Scotland

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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Scotland (disambiguation).
Scotland
Alba (Scottish Gaelic)
Flag of Scotland
Flag
{{{coat_alt}}}
Royal Banner
Motto: "In My Defens God Me Defend" (Scots)[a]
"In my defence God me defend"
Anthem: Various[b]
Predominantly "Flower of Scotland"
Location of Scotland (dark green) � in Europe (green & dark grey) � in the United
Kingdom (green)
Location of Scotland (dark green)
� in Europe (green & dark grey)
� in the United Kingdom (green)

Status Country
Capital Edinburgh
55�57'11?N 3�11'20?W
Largest city Glasgow
Languages English
Recognised languages[c]
Scottish Gaelic
Scots
British Sign Language
Ethnic groups (2011)
96.0% White
2.7% Asian
0.7% Black
0.4% Mixed
0.2% Arab
0.1% other[6]
Religion Church of Scotland[7]
Demonym(s)
ScottishScots[d]
Sovereign state
Legal jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Scotland
Government Devolved parliamentary legislature within a constitutional monarchy[e]
Legislature Scottish Parliament
Formation
� Established
9th century (traditionally 843)
� Union with England
1 May 1707
� Devolution
19 November 1998
Area
� Land
77,933 km2 (30,090 sq mi)[8]
� Water (%)
3.00%
Population
� 2017 estimate
Increase 5,424,800[9]
� 2011 census
5,313,600[10]
� Density
67.5/km2 (174.8/sq mi)
GVA 2016 estimate
� Total �134 billion[11]
� Per capita �24,800[11]
HDI (2017) 0.901[12]
very high
Currency Pound sterling (GBP; �)
Time zone UTC? (Greenwich Mean Time)
� Summer (DST)
UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Date format dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Driving side left
Calling code +44
ISO 3166 code GB-SCT
Internet TLD .scot [f]
^ Often shown abbreviated as "In Defens".
^ See National anthem of Scotland.
^ Both Scots and Scottish Gaelic are officially recognised as regional languages
under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.[13] Under the Gaelic
Language (Scotland) Act 2005, B�rd na G�idhlig is tasked with securing Gaelic as an
official language of Scotland.[14] British Sign Language is officially recognised
under the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015.[15]
^ Historically, the use of "Scotch" as an adjective comparable to "Scottish" or
"Scots" was commonplace. Modern use of the term describes products of Scotland
(usually food or drink-related).
^ The head of state of the United Kingdom is the monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth
II, since 1952). Scotland has limited self-government within the UK as well as
representation in the UK Parliament. It is also a UK electoral region for the
European Parliament. Certain executive and legislative powers have been devolved
to, respectively, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament.
^ .scot is not a ccTLD, but a gTLD, open to use by all people in Scotland and
related to Scotland. .uk and .eu, as part of the United Kingdom and European Union,
are also used. ISO 3166-1 is GB, but .gb is unused.
Scotland (Scots: Scotland, Scottish Gaelic: Alba ['al??ap?] (About this
soundlisten)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It covers the
northern third of the island of Great Britain,[16][17][18] with a border with
England to the southeast, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and
west, the North Sea to the northeast, the Irish Sea to the south, and more than 790
islands,[19] including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early

Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI,
King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, thus forming a personal
union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union
with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great
Britain.[20][21] The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which
succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801,
Great Britain itself entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to
create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (in 1922, the Irish Free
State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the
United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland).[22]

Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety
of styles, titles and other royal symbols of statehood specific to the pre-union
Kingdom of Scotland. The legal system within Scotland has also remained separate
from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland constitutes a
distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law.[23] The continued existence
of legal, educational, religious and other institutions distinct from those in the
remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture
and national identity since the 1707 union with England.[24]

In 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved

unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of
domestic policy.[25] The head of the Scottish Government is the First Minister of
Scotland, who is supported by the Deputy First Minister of Scotland.[26] Scotland
is represented in the United Kingdom Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European
Parliament by 6 MEPs.[27] Scotland is also a member of the British�Irish Council,
[28] and sends five members of the Scottish Parliament to the British�Irish
Parliamentary Assembly.[29]

Scotland is divided into 32 subdivisions, known as local authorities, or councils.

[30] Glasgow City is the largest subdivision in Scotland in terms of population,
with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power,
covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation,
is devolved from the Scottish Government to each subdivision.[30]

Contents
1 History
1.1 Etymology
1.2 Early history
1.3 Roman influence
1.4 Middle Ages
1.5 Early modern period
1.6 18th century
1.7 19th century
1.8 Early 20th century
1.9 Modern day
2 Geography and natural history
2.1 Geology and geomorphology
2.2 Climate
2.3 Flora and fauna
3 Demographics
4 Religion
5 Politics and government
5.1 Devolved government relations
5.2 International diplomacy
5.3 Constitutional changes
5.4 Administrative subdivisions
6 Law and criminal justice
7 Health care
8 Economy
8.1 Currency
9 Military
10 Education
11 Culture
11.1 Scottish music
11.2 Literature
11.3 Celtic connections
11.4 National identity
11.5 Cuisine
12 Media
13 Sport
13.1 Football
13.2 Golf
13.3 Other sports
14 Infrastructure
14.1 Energy
14.2 Transport
15 See also
16 References
17 Further reading
18 External links
History
Main article: History of Scotland
Etymology
Main article: Etymology of Scotland
"Scotland" comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels. Philip Freeman has
speculated on the likelihood of a group of raiders adopting a name from an Indo-
European root, *skot, citing the parallel in Greek skotos (s??t??), meaning
"darkness, gloom".[31] The Late Latin word Scotia ("land of the Gaels") was
initially used to refer to Ireland.[32] By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia
was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the River Forth,
alongside Albania or Albany, both derived from the Gaelic Alba.[33] The use of the
words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in
the Late Middle Ages.[20]

Early history
Main article: Prehistoric Scotland
See also: Timeline of prehistoric Scotland
Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land mass of modern Scotland,
destroyed any traces of human habitation that may have existed before the
Mesolithic period. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers
arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the
last glaciation.[34][35]

Scara Brae, a Neolithic settlement, located on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney
The groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish
soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The
well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this
period. Neolithic habitation, burial, and ritual sites are particularly common and
well preserved in the Northern Isles and Western Isles, where a lack of trees led
to most structures being built of local stone.[36]

The 2009 discovery in Scotland of a 400