Scotland

Scotland Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic )
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  Ethnic groups (2022)[2]		List 92.9% White 3.9% Asian 1.2% Black 1.1% Mixed 0.9% other
Religion (2022)[2]	List 51.1% no religion 38.8% Christianity 20.4% Church of Scotland 13.3% Roman Catholic 5.1% other Christian 2.2% Islam 0.6% Hinduism 0.3% Buddhism 0.2% Sikhism 0.1% Judaism 0.6% other 6.2% not stated
Demonym(s)	Scottish • Scots
Sovereign state Legal jurisdiction	United Kingdom Scotland
Government	Devolved parliamentary legislature within a constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• First Minister	John Swinney
Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Secretary of State	Ian Murray
• House of Commons	57 MPs (of 650)
Legislature	Scottish Parliament
Formation
• Established	9th century (traditionally 843)
• Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton	17 March 1328
• Treaty of Berwick	3 October 1357[3]
• Union with England	1 May 1707
• Devolution	19 November 1998
Area
• Total[b]	80,231 km2 (30,977 sq mi)[4]
• Land[a]	77,901 km2 (30,078 sq mi)[4]
Population
• 2022 census	5,439,842
• Density	70/km2 (181.3/sq mi)[5]
GVA	2022 estimate
• Total	£165.7 billion
• Per capita	£30,419[6]
GB-SCT
Internet TLD	.scot[d]

Scotland

The mainland of Scotland is broadly divided into three regions: the Highlands, a mountainous region in the north and north-west; the Lowlands, a flatter plain across the centre of the country; and the Southern Uplands, a hilly region along the southern border. The Highlands are the most mountainous region of the British Isles and contain its highest peak, Ben Nevis, at 4,413 feet (1,345 m).^[10] The region also contains many lakes, called lochs; the term is also applied to the many saltwater inlets along the country's deeply indented western coastline. The geography of the many islands is varied. Some, such as Mull and Skye, are noted for their mountainous terrain, while the likes of Tiree and Coll are much flatter.

Scotland comes from

History

Main article: History of Scotland

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Scottish history.

Prehistory

Prehistoric Scotland, before the arrival of the Roman Empire, was culturally divergent.^[27]

Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land mass of modern Scotland, destroyed any traces of

Maes Howe on Orkney, which were built in the third millennium BC.^[31]

^: 38

Early history

Main articles:

Pictland

The first written reference to Scotland was in 320 BC by Greek sailor Pytheas, who called the northern tip of Britain "Orcas", the source of the name of the Orkney islands.^[29]: 10

Most of modern Scotland was not incorporated into the Roman Empire, and Roman control over parts of the area fluctuated over a rather short period. The first Roman incursion into Scotland was in 79 AD, when Agricola invaded Scotland; he defeated a Caledonian army at the Battle of Mons Graupius in 83 AD.^[29]: 12 After the Roman victory, Roman forts were briefly set along the Gask Ridge close to the Highland line, but by three years after the battle, the Roman armies had withdrawn to the Southern Uplands.^[32] Remains of Roman forts established in the 1st century have been found as far north as the Moray Firth.^[33] By the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan (r. 98–117), Roman control had lapsed to Britain south of a line between the River Tyne and the Solway Firth.^[34] Along this line, Trajan's successor Hadrian (r. 117–138) erected Hadrian's Wall in northern England^[29]: 12 and the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the Roman Empire.^[35][36] The Roman influence on the southern part of the country was considerable, and they introduced Christianity to Scotland.^{[29]: 13–14 [31]: 38}

The

glens in the Highlands, the Caledonians were again in revolt in 210–211 and these were overrun.^[33]

To the Roman historians

Latin: saltus) which the 2nd century AD Roman philosopher Ptolemy, in his Geography, described as being south-west of the Beauly Firth.^[33] The name Caledonia is echoed in the place names of Dunkeld, Rohallion, and Schiehallion.^[33]

The

comes Theodosius; but Roman military government was withdrawn from the island altogether by the early 5th century, resulting in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and the immigration of the Saxons to southeastern Scotland and the rest of eastern Great Britain.^[34]

Kingdom of Scotland

Main articles: Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the Early Middle Ages, Scotland in the High Middle Ages, and Scotland in the Late Middle Ages

Political divisions in early medieval Scotland

Norse kingdoms at the end of the eleventh century

Beginning in the sixth century, the area that is now Scotland was divided into three areas:

Kingdom of Northumbria, which had conquered southeastern Scotland;^{[29]: 18–20} and Dál Riata, which included territory in western Scotland and northern Ireland, and spread Gaelic language and culture into Scotland.^[38] These societies were based on the family unit and had sharp divisions in wealth, although the vast majority were poor and worked full-time in subsistence agriculture. The Picts kept slaves (mostly captured in war) through the ninth century.^[29]

^: 26–27

Gaelic influence over Pictland and Northumbria was facilitated by the large number of

Norse settlements were in northwest Scotland, but they eventually conquered many areas along the coast. Old Norse entirely displaced Pictish in the Northern Isles.^[39]

In the ninth century, the Norse threat allowed a Gael named

Kenneth I (Cináed mac Ailpín) to seize power over Pictland, establishing a royal dynasty to which the modern monarchs trace their lineage, and marking the beginning of the end of Pictish culture.^{[29]: 31–32 [40]} The kingdom of Cináed and his descendants, called Alba, was Gaelic in character but existed on the same area as Pictland. By the end of the tenth century, the Pictish language went extinct as its speakers shifted to Gaelic.^{[29]: 32–33} From a base in eastern Scotland north of the River Forth and south of the River Spey, the kingdom expanded first southwards, into the former Northumbrian lands, and northwards into Moray.^{[29]: 34–35} Around the turn of the millennium, there was a centralization in agricultural lands and the first towns began to be established.^[29]

^: 36–37

James V of Scotland at the Court of Session in 1532, at Parliament House, Edinburgh, the Parliament of Scotland

until 1707

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, much of Scotland was under the control of a single ruler. Initially, Gaelic culture predominated, but immigrants from France, England and Flanders steadily created a more diverse society, with the Gaelic language starting to be replaced by Scots; and a modern nation-state emerged from this. At the end of this period, war against England started the growth of a

Gaelic culture and the Scottish clan system. After the conflict, Scotland had to affirm Norwegian sovereignty of the Northern Isles, but they were later integrated into Scotland in the 15th century. Scandinavian culture in the form of the Norn language survived for a lot longer than in the Hebrides, and would strongly influence the local Scots dialect on Shetland and Orkney.^[44] Later, a system of feudalism was consolidated, with both Anglo-Norman incomers and native Gaelic chieftains being granted land in exchange for serving the king.^{[41]: 53–54} The relationship with England was complex during this period: Scottish kings tried several times, sometimes with success, to exploit English political turmoil, followed by the longest period of peace between Scotland and England in the mediaeval period: from 1217–1296.^[41]

^: 45-46

Wars of Scottish Independence

Main articles: Wars of Scottish Independence, First War of Scottish Independence, and Second War of Scottish Independence

The death of Alexander III in March 1286 broke the succession line of Scotland's kings. Edward I of England arbitrated between various claimants for the Scottish crown. In return for surrendering Scotland's nominal independence, John Balliol was pronounced king in 1292.^{[41]: 47 [46]} In 1294, Balliol and other Scottish lords refused Edward's demands to serve in his army against the French. Scotland and France sealed a treaty on 23 October 1295, known as the Auld Alliance. War ensued, and John was deposed by Edward who took personal control of Scotland. Andrew Moray and William Wallace initially emerged as the principal leaders of the resistance to English rule in the Wars of Scottish Independence,^[47] until Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland in 1306.^[48] Victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 proved the Scots had regained control of their kingdom. In 1320 the world's first documented declaration of independence, the Declaration of Arbroath, won the support of Pope John XXII, leading to the legal recognition of Scottish sovereignty by the English Crown.^{[49]: 70, 72}

A civil war between the

House of Stewart.^[49]: 77 The Stewarts ruled Scotland for the remainder of the Middle Ages. The country they ruled experienced greater prosperity from the end of the 14th century through the Scottish Renaissance to the Reformation,^[50]: 93 despite the effects of the Black Death in 1349^[49]: 76 and increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands.^[49]: 78 Multiple truces reduced warfare on the southern border.^[49]

^: 76, 83

Union of the Crowns

Main articles: Scotland in the early modern period and Union of the Crowns

King of Scotland

, succeeded to the English and Irish thrones in 1603.

The

abdicate in 1567.^[54]

In 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the thrones of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland in the Union of the Crowns, and moved to London.^[55] This was a personal union as despite having the same monarch the kingdoms retained their separate parliaments, laws and other institutions. The first Union Jack was designed at James's behest, to be flown in addition to the St Andrew's Cross on Scots vessels at sea. James VI and I intended to create a single kingdom of Great Britain, but was thwarted in his attempt to do so by the Parliament of England, which supported the wrecking proposal that a full legal union be sought instead, a proposal to which the Scots Parliament would not assent, causing the king to withdraw the plan.^[56]

Except for a short period under

church government.^[57]: 124 The military was strengthened, allowing the imposition of royal authority on the western Highland clans. The 1609 Statutes of Iona compelled the cultural integration of Hebridean clan leaders.^{[58]: 37–40} In 1641 and again in 1643, the Parliament of Scotland unsuccessfully sought a union with England which was "federative" and not "incorporating", in which Scotland would retain a separate parliament.^[59] The issue of union split the parliament in 1648.^[59]

After the execution of the Scottish king at

House of Orange and the succeeding House of Hanover until the defeat of the Jacobite rising of 1745.^[59] In 1698, the Company of Scotland attempted a project to secure a trading colony on the Isthmus of Panama. Almost every Scottish landowner who had money to spare is said to have invested in the Darien scheme.^[60][61]

Treaty of Union

Main article: Treaty of Union

Further information: Kingdom of Great Britain

After another proposal from the English House of Lords was rejected in 1695, and a further Lords motion was voted down in the House of Commons in 1700, the Parliament of Scotland again rejected union in 1702.^[59] The failure of the Darien Scheme bankrupted the landowners who had invested, though not the burghs. Nevertheless, the nobles' bankruptcy, along with the threat of an English invasion, played a leading role in convincing the Scots elite to back a union with England.^[60][61] On 22 July 1706, the Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Scots Parliament and the Parliament of England. The following year, twin Acts of Union were passed by both parliaments to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain with effect from 1 May 1707^[62] with popular opposition and anti-union riots in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and elsewhere.^[63][64] The union also created the Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England, which rejected proposals from the Parliament of Ireland that the third kingdom be incorporated in the union.^[59]

Episcopalian Protestants. Two major Jacobite risings launched in 1715 and 1745 failed to remove the House of Hanover from the British throne. The threat of the Jacobite movement to the United Kingdom and its monarchs effectively ended at the Battle of Culloden, Great Britain's last pitched battle

.

The passing of the Treaty of Union did not bring about immediate economic prosperity to Scotland as was widely speculated by the

American War of Independence in 1776, Glasgow was the world's premier tobacco port, dominating world trade.^[69]

The disparity between the wealth of the merchant classes of the Scottish Lowlands and the ancient clans of the Scottish Highlands grew, amplifying centuries of division.

In the Highlands, clan chiefs gradually started to think of themselves more as commercial landlords than leaders of their people. These social and economic changes included the first phase of the Highland Clearances and, ultimately, the demise of clanship.^{[70]: 32–53, passim}

Industrial age and the Scottish Enlightenment

Main article: Scotland in the modern era

Waverley Novels

helped define Scottish identity in the 19th century

The Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution turned Scotland into an intellectual, commercial and industrial powerhouse^[71] — so much so Voltaire said "We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."^[72] With the demise of Jacobitism and the advent of the Union, thousands of Scots, mainly Lowlanders, took up numerous positions of power in politics, civil service, the army and navy, trade, economics, colonial enterprises and other areas across the nascent British Empire. Historian Neil Davidson notes "after 1746 there was an entirely new level of participation by Scots in political life, particularly outside Scotland." Davidson also states "far from being 'peripheral' to the British economy, Scotland – or more precisely, the Lowlands – lay at its core."^[73]

The

Second City of the Empire" after London.^[79] After 1860, the Clydeside shipyards specialised in steamships made of iron (after 1870, made of steel), which rapidly replaced the wooden sailing vessels of both the merchant fleets and the battle fleets of the world. It became the world's pre-eminent shipbuilding centre.^[80] The industrial developments, while they brought work and wealth, were so rapid that housing, town planning, and provision for public health did not keep pace with them, and for a time living conditions in some of the towns and cities were notoriously bad, with overcrowding, high infant mortality, and growing rates of tuberculosis.^[81]

While the Scottish Enlightenment is traditionally considered to have concluded toward the end of the 18th century,

Japonism, which found favour throughout the modern art world of continental Europe and helped define the Art Nouveau style. Proponents included architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh.^[87]

World wars and Scotland Act 1998

Scotland played a major role in the

Irish Catholic working-class districts. Women were especially active in building neighbourhood solidarity on housing issues. The "Reds" operated within the Labour Party with little influence in Parliament and the mood changed to passive despair by the late 1920s.^[90]

During the Second World War, Scotland was targeted by Nazi Germany largely due to its factories, shipyards, and coal mines.^[91] Cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh were targeted by German bombers, as were smaller towns mostly located in the central belt of the country.^[91] Perhaps the most significant air raid in Scotland was the Clydebank Blitz of March 1941, which intended to destroy naval shipbuilding in the area.^[92] 528 people were killed and 4,000 homes destroyed.^[92] Perhaps Scotland's most unusual wartime episode occurred in 1941 when Rudolf Hess flew to Renfrewshire, possibly intending to broker a peace deal through the Duke of Hamilton.^[93] Before his departure from Germany, Hess had given his adjutant, Karlheinz Pintsch, a letter addressed to Adolf Hitler that detailed his intentions to open peace negotiations with the British. Pintsch delivered the letter to Hitler at the Berghof around noon on 11 May.^[94] Albert Speer later said Hitler described Hess's departure as one of the worst personal blows of his life, as he considered it a personal betrayal.^[95] Hitler worried that his allies, Italy and Japan, would perceive Hess's act as an attempt by Hitler to secretly open peace negotiations with the British.

After 1945, Scotland's economic situation worsened due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes.

electronics manufacturing, (see Silicon Glen),^[97] and the North Sea oil and gas industry.^[98] The introduction in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher's government of the Community Charge (widely known as the Poll Tax) one year before the rest of Great Britain,^[99] contributed to a growing movement for Scottish control over domestic affairs.^[100] On 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded mid–air over the town of Lockerbie, killing all on board as well as eleven Lockerbie residents. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in the United Kingdom.^[101]

Following a

first minister of Scotland was Donald Dewar, who served until his sudden death in 2000.^[105]

21st century

Queen Elizabeth II

(centre)

The

additional member system

) resulted in no one party having an overall majority for the first three Scottish parliament elections.

The pro-

September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. The majority voted against the proposition, with 55% voting no to independence.^[108] More powers, particularly concerning taxation, were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the Smith Commission

.

Since the 2014 referendum, events such as the UK leaving the European Union, despite a majority of voters in Scotland voting to remain a member, have led to calls for a second independence referendum. In 2022, the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain argued the case for the Scottish Government to hold another referendum on the issue, with the Supreme Court later ruling against the argument.^[109] Following the Supreme Court decision, the Scottish Government stated that it wished to make amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 that would allow a referendum to be held.^[110][111]

Geography and natural history

Main article: Geography of Scotland

The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the northwest coast of Continental Europe. The total area is 30,977 square miles (80,231 km²) with a land area of 30,078 square miles (77,901 km²),^[4] comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for 96 miles (154 km) between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only 13 miles (21 km) from the south-western peninsula of Kintyre;^[112] Norway is 190 miles (305 km) to the northeast and the Faroe Islands, 168 miles (270 km) to the north.

The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237

crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland, which were acquired from Norway in 1472;^[114] and Berwick-upon-Tweed (after changing ownership several times) was ceded to England in 1482.^[115]

The geographical

centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch.^[116] Rising to 4,413 feet (1,345 m) above sea level, Scotland's highest point is the summit of Ben Nevis, in Lochaber, while Scotland's longest river, the River Tay, flows for a distance of 117 miles (188 km).^[10]

Geology and geomorphology

Main article: Geology of Scotland

The whole of Scotland was covered by ice sheets during the

ice ages

and the landscape is much affected by glaciation. From a geological perspective, the country has three main sub-divisions: the Highlands and Islands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands.

The

Cuillins.^[117] In north-eastern mainland Scotland weathering of rock that occurred before the Last Ice Age has shaped much of the landscape.^[118]

A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of

machair

, a low-lying dune pasture land.

The

industrial revolution are found. This area has also experienced intense volcanism, Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh being the remnant of a once much larger volcano. This area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the Ochils and Campsie Fells

are rarely far from view.

The

Merrick with an elevation of 843 m (2,766 ft).^{[11][123][124][125]} The Southern Uplands is home to Scotland's highest village, Wanlockhead (430 m or 1,411 ft above sea level).^[122]

Climate

Main article: Climate of Scotland

The climate of most of Scotland is

Moscow region in Russia, and the Kamchatka Peninsula on the opposite side of Eurasia. Temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the temperature of −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on 11 February 1895, the coldest ever recorded anywhere in the UK.^[126] Winter maxima average 6 °C (43 °F) in the Lowlands, with summer maxima averaging 18 °C (64 °F). The highest temperature recorded was 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) at Floors Castle, Scottish Borders on 19 July 2022.^[127]

The west of Scotland is usually warmer than the east, owing to the influence of Atlantic

ocean currents and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea. Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, is one of the sunniest places in the country: it had more than 300 hours of sunshine in May 1975.^[128] Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are the wettest, with annual rainfall in a few places exceeding 3,000 mm (120 in).^[129] In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than 800 mm (31 in) annually.^[130] Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Braemar has an average of 59 snow days per year,^[131] while many coastal areas average fewer than 10 days of lying snow per year.^[130]

Flora and fauna

Main articles: Fauna of Scotland and Flora of Scotland

White-tailed sea eagle

Scotland's wildlife is typical of the north-west of Europe, although several of the larger mammals such as the lynx, brown bear, wolf, elk and walrus were hunted to extinction in historic times. There are important populations of seals and internationally significant nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds such as gannets.^[132] The golden eagle is something of a national icon.^[133]

On the high mountain tops, species including

beaver and wild boar. Today, much of the remaining native Caledonian Forest lies within the Cairngorms National Park and remnants of the forest remain at 84 locations across Scotland. On the west coast, remnants of ancient Celtic Rainforest remain, particularly on the Taynish peninsula in Argyll, these forests are particularly rare due to high rates of deforestation throughout Scottish history.^[141][142]

The flora of the country is varied incorporating both

indigenous plants and animals.^[143] The UK's tallest tree is a grand fir planted beside Loch Fyne, Argyll in the 1870s, and the Fortingall Yew may be 5,000 years old and is probably the oldest living thing in Europe.^{[144][145][146]} Although the number of native vascular plants is low by world standards, Scotland's substantial bryophyte flora is of global importance.^[147][148]

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Scotland

See also: Languages of Scotland, Religion in Scotland, and Scottish people

Population

During the 1820s, many Scots migrated from Scotland to countries such as Australia, the United States and Canada, principally from the Highlands which remained poor in comparison to elsewhere in Scotland.^[149] The Highlands was the only part of mainland Britain with a recurrent famine.^[150] A small range of products were exported from the region, which had negligible industrial production and a continued population growth that tested the subsistence agriculture. These problems, and the desire to improve agriculture and profits were the driving forces of the ongoing Highland Clearances, in which many of the population of the Highlands suffered eviction as lands were enclosed, principally so that they could be used for sheep farming. The first phase of the clearances followed patterns of agricultural change throughout Britain. The second phase was driven by overpopulation, the Highland Potato Famine and the collapse of industries that had relied on the wartime economy of the Napoleonic Wars.^[151]

The population of Scotland grew steadily in the 19th century, from 1,608,000 in the census of 1801 to 2,889,000 in 1851 and 4,472,000 in 1901.^[152] Even with the development of industry, there were not enough good jobs. As a result, during the period 1841–1931, about 2 million Scots migrated to North America and Australia, and another 750,000 Scots relocated to England.^[153] Caused by the advent of refrigeration and imports of lamb, mutton and wool from overseas, the 1870s brought with them a collapse of sheep prices and an abrupt halt in the previous sheep farming boom.^[154]

Scotland is the most sparsely populated country of the United Kingdom.^[155][156] In August 2012, the Scottish population reached an all-time high of 5.25 million people.^[157] The reasons given were that, in Scotland, births were outnumbering the number of deaths, and immigrants were moving to Scotland from overseas. In 2011, 43,700 people moved from Wales, Northern Ireland or England to live in Scotland.^[157] The most recent census in Scotland was conducted by the Scottish Government and the National Records of Scotland in March 2022.^[158] The population of Scotland at the 2022 Census was 5,436,600, the highest ever,^[158] beating the previous record of 5,295,400 at the 2011 Census. It was 5,062,011 at the 2001 Census.^[159] An ONS estimate for mid-2021 was 5,480,000.^[160] In the 2011 Census, 62% of Scotland's population stated their national identity as 'Scottish only', 18% as 'Scottish and British', 8% as 'British only', and 4% chose 'other identity only'.^[161]

Throughout its history, Scotland has long had a tradition of migration from Scotland and immigration into Scotland. In 2021, the Scottish Government released figures showing that an estimated 41,000 people had immigrated from other international countries into Scotland, while an average of 22,100 people had migrated from Scotland.^[162] Scottish Government data from 2002 shows that by 2021, there had been a sharp increase in immigration to Scotland, with 2002 estimates standing at 27,800 immigrants. While immigration had increased from 2002, migration from Scotland had dropped, with 2002 estimates standing at 26,200 people migrating from Scotland.^[163]

Urbanisation

See also: Cities of Scotland and List of towns and cities in Scotland by population

Although Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, the largest city is Glasgow, which has just over 584,000 inhabitants. The Greater Glasgow conurbation, with a population of almost 1.2 million, is home to nearly a quarter of Scotland's population.^[164] The Central Belt is where most of the main towns and cities of Scotland are located, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and Perth. Scotland's only major city outside the Central Belt is Aberdeen. The Scottish Lowlands host 80% of the total population, where the Central Belt accounts for 3.5 million people.

In general, only the more accessible and larger islands remain inhabited. Currently, fewer than 90 remain inhabited. The Southern Uplands is essentially rural and dominated by agriculture and forestry.^[165][166] Because of housing problems in Glasgow and Edinburgh, five new towns were designated between 1947 and 1966. They are East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston, and Irvine.^[167]

The largest council area by population is Glasgow City, with Highland being the largest in terms of geographical area.

Largest cities or towns in Scotland Scotland's Census 2022[168]
	Rank	Name	Council area	Pop.	Rank	Name	Council area	Pop.
Glasgow Edinburgh	1	Glasgow	Glasgow City	632,350	11	Kirkcaldy	Fife	50,370	Aberdeen Dundee
	2	Edinburgh	City of Edinburgh	506,520	12	Inverness	Highland	47,790
	3	Aberdeen	Aberdeen	198,590	13	Perth	Perth and Kinross	47,350
	4	Dundee	Dundee City	148,210	14	Kilmarnock	East Ayrshire	46,970
	5	Paisley	Renfrewshire	77,270	15	Ayr	South Ayrshire	46,260
	6	East Kilbride	South Lanarkshire	75,310	16	Coatbridge	North Lanarkshire	43,950
	7	Livingston	West Lothian	56,840	17	Greenock	Inverclyde	41,280
	8	Dunfermline	Fife	54,990	18	Glenrothes	Fife	38,360
	9	Hamilton	South Lanarkshire	54,480	19	Stirling	Stirling	37,910
	10	Cumbernauld	North Lanarkshire	50,530	20	Airdrie	North Lanarkshire	36,390

Languages

Main article: Languages of Scotland

Scotland has three

Western Isles

, where it continues to be used by a large proportion of residents.

Overall, the use of Scotland's indigenous languages other than English has declined since the 19th century. The 2011 census indicated that 63% of the population had "no skills in Scots".^[174] The use of Gaelic is confined to 1% of the population.^[175] The number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland dropped from 250,000 in 1881 to 60,000 in 2008.^[176] Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. The most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people.^[177][178]

Immigration since World War II has given Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee small South Asian communities.^[179] In 2011, there were an estimated 49,000 ethnically Pakistani people living in Scotland, making them the largest non-White ethnic group.^[180] The 2004 enlargement of the European Union spurred an increase in migration from Central and Eastern Europe to Scotland, and the 2011 census indicated that 61,000 Poles lived there.^[180][181]

There are many more people with Scottish ancestry living abroad than the total population of Scotland. In the 2000 Census, 9.2 million Americans self-reported some degree of

Scottish-Canadian community accounts for 4.7 million people.^[186] About 20% of the original European settler population of New Zealand came from Scotland.^[187]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Scotland

High Kirk of Edinburgh

As per the 2022 Census, a majority of Scots (51.12%) reported not following any religion. The most practiced religion is Christianity (38.79%), mostly the Church of Scotland (20.36%) and Roman Catholicism (13.3%).^[188] In almost every council area, the most common response to the census question was "No religion," except in Na h-Eileanan Siar and Inverclyde, where the Church of Scotland (35.3%) and Catholicism (33.4%) were the most common responses, respectively.^[188]

Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now Scotland for more than 1,400 years.^[189][190] Since the

Presbyterian system of church government independent from the state.^[11] Its membership dropped just below 300,000 in 2020 (5% of the total population)^{[191][192][193]}

The Church operates a territorial parish structure, with every community in Scotland having a local congregation.

Scotland also has a significant

Roman Catholic population with 13.3% professing that faith, particularly in Greater Glasgow and the north-west.^[194][188] After the Reformation, Roman Catholicism in Scotland continued in the Highlands and some western islands like Uist and Barra, and it was strengthened during the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. Other Christian denominations in Scotland include the Free Church of Scotland, and various other Presbyterian offshoots. Scotland's third largest church is the Scottish Episcopal Church.^[195]

Other minority faiths include

Samyé Ling monastery near Eskdalemuir, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007, is the oldest Buddhist monastery in Western Europe.^[198]

Education

Main article: Education in Scotland

University of St. Andrews is the oldest in Scotland and one of the oldest worldwide^[199]

The

Health care in Scotland is mainly provided by

The total fertility rate (TFR) in Scotland is below the replacement rate of 2.1 (the TFR was 1.73 in 2011^[218]). The majority of births are to unmarried women (51.3% of births were outside of marriage in 2012^[219]).

Life expectancy for those born in Scotland between 2012 and 2014 is 77.1 years for males and 81.1 years for females.^[220] This is the lowest of any of the four countries of the UK.^[220] The number of hospital admissions in Scotland for diseases such as cancer was 2,528 in 2002. Over the next ten years, by 2012, this had increased to 2,669.^[221] Hospital admissions for other diseases, such as coronary heart disease (CHD) were lower, with 727 admissions in 2002, and decreasing to 489 in 2012.^[221]

King Charles III
Monarch
since 2022

John Swinney
First Minister

since 2024

The Scottish Parliament is a

The Scottish Government, which has been described as one of the most powerful devolved governments globally,^[236] is led by the first minister, who is nominated by MSPs and is typically the leader of the largest party in the Parliament. Other ministers are appointed by the first minister and serve at their discretion.^[237] As the head of the Scottish Government, the first minister is responsible for the comprehensive development, implementation and presentation of government policy, and is responsible for promoting the interests of the country at home and internationally.^[238] John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has served as the first minister since 8 May 2024.^[239]

As leader of the Scottish Government, the first minister is a member of the

The nation has historic ties to France as a result of the '

Two more pieces of legislation, the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016, gave the Scottish Parliament further powers to legislate on taxation and social security;^[270] the 2016 Act also gave the Scottish Government powers to manage the affairs of the Crown Estate in Scotland.^[271] Conversely, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 constrains the Scottish Parliament's autonomy to regulate goods and services,^[272][273] and the academic view is that this undermines devolution.^[279]

The

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election resulted in an SNP overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, and on 18 September 2014 a referendum on Scottish independence was held.^[284] The referendum resulted in a rejection of independence, by 55.3% to 44.7%.^[285][286] During the campaign, the three main parties in the British Parliament–the Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats–pledged to extend the powers of the Scottish Parliament.^[287][288] An all-party commission chaired by Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin was formed,^[288] which led to the Scotland Act 2016.^[289]

Following the European Union Referendum Act 2015, the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum was held on 23 June 2016 on Britain's membership of the European Union. A majority in the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the EU, while a majority within Scotland voted to remain a member.^[290] The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced the following day that as a result a new independence referendum was "highly likely".^[291][290] On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union. Because constitutional affairs are reserved matters under the Scotland Act, the Scottish Parliament would again have to be granted temporary additional powers under Section 30 to hold a legally binding vote.^{[292][293][294]}

For local government purposes Scotland is subdivided into 32 single-tier council areas.^[295] The areas were established in 1996, and their councils are responsible for the provision of all local government services. Decisions are made by councillors, who are elected at local elections every five years. The leader of the council is typically a councillor from the party with the most seats; councils also have a civic head, typically called the provost or lord provost, who represents the council on ceremonial occasions and chairs council meetings.^[296] Community Councils are informal organisations that represent smaller subdivisions within each council area.^[297]

Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service cover the entire country. For healthcare and postal districts, and a number of other governmental and non-governmental organisations such as the churches, there are other long-standing methods of subdividing Scotland for the purposes of administration.

There are eight cities in Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling.^[298] City status in the United Kingdom is conferred by the monarch through letters patent.^[299]

As one of the countries of the United Kingdom, the British Armed Forces are the armed forces of Scotland. Of the money spent on UK defence, about £3.3 billion can be attributed to Scotland as of 2018/2019.^[300] Scotland had a long military tradition predating the Treaty of Union with England. Following the Treaty of Union in 1707, the Scots Army and Royal Scots Navy merged with their English counterparts to form the Royal Navy and the British Army, which together form part of the British Armed Forces.^[301][302] The Atholl Highlanders, Europe's only remaining legal private army, did not join the Scots Army or Royal Scots Navy in merging with English armed forces, remaining a private army not under the command of the British Armed Forces.^[303]

Numerous Scottish regiments have at various times existed in the British Army. Distinctively Scottish regiments in the British Army include the Scots Guards, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the 154 (Scottish) Regiment RLC, an Army Reserve regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps. In 2006, as a result of the Delivering Security in a Changing World white paper, the Scottish infantry regiments in the Scottish Division were amalgamated to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland.^[304] As a result of the Cameron–Clegg coalition's Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, the Scottish regiments of the line in the British Army infantry, having previously formed the Scottish Division, were reorganised into the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division in 2017. Before the formation of the Scottish Division, the Scottish infantry was organised into a Lowland Brigade and Highland Brigade.^[305]

Because of their topography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed many sensitive defence establishments.

nuclear deterrent.

Scots law has a basis derived from

For three centuries the Scots legal system was unique for being the only national legal system without a parliament. This ended with the advent of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, which legislates for devolved matters.[318] Many features within the system have been preserved. Within criminal law, the Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven".^[319] Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal, typically with no possibility of retrial per the rule of double jeopardy. A retrial can hear new evidence at a later date that might have proven conclusive in the earlier trial at first instance, where the person acquitted subsequently admits the offence or where it can be proved that the acquittal was tainted by an attempt to pervert the course of justice. Scots juries, sitting in criminal cases, consist of fifteen jurors, which is three more than is typical in many countries.^[320]

The

Since 2013, Scotland has had a unified police force known as Police Scotland. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) manages the prisons in Scotland, which collectively house over 8,500 prisoners.^[324] The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs is responsible for the Scottish Prison Service within the Scottish Government.

Scotland has a Western-style

In 2023, Scotland's gross domestic product (GDP), including offshore oil and gas, was estimated at £218.0 billion.^[332] In 2021, Scottish exports in goods and services (excluding intra-UK trade) were estimated to be £50.1 billion.^[333] Scotland's primary goods exports are mineral fuels, machinery and transport, and beverages and tobacco.^[334] The country's largest export markets in goods are the European Union, Asia and Oceania, and North America.^[334] Whisky is one of Scotland's more known goods of economic activity. Exports increased by 87% in the decade to 2012^[335] and were valued at £4.3 billion in 2013, which was 85% of Scotland's food and drink exports.^[336] It supports around 10,000 jobs directly and 25,000 indirectly.^[337] It may contribute £400–682 million to Scotland, rather than several billion pounds, as more than 80% of whisky produced is owned by non-Scottish companies.^[338] A briefing published in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) for the Scottish Parliament's Enterprise and Life Long Learning Committee stated that tourism accounted for up to 5% of GDP and 7.5% of employment.^[339]

Scotland was one of the industrial powerhouses of Europe from the time of the Industrial Revolution onwards, being a world leader in manufacturing.^[340] This left a legacy in the diversity of goods and services which Scotland produces, from textiles, whisky and shortbread to jet engines, buses, computer software, investment management and other related financial services.^[341] In common with most other advanced industrialised economies, Scotland has seen a decline in the importance of both manufacturing industries and primary-based extractive industries. This has been combined with a rise in the service sector of the economy, which has grown to be the largest sector in Scotland.^[342]

The average weekly income for workplace-based employees in Scotland is £573,

Between 2016 and 2020, the Scottish Government estimated that 10% of people in Scotland were in persistent poverty following^[clarification needed] housing costs, with similar rates of persistent poverty for children (10%), working-age adults (10%) and pensioners (11%).^[347] Persistent child poverty rates had seen a relatively sharp drop; however, the accuracy of this was deemed to be questionable due to various factors such as households re-entering the longitudinal sample allowing data gaps to be filled.^[347] The Scottish Government introduced the Scottish Child Payment in 2021 for low-income families with children under six years of age in an attempt to reduce child poverty rates, with families receiving a payment of roughly £1,040 per year.^[348] As of October 2023, 10% of the Scottish population were estimated to be living in poverty.^[349]

Although the

The value of the Scottish banknotes in circulation in 2013 was £3.8 billion, underwritten by the Bank of England using funds deposited by each clearing bank, under the Banking Act 2009, to cover the total value of such notes in circulation.^[352]

Scotland has

Network Rail owns and operates the fixed infrastructure assets of the railway system in Scotland, while the Scottish Government retains overall responsibility for rail strategy and funding in Scotland.^[357] Scotland's rail network has 359 railway stations and around 1,710 miles (2,760 km) of track.^[358] In 2018–19 there were 102 million passenger journeys on Scottish railways.^[359] On 1 January 2006, Transport Scotland was established, which would oversee the regulation of railways in Scotland and administer major rail projects.^[360] Since April 2022, Transport Scotland has taken ScotRail back into public ownership via its operator of last resort, Scottish Rail Holdings.^[361] It did the same with the Caledonian Sleeper service in June 2023.^[362]

The Glasgow Subway is the only underground system in Scotland. It opened on 14 December 1896, making it the third-oldest underground network in the world after the Budapest Metro and the London Underground. It is owned and operated by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.^[363]

The Scottish motorways and major

Regular ferry services operate between the Scottish mainland and outlying islands. Ferries serving both the inner and outer Hebrides are principally operated by the state-owned enterprise Caledonian MacBrayne.^[364][365] Services to the Northern Isles are operated by Serco. Other routes, such as southwest Scotland to Northern Ireland, are served by multiple companies.^[366] DFDS Seaways operated a freight-only Rosyth – Zeebrugge ferry service, until a fire damaged the vessel DFDS were using.^[367] A passenger service was also operated between 2002 and 2010.^[368]

Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance – penicillin

Scottish inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated the first working television system on 26 January 1926.^[369]

Scotland's primary sources of energy are provided through renewable energy (61.8%), nuclear (25.7%) and fossil fuel generation (10.9%).^[370] Whitelee Wind Farm is the largest onshore wind farm in the United Kingdom, and was Europe's largest onshore wind farm for some time.^[371] Tidal power is an emerging source of energy in Scotland. The MeyGen tidal stream energy plant in the north of the country is claimed to be the largest tidal stream energy project in the world.^[372] In Scotland, 98.6% of all electricity used was from renewable sources. This is minus net exports.^[370] Between October 2021 and September 2022 63.1% of all electricity generated in Scotland was from renewable sources, 83.6% was classed as low carbon and 14.5% was from fossil fuels.^[373] The Scottish Government has a target to have the equivalent of 50% of the energy for Scotland's heat, transport and electricity consumption to be supplied from renewable sources by 2030.^[374] They have stated that, in 2022, the equivalent of 113% of the country's overall electrical consumption was produced by renewable energy, making it the highest recorded figure of renewable energy generated to date.^[375]

Scottish popular music has gained an international following, with artists such as Lewis Capaldi, Amy Macdonald, KT Tunstall, Nina Nesbitt, Chvrches, Gerry Cinnamon and Paolo Nutini gaining international success. DJ Calvin Harris was one of the most streamed artists on Spotify in 2023,^[388][389] whilst Susan Boyle's debut album was one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century, and was the best-selling album internationally in 2009.^[390] Runrig popularised Celtic rock and frequently performed in Scottish Gaelic, with their 1995 single "An Ubhal as Àirde" the first song in the language to reach the UK Top 20.^[391] Musical talent in Scotland is recognised via the Scottish Music Awards, Scottish Album of the Year Award, the Scots Trad Music Awards and the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician award.

Scotland has a literary heritage dating back to the early Middle Ages. The earliest extant literature composed in what is now Scotland was in

National newspapers such as the Daily Record, The Herald, The Scotsman and The National are all produced in Scotland.^[412] Important regional dailies include the Evening News in Edinburgh, The Courier in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north.^[412] Scotland is represented at the Celtic Media Festival, which showcases film and television from the Celtic countries. Scottish entrants have won many awards since the festival began in 1980.^[413]

Scotland's national broadcaster is

As one of the Celtic nations, Scotland and Scottish culture are represented at inter-Celtic events at home and over the world. Scotland hosts several music festivals including Celtic Connections (Glasgow), and the Hebridean Celtic Festival (Stornoway). Festivals celebrating Celtic culture, such as Festival Interceltique de Lorient (Brittany), the Pan Celtic Festival (Ireland), and the National Celtic Festival (Portarlington, Australia), feature elements of Scottish culture such as language, music and dance.^{[415][416][417][418]}

Although there is no official

The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn, which has been a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century.^[434] The Court of the Lord Lyon regulates Scottish heraldry and the Public Register of All Armorial Bearings in Scotland.^[435]

Scottish cuisine has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own but shares much with wider

Scotland hosts its own national sporting competitions and has independent representation at several international sporting events, including the

With the modern game of

The Scottish Rugby Union is the second oldest rugby union in the world. Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh is the national stadium of the Scottish national rugby team. The Scotland rugby team played their first official test match, winning 1–0 against England at Raeburn Place in 1871. Scotland has competed in the Six Nations from the inaugural tournament in 1883, winning it 14 times outright—including the last Five Nations in 1999—and sharing it another 8. The Rugby World Cup was introduced in 1987 and Scotland have competed in all nine competitions, the most recent being in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Scotland competes with the England rugby team annually for the Calcutta Cup. Each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, with Scotland having last won in 2024.^[453]

Other distinctive features of the national sporting culture include the

Scotland has competed at every Commonwealth Games since 1930 and has won 356 medals in total—91 Gold, 104 Silver and 161 Bronze.^[456] Scotland has hosted the Commonwealth Games three times – Edinburgh played host to the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1986, and most recently Glasgow in 2014.^[457] Glasgow was confirmed as the host city for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in September 2024.^[458] Edinburgh was the host city for the inaugural Commonwealth Youth Games in 2000.^[459]

• Outline of Scotland