Scotland's electoral roll has risen to its highest ever level in the run-up to the referendum, with nearly 100,000 teenagers aged 16 and 17 given the right to vote for the first time registering for the referendum.

The latest statistics from the National Records for Scotland show that more than 98,000 teenagers who will vote as 16 and 17 year olds on 18 September are now registered to vote in the referendum, around 80% of the total eligible.

The headline data for adult voters suggests a high turnout in the referendum, with registration levels for the electorate used in the poll (those eligible to vote in Scottish parliamentary and local council elections) up to its highest on record at 4.12m people.

That number has grown by 1.4% since December 2012, by more than 57,000. This, said the NRS, is partly down to more EU residents registering:

The number of EU citizens registered to vote in local government and Scottish parliament elections rose by 15,059 to 94,122 (19.0%). This is likely to underestimate the total number of EU citizens resident in Scotland, since many may not register.

The NRS electoral figures, which date to 10 March this year, also show:

• 4.03 million people were registered to vote in UK Parliament elections – an increase of 41,930 (1.1%);

• 4.04 million people were registered to vote in elections in Scotland to the European parliament, an increase of 58,737 (1.5%) over the year, and risen by 4% or 155,322 since the last Euros in 2009.

• That European elections figure includes 63,572 "attainers", people who will turn 18 during the current electoral year. Many of those will not reach 18 before the May 22 European election, however.

• Overall, the number of attainers has increased by 37.6% in the last year or so.

The NRS says:

This is likely to be result of efforts to recruit young voters for the independence referendum. Electoral registration officers have been working hard to ensure that as many 16 and 17 year olds as possible are registered to vote.

Electoral registration in Scotland has been rising consistently since 2009, after several years of sharp decline from 2001 to 204, and a brief rise by 2007. By contrast, electoral registration rates in England and Wales have declined slightly.

The Office for National Statistics data for 2013, also published on Thursday morning, show the total number of UK parliamentary voters has fallen by 0.5% to 46.14m from 2012, declining across all the English regions, and the total number of UK council voters has declined slightly by 0.1%.

It notes: