on Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. It also includes nearby communities such as Burntisland, Kinghorn, Lochgelly and parts of the former mining towns and villages between the Forth coast and central Fife. Kirkcaldy is the largest urban and commercial centre, stretching along the Firth of Forth, while Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly form distinct inland towns. The constituency combines continuous and semi-continuous urban areas with former industrial land, farmland and smaller settlements. Rail and road corridors link the coastal and inland communities, giving the seat a varied mix of coastal town, suburban and former coalfield landscapes.
Election data comes from UK Parliament. Turnout percentage is calculated by Project Open Gov from Parliament's turnout and electorate figures.
People and place
A population and household snapshot for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.
Estimated population95,660
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationScotland
Age profile
0 to 1719.0% · 18,155 people
18 to 246.8% · 6,502 people
25 to 3411.2% · 10,736 people
35 to 4918.8% · 17,953 people
50 to 6421.6% · 20,650 people
65 and over22.6% · 21,664 people
Population figures are mid-2024 estimates from the House of Commons Library. Project Open Gov calculates the estimated population shown above by summing the six published age-band counts. View population source ↗
Home ownership and renting
Housing tenure shows how households in this constituency described their home at the most recent census.
44,645 householdsCensus 2022
Home owners64.9% · 28,992 households
Private renters10.9% · 4,876 households
Social renters22.7% · 10,129 households
Other tenure1.5% · 648 households
“Other tenure” combines shared ownership and households recorded as living rent free.
Housing-tenure figures come from the most recent census: 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 in Scotland. View housing-tenure source ↗
Household composition
A broad view of household types in this constituency. Project Open Gov uses the four broad groups supplied by the Commons Library so the presentation remains consistent across the UK.
44,648 householdsCensus 2022
One-person households37.2% · 16,587 households
Families with dependent children24.0% · 10,726 households
Other single-family households36.6% · 16,355 households
Other household types2.2% · 980 households
Household-composition figures come from the Commons Library constituency dataset. The source uses census data and Project Open Gov displays its broad household groups rather than attempting to harmonise the detailed categories itself. View household-composition source ↗
Disability and day-to-day activities
The source records whether day-to-day activities are limited and uses separate person-level tables for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
94,984 people in the source baseCensus 2022Source comparison: Scotland
Day-to-day activities limited a lot11.3% · 10,732 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little14.4% · 13,715 people
Non-disabled74.3% · 70,537 people
Comparison note: the workbook uses different source terminology across the UK: England & Wales uses “Disabled under the Equality Act”, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use “Disabled” / “Non-disabled”. Project Open Gov therefore preserves the source categories and does not present them as one single like-for-like UK legal definition.
Disability figures come from the Commons Library constituency workbook. This profile uses the person-level tables only; the workbook also contains separate household-level disability tables which are not used here. View disability source ↗
Petitions
Open UK Government and Parliament petitions that have reached at least 10,000 signatures nationally, ranked here by the number of signatures recorded in this constituency.
Petition signatures are not a poll and do not show what the constituency as a whole thinks. A person can also sign more than one petition.
Open petitionCloses 12 September 2026
Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership
Signatures in this constituency297
Signatures nationally244,689
Government response published · Debate scheduled for 29 June 2026
Signature counts come from the official UK Government and Parliament petitions data and may change while a petition remains open. Browse official petitions ↗
Funding and local projects
National Lottery grants awarded to organisations recorded in this parliamentary constituency since 4 July 2024.
The constituency is based on the recipient organisation recorded in the source data. The funded activity may sometimes take place across a wider area.
Grants recorded52
Total awarded£4,012,089
Most recent awards
National Lottery grantAwarded 26 May 2026
'if trees were lone women what would they sound like in Aarhus'
Grant to Individual
£3,389
Creative Scotland · Arts
About this award
A new iteration of my sound installation of the same name as above at Rooted, a festival of people, plants and art in Aarhus, Denmark at the Institut for (x) site. First installed in Galloway Forest as part of Sanctuary Lab in 2021, then in the Jardin Botanico in Trujillo, Peru last year it is a project that promotes and enables creative development, inclusion, learning and builds international connection beyond language and borders. Participants need no prior audio or creative experience or professional equipment and can send contributions as field recordings, sound art, music, poetry or spoken word in any language, with the only criteria being that they are women or NB and that it is on the theme of being alone amongst trees in a public space. So far there are almost 170 participants from 6 continents, with 11 languages. The installation was the first time many had engaged with audio. The Danish layer will add more new opportunities for many plus international play for existing ones.
National Lottery grantAwarded 26 May 2026
Improvement of access for disabled
Bennochy Community Hub SCIO (Kirkcaldy Polish Club)
£9,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
This group will use the funding to level the entrance improving wheelchair and disability access to a much loved and well attended Kirkcaldy community owned social hub.
National Lottery grantAwarded 8 May 2026
Cowdenbeath Gala Day
Cowdenbeath Gala Events
£10,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
This group will use the funding to host a one day gala event celebrating the community of Cowdenbeath.
National Lottery grantAwarded 10 April 2026
Pride Without Barriers
Fife Pride
£19,600
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
This group will use funding over one year for their Pride Without Barriers event for Fife Pride.
National Lottery grantAwarded 25 March 2026
Restoration Forth: Building A Wholescape Approach
WWF - UK
£454,472
The National Lottery Heritage Fund · Heritage
About this award
Restoration Forth will breathe life back into the Firth of Forth through large-scale marine restoration across land, rivers and sea. Working with local communities, we will actively restore marine species and habitats and improve the wider environmental conditions to enable nature to further restore itself. We will encourage nature-friendly land use methods, improving water quality and marine health across the Forth Basin. We will model sustainable finance opportunities which will generate benefits for people’s livelihoods alongside restoring nature and fighting climate change. Across all our work, we will provide opportunities for people across the Firth of Forth to reconnect with the knowledge, skills and culture of their local natural heritage. The next five years will be a bold, holistic step towards our long-term vision: enhancing the Firth of Forth’s natural heritage so that it is healthy and thriving, generating benefits for people, nature and climate.
47 more awards are available.
Source: DCMS National Lottery Grants Database. The figures shown cover awards from 4 July 2024 to 1 July 2026. View official grants data ↗
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