Scotland

Region: Europe

Official language: None. English de facto (Scottish Gaelic and Scots are recognized as regional languages)

Population: 5,448,000 (2022 est., UK Office for National Statistics)

Nationality: Scotsman(men)/Scotswoman(men) or Briton(s), British (collective plural) (noun), Scottish or British (adjective)

Land area: 78,772 sq km (30,414 sq miles)

Capital: Edinburgh

National holiday: St. Andrew's Day, November 30

Population growth: 2.8% (2022 est., UK Office for National Statistics)

Time zone: UTC +0

Flag: Scotland’s flag is known by two names: The Saltire and the Saint Andrew’s Cross. It has a blue background with a white saltire, or diagonal cross.

Motto: "Nemo me impune lacessit" (No one provokes me with impunity)

Independence: April 12, 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); May 1, 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England and Scotland as Great Britain)

Government type: Constituent country of the United Kingdom, which is a constitutional monarchy and commonwealth realm. Scotland has a devolved government, the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament, which handles domestic policy and law separate from the United Kingdom government.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; 16 years of age for Scottish Parliament and council elections

Legal system: common or customary law with some elements of Roman-based, civil law; devolved government includes Scottich Courts separate from United Kingdom courts, although United Kingdom Supreme Court is the highest court.

Scotland, a country in northwestern Europe, is located on the northern part of Great Britain, to the north of England. It also includes islands such as the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands. The North Sea lies to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west. Scotland was independent until 1707, when it became part of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament was reestablished in 1999 as part of governmental "devolution," with authority over local affairs.

Scotland is highly industrialized; Glasgow is the country's largest city and a major manufacturing center. The country is famous for its writers, such as the poet Robert Burns. Tourists come to Scotland to enjoy the rich cultural life of cities such as Edinburgh, as well as the country's natural beauty.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: The population of Scotland is largely a mixture of people of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon descent, though there are some small minorities from Asia and elsewhere. Scotland's population is largely urban. Glasgow is the largest city. Other large cities are Edinburgh (the capital), Stirling, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Dundee.

English and Gaelic are the main languages of Scotland, and both are used in official business. The English language predominates, as only about 60,000 people (2012 estimate) speak Gaelic. The Scots language, also known as Lowland Scots or "Lallans," is derived from northern dialects of Anglo-Saxon. Until the union with England, Lallans was the official language of Scotland. The CIA World Factbook reports that about 30 percent of Scotland's population can speak Scots (2012 estimate). Scottish Gaelic is spoken mostly in the Highlands and the Western Isles, but Gaelic speakers are almost always also fluent in English.

The Church of Scotland, known in Scotland as the Kirk, is the official or established church. The number of people identifying with the Church of Scotland dropped to 32.4 percent - according to the 2021 census, but official registered membership declined sharply through the first decades of the twenty-first century, standing at about 280,000 in 2022. Although established by law, the Church of Scotland rules itself and is not run by the government. A much smaller Presbyterian denomination is the Free Church of Scotland.

Other Protestant groups include the Methodists, Pentecostals, Salvation Army, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Quakers. The 2021 census noted that about 16 percent of the population was Roman Catholic and 1.4 percent were Muslim. There are also small numbers of Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs.

Indigenous People: Scotland was originally settled by Celtic tribes. The country takes its name from the Scots, a tribe from Ireland, but the Picts were actually the first people to settle the country. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in the fifth century and established kingdoms in the Scottish Lowlands. The Lallans dialect is derived from a northern variety of Anglo-Saxon.

The Norse arrived later, in the Viking raids. There has been a Jewish population since the nineteenth century. More recent minority populations include immigrants from Eastern Europe, India, and China.

Education: Scotland's educational system is separate from that of England. Since 1999, education has been controlled by the devolved Scottish Parliament.

Scotland has a long history of support for public education, due in part to the Scottish Reformation, which emphasized that every Christian should be able to read and interpret the Bible. The Scottish Parliament established a system of general public education in 1696, making it the oldest such system in modern Europe.

There are preschools for three- and four-year-olds. Primary schools are for ages four through twelve; these include "Gaelic Medium Schools," which teach all subjects in Gaelic. Secondary schools are for ages thirteen through sixteen. Specialized schools include religious schools run by the Roman Catholic Church and independent schools (private schools), which provide either primary or early secondary education. After completing secondary schools, students must pass an examination (the Scottish Certificate of Education) in order to qualify to attend university.

Scotland has several universities, many of which date from the Middle Ages. The oldest is the University of St. Andrews, founded in 1413. It is the third oldest in the United Kingdom, after the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In addition to St. Andrews, other major university towns are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee.

Health Care: Scotland is part of the UK National Health Service, the British nationalized system of health care. NHS Scotland is administered by various government directorates. Medical personnel either work directly for the NHS or as independent contractors. The country is divided into fourteen area health boards.

Food: Traditional Scottish cooking has the reputation of being hearty. Famous dishes include haggis, which is a savory pudding of sheep's heart, liver, and lungs, oatmeal, suet, onions, salt, and spices stuffed into the stomach of a sheep and eaten on special occasions. Until the late twentieth century, restaurants were rare outside of large cities, and most people ate their meals at home. Modern Scottish cuisine is far more cosmopolitan, reflecting the rise in immigration from places such as Asia and the Mediterranean region.

Arts & Entertainment: Scotland has a rich cultural history in three languages: Gaelic, Scots (Lallans), and English. The country has produced many world-famous authors, artists, actors, and other creative persons. Some of the best known are the eighteenth-century poet Robert Burns, the nineteenth-century historical novelist Sir Walter Scott, and the twentieth-century poet Hugh MacDiarmid, who led the modern "Scottish Renaissance."

Scotland has a thriving mass media, both print and broadcast. Newspapers include broadsheet and tabloid formats. Leading papers include the Herald of Glasgow, the Scotsman of Edinburgh, and the Daily Record. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) operates several radio and television stations in Scotland, with broadcasting in English and Gaelic.

Important musical and artistic organizations include the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Opera, and the Scottish Ballet.

Scotland also hosts many arts festivals; Edinburgh has earned the nickname "the Festival City" for events such as the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe Festival. Glasgow also hosts a popular jazz festival.

The most popular sports in Scotland include football (soccer), rugby, golf, and curling. Golf has been played since the Middle Ages; one the most famous courses is at St. Andrews. The Highland Games are a competition dedicated to traditional athletic events found in the Scottish Highlands. Events include hurling the Scottish hammer, or "tossing the caber" (a long pole) end over end.

Holidays: In Scotland as in England, public holidays are often known as "bank holidays," because banks are closed and many people have the day off from work. Like the English, Scots celebrate December 26 as Boxing Day (St. Stephen's Day); historically, a day on which employers gave "Christmas boxes" or presents to their employees. New Year's Eve is celebrated as "Hogmanay," with bonfires, torch parades, gift-giving, and drinking. New Year's extends through January 2.

The birthday of Robert Burns (January 25) is celebrated as an unofficial holiday. On this and other occasions, "Burns Nicht" ("Burns Night") suppers are held in Scotland and around the world to honor the poet's memory.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Mainland Scotland has three main regions: the southern uplands, the northern highlands, and the "central belt." The southern uplands are located along the Anglo-Scottish border and in southwestern Scotland, a hilly region covered by moors. The Highlands, as befits their name, are a mountainous region, home to the Celtic, Gaelic-speaking tribes known as clans. One of the major mountain chains is the Grampians, which include Ben Nevis (1,343 meters/4,406 feet) the highest mountain in Scotland and the entire United Kingdom. The "central belt" is generally much lower and flatter than the rest of the country. Most of the population lives there.

The Scottish islands are comprised of three main chains: the Orkneys, the Shetlands, and the Hebrides. The first two chains are located off Scotland's northern coast, while the Hebrides are known as the "Western Isles."

Many of Scotland's lakes, or lochs, are actually inlets of the sea; some are salty, and some are fresh. The most famous is probably Loch Ness, allegedly the home of the aquatic Loch Ness Monster. Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater loch. Many lochs are linked by the Caledonian Canal, a 96-kilometer inland waterway.

Firths are estuaries, but much broader; among the most well-known are the Solway Firth, the Moray Firth, and the Firth of Forth. Scotland has many large rivers, among them the Clyde, the Forth, and the Tweed.

Natural Resources: Scotland has large energy resources in the form of North Sea oil and natural gas, discovered in the late 1970s. Coal production has dropped sharply from its peak during the nineteenth century.

Plants & Animals: Scotland is home to many plant and animal species, including many threatened and endangered varieties. The Hebrides, for example, are particularly known as a home for wildlife, such as seals. Larger land mammals found in the wild include the red deer and roe deer, the wild goat, and the wildcat. Aquatic mammals include the basking shark, the harbor porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin, and the killer whale. Bird species include numerous kinds of birds of prey including the osprey and the peregrine falcon, as well as migratory birds such as pink-footed geese.

Dog breeding is popular in Scotland, and has given rise to notable national varieties such as the Border collie and Scottish terriers (Scotties).

Climate: Scotland has a generally mild climate, thanks to the Gulf Stream, although parts of the country (particularly the mountains) can be quite cold. The climate is also quite damp, with average rainfall of over 1,000 millimeters (39 inches) per year in most of the country. Despite this, parts of the country receive a great deal of sunshine, particularly parts of the Hebrides.

Economy

Reestablishment of the Scottish Parliament gave Scotland far more control over its own economy. The economy is largely based on service industries (including tourism) and high technology.

Scotland's economy improved dramatically in the late 1970s with the discovery of petroleum and natural gas in the North Sea. In the 1990s, Scotland developed its high technology industries, such as electronics and biotechnology. In 2019, based on 2017 data, the Scottish government reported that its top industry sectors for exports were food and beverage manufacturing (led by whiskey exports); professional, scientific, and technical activities; refined petroleum and chemical products; mining and quarrying; and wholesale and retail trade. Despite mostly recovering from the 2008 global financial crisis, Scotland's economy faced uncertainty after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016. As in much of the rest of the world, the country also faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020.

The banking system in Scotland is different from that in the rest of the United Kingdom. There is no central bank, and several private banks (the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland, and the Clydesdale Bank) are allowed to print their own bank notes.

Industry: A large percentage of the economy is based on services. Manufacturing and heavy industries such as shipbuilding, mining, and steel have declined sharply since the early twentieth century (although Scotland retains a significant shipbuilding industry). Their place has been taken by high technology sectors, such as electronics and biotechnology.

The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for the United Kingdom as a whole was an estimated US$454,100 in 2023. The Scottish unemployment rate at the beginning of 2020 was 3.8 percent, in line with that of the United Kingdom as a whole, although numbers spiked sharply later that year as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. By 2023, the Office for National Statistics listed Scotland's unemployment rate at 3.5 percent.

Agriculture: Agriculture is a fairly small sector of the Scottish economy. By the twenty-first century, the agricultural sector (including forestry and fisheries) accounted for less than 10 percent of GDP. In 2019, the Scottish government reported that the total income from farming in 2018 was £672 million. The government also reported that about 67,000 people worked directly in the Scottish agriculture sector in 2018, while an estimated 360,000 jobs in the country depended on agriculture in some way.

The main crops include barley, wheat, rapeseed oil, oats, and potatoes. Livestock include dairy and beef cows, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Scotland is noted for its production of whiskey, especially the Scotch whisky variety.

Tourism: The tourist trade is a major sector of the Scottish economy, contributing to about 5 percent of GDP as reported by the Scottish Government in 2018. About 8 percent of Scottish workers were employed by the industry in 2016. The most popular destinations include the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, with their vibrant cultural attractions. The Scottish Highlands, rich in natural beauty and history, are also popular. Though international visitors to Scotland dropped significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers soon began to recover, and by 2022 over 3.2 million visitors travelled to Scotland, according to Scotland's national tourism organization, Visit Scotland.

Government

Scotland was first unified around the year 843, when Kenneth McAlpin, King of Scots, established the Kingdom of "Alba," uniting the Scots (an Irish tribe) and the Picts, the land's original inhabitants. Within two hundred years, the country had expanded to essentially its modern borders and had become known as Scotland.

England's influence over Scotland dates back to the eleventh century, when Malcolm III received English help in overthrowing his rivals to the throne. In 1072, William the Conqueror invaded Scotland and forced Malcolm III to pay him homage. Later Scottish kings also paid homage to the English Crown.

During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Scots fought several wars to gain their independence from England, winning great victories under leaders such as William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The victory over Edward II at Bannockburn (1314) won the Scots their independence, which was formally acknowledged by the Declaration of Arbroath (1320). During this period, the Scots entered into a formal alliance with France and Norway, an agreement known as the "Auld Alliance," which also established dual citizenship. The alliance lasted until the Scottish Reformation began in 1560 and Scotland became Protestant.

Scotland's first representative assembly was the colloquium, which began in 1235 as a meeting of the nobles. It eventually developed into a Parliament representing the "Three Estates" of the nobility, the clergy, and the towns (burghs). This Parliament met for nearly four hundred years, until it was merged in 1707 with the English Parliament at Westminster.

In 1603, the Crowns of Scotland and England were joined in the person of King James VI of Scotland, who also became King James I of England. This was a "personal union" under a joint monarch, and not a union of the two countries. In 1707, Scotland and England formally unified by signing the Acts of Union and establishing the United Kingdom. The Scottish and English Parliaments were dissolved, and a new United Kingdom Parliament established. Scottish matters were handled by an England-based Cabinet official.

When the Scottish Parliament was reestablished in 1999, the Scotland Office was established to represent Scotland at the UK level. The Scottish Government, headed by the First Minister, is the Scottish Parliament's executive body. The First Minister and the Cabinet ministers are selected by the Parliament, from its own membership. Despite the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament, Scottish voters still elect members to the UK Parliament.

Scotland's local government is handled by thirty-two unitary local authorities, known as councils. Prior to reorganization in the late twentieth century, local government was handled by thirty-three traditional counties.

Scotland's main political parties are similar to those of the United Kingdom, with local versions of the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat Parties. Parties unique to Scotland include the Scottish National Party (SNP), which wants Scottish independence from Great Britain. In 2014, Scotland held a referendum on independence, in which about 55 percent of voters were in favor of Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom. In 2016, voters in the United Kingdom approved a motion, which became known as Brexit, to withdraw from the European Union. The vote led to much speculation about political and economic repercussions. Despite the decision, a majority of voters in Scotland had voted to remain part of the European Union, so calls were made for a new referendum on Scottish secession from Great Britain.

Interesting Facts

• Hugh MacDiarmid (Christopher Murray Grieve) was a poet who helped start Scotland's twentieth-century literary renaissance. He wrote many of his works in Lallans or Lowland Scots.
• The eighteenth-century poet Robert Burns is the author of the famous poem "Auld Lang Syne," sung at New Year's Eve celebrations.
• Harris Tweed, a popular Scottish textile, is woven in the Outer Hebrides.
• Scotland's national animal is the unicorn, despite its mythical status.
• In 2018, Scotland earned a win over England for the first time in international cricket.
• In 2022, the population of Scotland was the largest ever recorded by Scotland's Census at 5.4 million people.

Bibliography

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