scotland

{{Main|Etymology of Scotland}}

Scotland comes from {{Lang|la|Scoti}}, the Latin name for the Gaels.{{cite web |title=Scotland's History - The Kingdom of the Gaels |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/kingdom_of_the_gaels/ |website=www.bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107011630/https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/kingdom_of_the_gaels/ |url-status=live }} 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 {{Lang|el-latn|skotos}} ({{Lang|el|σκότος|italic=no}}), meaning "darkness, gloom".P. Freeman, Ireland and the Classical World, Austin, 2001, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSHhfOM-5AEC&pg=PA93 93] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610011812/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSHhfOM-5AEC&pg=PA93#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=10 June 2024 }}. The Late Latin word {{Lang|la|Scotia}} ("land of the Gaels") was initially used to refer to Ireland,{{Cite book |last=Gwynn |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RlF7sq48n4C&pg=PA16 |title=The History Of Ireland |date=July 2009 |isbn=9781113155177 |page=16 |publisher=BiblioBazaar |access-date=17 September 2014 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610011757/https://books.google.com/books?id=2RlF7sq48n4C&pg=PA16 |url-status=live }} and likewise in early Old English {{Lang|ang|Scotland}} was used for Ireland.Lemke, Andreas: [https://www.univerlag.uni-goettingen.de/bitstream/handle/3/isbn-978-3-86395-189-4/GSEP8_lemke.pdf?sequence=1 The Old English Translation of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum in its Historical and Cultural Context] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125160601/https://www.univerlag.uni-goettingen.de/bitstream/handle/3/isbn-978-3-86395-189-4/GSEP8_lemke.pdf?sequence=1 |date=25 November 2020 }}, Chapter II: The OEHE: The Material Evidence; page 71 (Universitätsdrucke Göttingen, 2015) 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 {{Lang|gd|Alba}}.{{Cite book |last1=Ayto |first1=John |url=https://archive.org/details/brewersbritainir0000unse |title=Brewer's Britain & Ireland: The History, Culture, Folklore and Etymology of 7500 Places in These Islands |last2=Ian Crofton |publisher=WN |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-304-35385-9 |url-access=registration}} The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages.

{{Main|History of Scotland}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of Scottish history}}

Prehistoric Scotland, before the arrival of the Roman Empire, was culturally divergent.{{cite web |title=Prehistoric Scotland was culturally divergent before the Romans arrived |url=https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/12/prehistoric-scotland-was-culturally-divergent-before-the-romans-arrived/142216 |website=www.heritagedaily.com |date=10 December 2021 |publisher=Heritage Daily |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=11 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111203704/https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/12/prehistoric-scotland-was-culturally-divergent-before-the-romans-arrived/142216 |url-status=live }}

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.The earliest known evidence is a flint arrowhead from Islay. See Moffat, Alistair (2005) Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. London. Thames & Hudson. Page 42. At the time, Scotland was covered in forests, had more bog-land, and the main form of transport was by water.{{Cite book |last=Forsyth |first=Katherine |title=Scotland: A History |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199601646 |editor-last=Wormald |editor-first=Jenny |editor-link=Jenny Wormald |location=Oxford |language=en |chapter=Origins: Scotland to 1100 |author-link=Katherine Forsyth |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scotland00jenn |chapter-url-access=registration}} These 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.{{Cite book |last=Pryor |first=Francis |title=Britain BC |publisher=HarperPerennial |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-00-712693-4 |location=London |pages=98–104 & 246–250 |author-link=Francis Pryor}} Evidence of sophisticated pre-Christian belief systems is demonstrated by sites such as the Callanish Stones on Lewis and the Maes Howe on Orkney, which were built in the third millennium BC.{{Rp|38}}

{{Main|Scotland during the Roman Empire|Roman Britain|Pictland}}

File:Skara Brae - geograph.org.uk - 3912232.jpg, Europe's most complete Neolithic village, occupied from roughly 3180 BC – 2500 BC]]

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.{{Rp|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.{{Rp|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.Hanson, William S. The Roman Presence: Brief Interludes, in Edwards, Kevin J. & Ralston, Ian B.M. (Eds) (2003). Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archeology and History, 8000 BC—AD 1000. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press. Remains of Roman forts established in the 1st century have been found as far north as the Moray Firth.{{Citation |last1=Richmond |first1=Ian Archibald |title=Caledonia |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1258 |work=Oxford Classical Dictionary |year=2012 |editor-last=Hornblower |editor-first=Simon |access-date=16 November 2020 |edition=4th online |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001 |isbn=9780199545568 |last2=Millett |first2=Martin |editor2-last=Spawforth |editor2-first=Antony |editor3-last=Eidinow |editor3-first=Esther |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508085121/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1258 |url-status=live }} By the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan ({{Reign|98|117}}), Roman control had lapsed to Britain south of a line between the River Tyne and the Solway Firth.{{Citation |last=Millett |first=Martin J. |title=Britain, Roman |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1178 |work=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |year=2012 |editor-last=Hornblower |editor-first=Simon |access-date=16 November 2020 |edition=4th online |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |editor2-last=Spawforth |editor2-first=Antony |editor3-last=Eidinow |editor3-first=Esther |archive-date=14 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114213930/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1178 |url-status=live }} Along this line, Trajan's successor Hadrian ({{Reign|117|138}}) erected Hadrian's Wall in northern England{{Rp|12}} and the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the Roman Empire.Robertson, Anne S. (1960). The Antonine Wall. Glasgow Archaeological Society.{{Cite news |last=Keys |first=David |date=27 June 2018 |title=Ancient Roman 'hand of god' discovered near Hadrian's Wall sheds light on biggest combat operation ever in UK |agency=Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hand-of-god-ancient-roman-hadrians-wall-sculpture-bronze-found-latest-a8419131.html |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=7 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707015802/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hand-of-god-ancient-roman-hadrians-wall-sculpture-bronze-found-latest-a8419131.html |url-status=live }} The Roman influence on the southern part of the country was considerable, and they introduced Christianity to Scotland.{{Rp|13–14}}{{Rp|38}}

The Antonine Wall was built from 142 at the order of Hadrian's successor Antoninus Pius ({{Reign|138|161}}), defending the Roman part of Scotland from the unadministered part of the island, north of a line between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth.{{cite news |title=Frontiers of the Roman Empire, The Antonine Wall |url=https://www.visitscotland.com/things-to-do/unesco-trail/designations/antonine-wall |newspaper=Visitscotland |publisher=Visit Scotland |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107012121/https://www.visitscotland.com/things-to-do/unesco-trail/designations/antonine-wall |url-status=live }} The Roman invasion of Caledonia 208–210 was undertaken by emperors of the imperial Severan dynasty in response to the breaking of a treaty by the Caledonians in 197, but permanent conquest of the whole of Great Britain was forestalled by Roman forces becoming bogged down in punishing guerrilla warfare and the death of the senior emperor Septimius Severus ({{Reign|193|211}}) at Eboracum (York) after he was taken ill while on campaign. Although forts erected by the Roman army in the Severan campaign were placed near those established by Agricola and were clustered at the mouths of the glens in the Highlands, the Caledonians were again in revolt in 210–211 and these were overrun.

File:Callanish at sunset - geograph.org.uk - 820680.jpg, erected in the late Neolithic era]]

To the Roman historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio, the Scottish Highlands and the area north of the River Forth was called Caledonia. According to Cassius Dio, the inhabitants of Caledonia were the Caledonians and the Maeatae. Other ancient authors used the adjective "Caledonian" to mean anywhere in northern or inland Britain, often mentioning the region's people and animals, its cold climate, its pearls, and a noteworthy region of wooded hills ({{Langx|la|saltus}}) which the 2nd century AD Roman philosopher Ptolemy, in his Geography, described as being south-west of the Beauly Firth. The name Caledonia is echoed in the place names of Dunkeld, Rohallion, and Schiehallion.

The Great Conspiracy constituted a seemingly coordinated invasion against Roman rule in Britain in the later 4th century, which included the participation of the Gaelic Scoti and the Caledonians, who were then known as Picts by the Romans. This was defeated by 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.

{{Main|Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland in the Early Middle Ages|Scotland in the High Middle Ages|Scotland in the Late Middle Ages}}

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Beginning in the sixth century, the area that is now Scotland was divided into three areas: Pictland, a patchwork of small lordships in central Scotland;{{Rp|25–26}} the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, which had conquered southeastern Scotland;{{Rp|18–20}} and Dál Riata, which included territory in western Scotland and northern Ireland, and spread Gaelic language and culture into Scotland.{{Citation |last=Woolf |first=Alex |title=Ancient Kindred? Dál Riata and the Cruthin |date=2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1502702 |work=academia.edu |access-date=30 May 2023 |archive-date=15 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715071930/https://www.academia.edu/1502702 |url-status=live }} 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.{{Rp|26–27}}

Gaelic influence over Pictland and Northumbria was facilitated by the large number of Gaelic-speaking clerics working as missionaries.{{Rp|23–24}} Operating in the sixth century on the island of Iona, Saint Columba was one of the earliest and best-known missionaries.{{Cite book |last=Houston |first=Rab |title=Scotland: A Very Short Introduction |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191578861 |location=Oxford |language=en}}{{Rp|39}} The Vikings began to raid Scotland in the eighth century. Although the raiders sought slaves and luxury items, their main motivation was to acquire land. The oldest Norse settlements were in northwest Scotland, but they eventually conquered many areas along the coast. Old Norse entirely displaced Pictish in the Northern Isles.{{Cite web |date=18 December 2021 |title=What makes Shetland, Shetland? |url=https://www.shetland.org/blog/what-makes-shetland-shetland |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=Shetland.org |language=en-gb |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103155353/https://www.shetland.org/blog/what-makes-shetland-shetland |url-status=live }}

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.{{Rp|31–32}}{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Dauvit |title=The Oxford Companion to Scottish History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-211696-3 |editor-last=M. Lynch |location=Oxford |page=359 |chapter=Kenneth mac Alpin}} 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.{{Rp|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.{{Rp|34–35}} Around the turn of the millennium, there was a centralization in agricultural lands and the first towns began to be established.{{Rp|36–37}}

File:Court.of.Session.1532.James.V.JPG 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 Scottish national consciousness.{{Cite book |last=Stringer |first=Keith |title=Scotland: A History |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199601646 |editor-last=Wormald |editor-first=Jenny |editor-link=Jenny Wormald |location=Oxford |language=en |chapter=The Emergence of a Nation-State, 1100–1300 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scotland00jenn |chapter-url-access=registration}}{{Cite book |last=Barrell |first=A. D. M. |title=Medieval Scotland |date=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-58602-3 |location=Cambridge}}{{Rp|at=ch 1}} David I (1124–1153) and his successors centralised royal power{{Rp|41–42}} and united mainland Scotland, capturing regions such as Moray, Galloway, and Caithness, although he could not extend his power over the Hebrides, which had been ruled by various Scottish clans following the death of Somerled in 1164.{{Rp|48–49}} In 1266, Scotland fought the short but consequential Scottish-Norwegian War which saw the reclamation of the Hebrides after the strong defeat of King Haakon IV and his forces at the Battle of Largs.{{Cite web |last=theorkneynews |date=1 October 2022 |title=The Battle of Largs #OnThisDay |url=https://theorkneynews.scot/2022/10/02/the-battle-of-largs-onthisday/ |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=The Orkney News |language=en-US |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103153307/https://theorkneynews.scot/2022/10/02/the-battle-of-largs-onthisday/ |url-status=live }} Up until that point, the Hebrides had been under Norwegian Viking control for roughly 400 years and had developed a distinctive Norse–Gaelic culture that saw many Old Norse loanwords enter the Scottish Gaelic spoken by islanders, and through successive generations the Norse would become almost completely assimilated into 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.{{Cite web |last=Petrie |first=Calum |date=7 November 2021 |title=Spikkin Scandinavian: The similarity between Scots and Nordic tongues |url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/education/schools/3652656/similarity-between-scots-nordic/ |access-date=3 January 2024 |website=Press and Journal |language=en-GB |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103190336/https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/education/schools/3652656/similarity-between-scots-nordic/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{Rp|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{{En dash}}1296.{{R|Stringer|p=45-46}}

{{main|Wars of Scottish Independence|First War of Scottish Independence|Second War of Scottish Independence}}

File:Wallace Monument , Stirling, Scotland, in Autumn.jpg in Stirling, commemorates Sir William Wallace, a Scottish independence leader{{cite web |title=» The National Wallace Monument |url=https://www.yourstirling.com/see-do/the-wallace-monument/ |website=www.yourstirling.com |access-date=9 August 2024}}]]

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.{{Rp|47}}{{Cite web |title=Scotland Conquered, 1174–1296 |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/conquered.htm |publisher=National Archives |access-date=4 December 2006 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224142317/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/conquered.htm |url-status=live }} 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,{{Cite web |title=Scotland Regained, 1297–1328 |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/regained.htm |publisher=National Archives of the United Kingdom |access-date=25 November 2010 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016033523/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/regained.htm |url-status=live }} until Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland in 1306.{{Cite book |last=Murison |first=A. F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iMEMc45g9s8C |title=King Robert the Bruce |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=1899 |isbn=978-1-4179-1494-4 |edition=reprint 2005 |page=30 |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610011800/https://books.google.com/books?id=iMEMc45g9s8C |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Michael |title=Scotland: A History |last2=Boardman |first2=Steve |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199601646 |editor-last=Wormald |editor-first=Jenny |editor-link=Jenny Wormald |location=Oxford |language=en |chapter=Survival and Revival: Late Medieval Scotland |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scotland00jenn |chapter-url-access=registration}}{{Rp|70, 72}}

A civil war between the Bruce dynasty and their long-term rivals of the House of Comyn and House of Balliol lasted until the middle of the 14th century. Although the Bruce faction was successful, David II's lack of an heir allowed his half-nephew Robert II, the Lord High Steward of Scotland, to come to the throne and establish the House of Stewart.{{Rp|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,{{Cite book |last=Mason |first=Roger |title=Scotland: A History |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199601646 |editor-last=Wormald |editor-first=Jenny |editor-link=Jenny Wormald |location=Oxford |language=en |chapter=Renaissance and Reformation: The Sixteenth Century |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scotland00jenn |chapter-url-access=registration}}{{Rp|93}} despite the effects of the Black Death in 1349{{Rp|76}} and increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands.{{Rp|78}} Multiple truces reduced warfare on the southern border.{{Rp|76, 83}}

{{Main|Scotland in the early modern period|Union of the Crowns}}

File:Adam de Colone (c.1572-1651) - James VI and I (1566–1625), King of Scotland (1567–1625), King of England and Ireland (1603–1625) - PG 2172 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, King of Scotland, succeeded to the English and Irish thrones in 1603.]]

The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed in 1502 by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England. James married Henry's daughter, Margaret Tudor.{{Cite web |title=James IV, King of Scots 1488–1513 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/james_iv |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 November 2010 |archive-date=19 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219173805/http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/james_iv/ |url-status=live }} James invaded England in support of France under the terms of the Auld Alliance and became the last monarch in Great Britain to die in battle, at Flodden in 1513.{{Cite web |title=Battle of Flodden, (Sept. 9, 1513) |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/210431/Battle-of-Flodden |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=2 September 2023 |access-date=25 November 2010 |archive-date=26 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426233409/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/210431/Battle-of-Flodden |url-status=live }} The war with England during the minority years of Mary, Queen of Scots between 1543 and 1551 is known as the Rough Wooing.Marcus Merriman, The Rough Wooings (East Linton: Tuckwell, 2000), p. 6. In 1560, the Treaty of Edinburgh brought an end to the Siege of Leith and recognized the Protestant Elizabeth I as Queen of England.{{Rp|112}} The Parliament of Scotland met and immediately adopted the Scots Confession, which signalled the Scottish Reformation's sharp break from papal authority and Roman Catholic teaching.{{Rp|44}} The Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate in 1567.{{Cite web |title=Religion, Marriage and Power in Scotland, 1503–1603 |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/religion.htm |publisher=The National Archives of the United Kingdom |access-date=27 November 2010 |archive-date=7 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707113937/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/religion.htm |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=David |title=Chronology of Scottish History |publisher=Geddes & Grosset |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-85534-380-1 |page=56 |quote=1603: James VI becomes James I of England in the Union of the Crowns, and leaves Edinburgh for London}} 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.{{Cite web |title=On this Day: 21 November 1606: The proposed union between England and Scotland {{!}} History of Parliament Online |url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/periods/stuarts/day-21-november-1606-proposed-union-between-england-and-scotland |access-date=16 November 2020 |website=www.historyofparliamentonline.org |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125101617/https://historyofparliamentonline.org/periods/stuarts/day-21-november-1606-proposed-union-between-england-and-scotland |url-status=live }}

Except for a short period under the Protectorate, Scotland remained a separate state in the 17th century, but there was considerable conflict between the crown and the Covenanters over the form of church government.{{Cite book |last=Wormald |first=Jenny |title=Scotland: A History |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199601646 |editor-last=Wormald |editor-first=Jenny |location=Oxford |language=en |chapter=Confidence and Perplexity: The Seventeenth Century |author-link=Jenny Wormald |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scotland00jenn |chapter-url-access=registration}}{{Rp|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.{{Cite book |last=Devine |first=T M |title=The Scottish Clearances: A History of the Dispossessed, 1600–1900 |date=2018 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-0241304105 |location=London}}{{Rp|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.{{Cite web |title=BBC – History – British History in depth: Acts of Union: The creation of the United Kingdom |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/acts_of_union_01.shtml |access-date=16 November 2020 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB |archive-date=20 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220160524/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/acts_of_union_01.shtml |url-status=live }} The issue of union split the parliament in 1648.

After the execution of the Scottish king at Whitehall in 1649, amid the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and its events in Scotland, Oliver Cromwell, the victorious Lord Protector, imposed the British Isles' first written constitution – the Instrument of Government – on Scotland in 1652 as part of the republican Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Protectorate Parliament was the first Westminster parliament to include representatives nominally from Scotland. The monarchy of the House of Stuart was resumed with the Restoration in Scotland in 1660. The Parliament of Scotland sought a commercial union with England in 1664; the proposal was rejected in 1668. In 1670 the Parliament of England rejected a proposed political union with Scotland. English proposals along the same lines were abandoned in 1674 and in 1685. The Scots Parliament rejected proposals for a political union with England in 1689. Jacobitism, the political support for the exiled Catholic Stuart dynasty, remained a threat to the security of the British state under the Protestant House of Orange and the succeeding House of Hanover until the defeat of the Jacobite rising of 1745. 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.{{Cite web |title=Why did the Scottish parliament accept the Treaty of Union? |url=http://www.scottishaffairs.org/backiss/pdfs/sa52/Sa52_Scott.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003123611/http://www.scottishaffairs.org/backiss/pdfs/sa52/Sa52_Scott.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2011 |access-date=1 May 2013 |publisher=Scottish Affairs}}{{Cite web |title=Popular Opposition to the Ratification of the Treaty of Anglo-Scottish Union in 1706–7 |url=https://scottishhistorysociety.com/popular-opposition-to-the-ratification-of-the-treaty-of-anglo-scottish-union-in-1706-7 |access-date=23 March 2017 |website=scottishhistorysociety.com |publisher=Scottish Historical Society |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728164330/https://scottishhistorysociety.com/popular-opposition-to-the-ratification-of-the-treaty-of-anglo-scottish-union-in-1706-7/ |url-status=live }}

{{main|Treaty of Union}}

{{further|Kingdom of Great Britain}}

File:Treaty of Union.jpg

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. 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. 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{{cite web |title=Act of Union 1707 |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/act-of-union-1707/#:~:text=The%20Acts%20of%20Union%2C%20passed,1%20May%20of%20that%20year. |website=www.parliament.uk |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=23 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923180635/https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/act-of-union-1707/#:~:text=The%20Acts%20of%20Union%2C%20passed,1%20May%20of%20that%20year. |url-status=live }} with popular opposition and anti-union riots in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and elsewhere.{{Cite book |last=Devine |first=T. M. |title=The Scottish Nation 1700–2000 |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-14-023004-8 |page=9 |quote=From that point on anti-union demonstrations were common in the capital. In November rioting spread to the southwest, that stronghold of strict Calvinism and covenanting tradition. The Glasgow mob rose against union sympathisers in disturbances that lasted intermittently for over a month}}{{Cite web |year=2007 |title=Act of Union 1707 Mob unrest and disorder |url=http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/06_03_mob.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101193416/http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/06_03_mob.html |archive-date=1 January 2008 |access-date=23 December 2007 |publisher=The House of Lords |location=London}} 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.

File:JamesFirstEarlOfSeafield.jpg, former Lord Chancellor (1702–1708), initially supported union but by 1713 advocated for its reversal]]

Andrew Fletcher, a prominent Scottish patriot, argued that the ratification of the treaty would see Scotland "more like a conquered province",{{cite web |title=Union of Parliaments |url=https://www.nls.uk/collections/rare-books/collections/union-of-parliaments/ |website=National Library of Scotland |access-date=19 October 2024 |language=en}} and by 1713, the former Lord Chancellor of Scotland, James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater, who was a prominent supporter for the Treaty of Union between Scotland and England had changed his position on the treaty, and unsuccessfully advocated for the treaty to be reversed.{{cite web |title=James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Seafield, 1663 - 1730. Lord Chancellor |url=https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/3734 |website=Nationalgalleries.org |access-date=19 October 2024}} The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, particularly among non-Presbyterians, including Roman Catholics and 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 pamphleteer as a result of the little consideration given to prospects of the Scottish economy.{{cite book |last1=William, Rilley |first1=Patrick, Joseph |title=The Union of England and Scotland A Study in Anglo-Scottish Politics of the Eighteenth Century |date=1978 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719007279 |page=312}} Campaigners for the union between Scotland and England believed that there would be economic advantages to Scotland as a result of the failed Darien scheme which left the Kingdom of Scotland bankrupt.{{cite web |title=Union of Parliaments |url=https://www.nls.uk/collections/rare-books/collections/union-of-parliaments/ |website=National Library of Scotland |access-date=19 October 2024 |language=en}} Eventually however, with trade tariffs with England abolished, trade blossomed, especially with Colonial America. The clippers belonging to the Glasgow Tobacco Lords were the fastest ships on the route to Virginia. Until the American War of Independence in 1776, Glasgow was the world's premier tobacco port, dominating world trade.{{Cite journal |last=Robert |first=Joseph C |year=1976 |title=The Tobacco Lords: A study of the Tobacco Merchants of Glasgow and their Activities |journal=The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=100–102 |jstor=4248011}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Devine |first=T M |title=Clanship to Crofters' War: The social transformation of the Scottish Highlands |date=1994 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-9076-9 |edition=2013}}{{Rp|32–53, passim}}

{{Main|Scotland in the modern era}}

File:Sir Henry Raeburn - Portrait of Sir Walter Scott.jpg, whose 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"[http://www.uiowa.edu/%7Ec008224b/scotline2.htm Some Dates in Scottish History from 1745 to 1914] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031090022/http://www.uiowa.edu/~c008224b/scotline2.htm |date=31 October 2013 }}", The University of Iowa. — so much so Voltaire said "We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."{{Cite web |title=Enlightenment Scotland |url=http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scottishenlightenment/scotland/index.asp |publisher=Learning and Teaching Scotland |access-date=20 November 2010 |archive-date=30 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630064903/http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scottishenlightenment/scotland/index.asp |url-status=live }} 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."{{Cite book |last=Neil Davidson(2000) |title=The Origins of Scottish Nationhood |publisher=Pluto Press |location=London |pages=94–95}}

The Scottish Reform Act 1832 increased the number of Scottish MPs and widened the franchise to include more of the middle classes.T. M. Devine and R. J. Finlay, Scotland in the Twentieth Century (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1996), pp. 64–65. From the mid-century, there were increasing calls for Home Rule for Scotland and the post of Secretary of State for Scotland was revived.F. Requejo and K-J Nagel, Federalism Beyond Federations: Asymmetry and Processes of Re-symmetrization in Europe (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011), p. 39. Towards the end of the century prime ministers of Scottish descent included William Gladstone,R. Quinault, "Scots on Top? Tartan Power at Westminster 1707–2007", History Today, 2007 57(7): 30–36. {{ISSN|0018-2753}} Fulltext: Ebsco. and the Earl of Rosebery.K. Kumar, The Making of English National Identity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 183. In the late 19th century the growing importance of the working classes was marked by Keir Hardie's success in the Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888, leading to the foundation of the Scottish Labour Party, which was absorbed into the Independent Labour Party in 1895, with Hardie as its first leader.D. Howell, British Workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888–1906 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984), p. 144. Glasgow became one of the largest cities in the world and known as "the Second City of the Empire" after London.J. F. MacKenzie, "The second city of the Empire: Glasgow – imperial municipality", in F. Driver and D. Gilbert, eds, Imperial Cities: Landscape, Display and Identity (2003), pp. 215–223. 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.J. Shields, Clyde Built: a History of Ship-Building on the River Clyde (1949). 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.C. H. Lee, Scotland and the United Kingdom: the Economy and the Union in the Twentieth Century (1995), p. 43.

While the Scottish Enlightenment is traditionally considered to have concluded toward the end of the 18th century,{{Citation |last=M. Magnusson |title=Review of James Buchan, Capital of the Mind: how Edinburgh Changed the World |date=10 November 2003 |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200311100040 |work=New Statesman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606015918/http://www.newstatesman.com/200311100040 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 June 2011}} disproportionately large Scottish contributions to British science and letters continued for another 50 years or more, thanks to such figures as the physicists James Clerk Maxwell and Lord Kelvin, and the engineers and inventors James Watt and William Murdoch, whose work was critical to the technological developments of the Industrial Revolution throughout Britain.E. Wills, Scottish Firsts: a Celebration of Innovation and Achievement (Edinburgh: Mainstream, 2002). In literature, the most successful figure of the mid-19th century was Walter Scott. His first prose work, Waverley in 1814, is often called the first historical novel.{{Citation |last=K. S. Whetter |title=Understanding Genre and Medieval Romance |page=28 |year=2008 |publisher=Ashgate}} It launched a highly successful career that probably more than any other helped define and popularise Scottish cultural identity.{{Citation |last=N. Davidson |title=The Origins of Scottish Nationhood |page=136 |year=2000 |publisher=Pluto Press}} In the late 19th century, a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald.{{Citation |title=Cultural Profile: 19th and early 20th century developments |url=http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5402.html |work=Visiting Arts: Scotland: Cultural Profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930034445/http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5402.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 September 2011}} Scotland also played a major part in the development of art and architecture. The Glasgow School, which developed in the late 19th century, and flourished in the early 20th century, produced a distinctive blend of influences including the Celtic Revival the Arts and Crafts movement, and 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.Stephan Tschudi-Madsen, The Art Nouveau Style: a Comprehensive Guide (Courier Dover, 2002), pp. 283–284.

File:Bagpiper Battle of Bazentin Ridge 14-07-1916 IWM Q 4012.jpg leads the 26th Brigade back from the trenches during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, July 1916]]

Scotland played a major role in the British effort in the First World War. It especially provided manpower, ships, machinery, fish and money.Richard J. Finlay, Modern Scotland 1914–2000 (2006), pp 1–33 With a population of 4.8 million in 1911, Scotland sent over half a million men to the war, of whom over a quarter died in combat or from disease, and 150,000 were seriously wounded.R. A. Houston and W. W. J. Knox, eds. The New Penguin History of Scotland (2001) p 426.[https://books.google.com/books?id=VI5nAAAAMAAJ&q=casualties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610011816/https://books.google.com/books?id=VI5nAAAAMAAJ&q=casualties|date=10 June 2024}} Niall Ferguson points out in "The Pity of War" that the proportion of enlisted Scots who died was third highest in the war behind Serbia and Turkey and a much higher proportion than in other parts of the UK.[https://books.google.com/books?id=QrYhAQAAIAAJ&q=enlisted] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404004726/https://books.google.com/books?id=QrYhAQAAIAAJ&q=enlisted|date=4 April 2023}} [http://news.scotsman.com/worldwarone/39Savage-Scots39-wish-you-weren39t.6487746.jp] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005094654/http://news.scotsman.com/worldwarone/39Savage-Scots39-wish-you-weren39t.6487746.jp|date=5 October 2010}} Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig was Britain's commander on the Western Front. The war saw the emergence of a radical movement called "Red Clydeside" led by militant trades unionists. Formerly a Liberal stronghold, the industrial districts switched to Labour by 1922, with a base among 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.Iain McLean, The Legend of Red Clydeside (1983)

During the Second World War, Scotland was targeted by Nazi Germany largely due to its factories, shipyards, and coal mines.{{Cite web |title=Primary History – World War 2 – Scotland's Blitz |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/scotlands_blitz |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812052942/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/scotlands_blitz/ |url-status=live }} Cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh were targeted by German bombers, as were smaller towns mostly located in the central belt of the country. Perhaps the most significant air raid in Scotland was the Clydebank Blitz of March 1941, which intended to destroy naval shipbuilding in the area.{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Landscape : Clydebank Blitz |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/landscapes/clydebank_blitz |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=20 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020053750/http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/landscapes/clydebank_blitz/ |url-status=live }} 528 people were killed and 4,000 homes destroyed. 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.J. Leasor Rudolf Hess: The Uninvited Envoy (Kelly Bray: House of Stratus, 2001), {{ISBN|0-7551-0041-7}}, p. 15. 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.{{Sfn|Evans|2008|p=168}} 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.{{Sfn|Sereny|1996|p=240}} 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.

File:Pan Am Flight 103. Crashed Lockerbie, Scotland, 21 December 1988.jpg over Lockerbie remains the deadliest act of terror in the United Kingdom]]

After 1945, Scotland's economic situation worsened due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes.Harvie, Christopher No Gods and Precious Few Heroes (Edward Arnold, 1989) pp 54–63. Only in recent decades has the country enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance. Economic factors contributing to this recovery included a resurgent financial services industry, electronics manufacturing, (see Silicon Glen),{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=Heather |date=6 May 2007 |title=Celtic Tiger Burns Brighter at Holyrood |url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/scotland/comment/0,,2073303,00.html |work=The Guardian |oclc=60623878 |access-date=27 June 2007 |archive-date=24 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424021705/http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/may/06/scottishparliament.devolution |url-status=live }} and the North Sea oil and gas industry.{{Cite web |title=National Planning Framework for Scotland |url=http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2004/04/19170/35326 |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Gov.scot |date=April 2004 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090543/http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2004/04/19170/35326 |url-status=live }} 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,{{Cite web |last=Torrance |first=David |author-link=David Torrance (journalist) |date=30 March 2009 |title=Modern myth of a poll tax test-bed lives on |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/david-torrance-modern-myth-of-a-poll-tax-test-bed-lives-on-1-1031968 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920044226/http://www.scotsman.com/news/david-torrance-modern-myth-of-a-poll-tax-test-bed-lives-on-1-1031968 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |access-date=19 September 2017 |newspaper=The Scotsman}} contributed to a growing movement for Scottish control over domestic affairs.{{Cite news |date=1 April 2009 |title=The poll tax in Scotland 20 years on |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7976782.stm |access-date=17 September 2014 |archive-date=8 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808200804/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7976782.stm |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |title=Lockerbie tragedy: 35th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 |url=https://news.sky.com/story/lockerbie-tragedy-35th-anniversary-of-the-bombing-of-pan-am-flight-103-13033448 |website=Sky News |access-date=19 October 2024 |language=en}}

Following a referendum on devolution proposals in 1997, the Scotland Act 1998[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980046_en_1 "Scotland Act 1998"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215190729/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/contents |date=15 February 2013 }}, Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 22 April 2008. was passed by the British Parliament, which established a devolved Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government with responsibility for most laws specific to Scotland.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.scot/About/Factfile/18060/11552 |url-status=dead |title=Devolution > Scottish responsibilities |website=Scottish Government |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301080012/http://www.gov.scot/About/Factfile/18060/11552 |archive-date=1 March 2017}} The Scottish Parliament was reconvened in Edinburgh on 4 July 1999.{{Cite news |date=4 July 1999 |title=Special Report | 1999 | 06/99 | Scottish Parliament opening | Scotland's day of history |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/06/99/scottish_parliament_opening/382490.stm |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=12 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612220844/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/06/99/scottish_parliament_opening/382490.stm |url-status=live }} The first to hold the office of first minister of Scotland was Donald Dewar, who served until his sudden death in 2000.{{Cite news |date=11 October 2000 |title=Donald Dewar dies after fall |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/donald-dewar-dies-after-fall-634695.html |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=1 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801225425/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/donald-dewar-dies-after-fall-634695.html |url-status=live }}

File:Opening of the Scottish Parliament, 1999.jpg in July 1999 with Donald Dewar, then first minister of Scotland (left) with Queen Elizabeth II (centre)]]

The Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood opened in October 2004 after lengthy construction delays and running over budget.{{Cite news |date=6 October 2004 |title=UK | Scotland | Guide to opening of Scottish Parliament |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3719396.stm |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728164327/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3719396.stm |url-status=live }} The Scottish Parliament's form of proportional representation (the additional member system) resulted in no one party having an overall majority for the first three Scottish parliament elections.

The pro-independence Scottish National Party led by Alex Salmond achieved an overall majority in the 2011 election, winning 69 of the 129 seats available.{{Cite news |last=Carrell |first=Severin |date=6 May 2011 |title=Salmond hails 'historic' victory as SNP secures Holyrood's first ever majority | Politics |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/may/06/scottish-elections-salmond-historic-victory-snp |access-date=1 August 2018}} The success of the SNP in achieving a majority in the Scottish Parliament paved the way for the September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. The majority voted against the proposition, with 55% voting no to independence.{{Cite news |date=19 September 2014 |title=Scottish independence referendum – Results |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results |access-date=1 August 2018 |archive-date=18 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918212409/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite news |date=23 November 2022 |title=Supreme court rules against Scottish parliament holding new independence referendum |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/23/scottish-independence-supreme-court-scottish-parliament-second-referendum-indyref2 |work=The Guardian |access-date=18 July 2023 |archive-date=13 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213031458/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/23/scottish-independence-supreme-court-scottish-parliament-second-referendum-indyref2 |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Faye |date=14 December 2022 |title=SNP reveals new plan to secure indyref2 without Westminster backing |language=en |work=Sky News |url=https://news.sky.com/story/snp-reveals-new-plan-to-secure-indyref2-without-westminster-backing-12767700 |access-date=14 December 2022 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214005509/https://news.sky.com/story/snp-reveals-new-plan-to-secure-indyref2-without-westminster-backing-12767700 |url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Torrance | first=David | title=Scottish independence referendum: legal issues | website=House of Commons Library | date=2025-02-18 | url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9104/ | access-date=2025-03-03}}

{{Main|Geography of Scotland}}

File:Corpach Basin - geograph.org.uk - 5757851.jpg is the highest peak in Scotland and the British Isles]]

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 {{Convert|80231|km2|0|order=flip}} with a land area of {{Convert|77901|km2|0|order=flip}}, comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for {{Convert|96|mi|km|0}} 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 {{Convert|21|km|mi|0|order=flip}} from the south-western peninsula of Kintyre;[http://www.britannica.com/place/North-Channel-strait North Channel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629100424/https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Channel-strait |date=29 June 2019 }}, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Norway is {{Convert|305|km|mi|0|order=flip}} to the northeast and the Faroe Islands, {{Convert|270|km|mi|0|order=flip}} to the north.

The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and the Kingdom of England{{Cite web |title=Uniting the Kingdoms? |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/conquered.htm |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Nationalarchives.gov.uk |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224142317/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/utk/scotland/conquered.htm |url-status=live }} and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway.Mackie, J.D. (1969) A History of Scotland. London. Penguin. Important exceptions include the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland, which were acquired from Norway in 1472;Whitaker's Almanack (1991) London. J. Whitaker and Sons. and Berwick-upon-Tweed (after changing ownership several times) was ceded to England in 1482.{{cite book | last1=Ellis | first1=Steven G. | last2=Maginn | first2=Christopher | title=The Making of the British Isles | publisher=Routledge | publication-place=Hoboken | date=2014-07-15 | isbn=978-1-317-90050-4 | page=30}}

The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch.See [http://www.newtonmore.com/our-community/centre-of-scotland.html "Centre of Scotland"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204114042/http://www.newtonmore.com/our-community/centre-of-scotland.html |date=4 December 2022 }} Newtonmore.com. Retrieved 7 September 2012. Rising to {{Convert|1345|m|ft|0|order=flip}} 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 {{Convert|188|km|mi|0|order=flip}}.

{{Main|Geology of Scotland}}

File:Salisbury Crags and Arthur's seat dec.23 (1).jpg, Edinburgh]]

The whole of Scotland was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene 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 Highlands and Islands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland largely comprises ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian, which were uplifted during the later Caledonian orogeny. It is interspersed with igneous intrusions of a more recent age, remnants of which formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin.{{Cite web |title=Hebrides – Scottish Geology Trust |url=https://www.scottishgeologytrust.org/geology/scotlands-geology/regional-geology/hebrides/ |access-date=25 January 2024 |language=en-GB |archive-date=25 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125153024/https://www.scottishgeologytrust.org/geology/scotlands-geology/regional-geology/hebrides/ |url-status=live }} In north-eastern mainland Scotland weathering of rock that occurred before the Last Ice Age has shaped much of the landscape.{{Cite journal |last=Hall |first=Adian M. |year=1986 |title=Deep weathering patterns in north-east Scotland and their geomorphological significance |journal=Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=407–422 |doi=10.1127/zfg/30/1987/407|issn = 0372-8854}}

A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstones found principally along the Moray Firth coast. The Highlands are generally mountainous and the highest elevations in the British Isles are found here. Scotland has over 790 islands divided into four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. There are numerous bodies of freshwater including Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. Some parts of the coastline consist of machair, a low-lying dune pasture land.

File:Loch Lomond 2013.JPG, a freshwater loch, often considered the boundary between the lowlands and HighlandsTom Weir. The Scottish Lochs. pp. 33-43. Published by Constable and Company, 1980. {{ISBN|0-09-463270-7}}]]

The Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Paleozoic formations. Many of these sediments have economic significance for it is here that the coal and iron-bearing rocks that fuelled Scotland's 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 Southern Uplands is a range of hills almost {{Convert|200|km|mi|round=5|order=flip}} long, interspersed with broad valleys. They lie south of a second fault line (the Southern Uplands fault) that runs from Girvan to Dunbar.{{Cite web |date=16 November 1990 |title=Southern Uplands |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0029160.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041128062644/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0029160.html |archive-date=28 November 2004 |access-date=11 June 2009 |publisher=Tiscali.co.uk}}{{Cite web |title=Education Scotland – Standard Grade Bitesize Revision – Ask a Teacher – Geography – Physical – Question From PN |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/other/sos/geography/physical/answerphysical_59.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202071454/http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/other/sos/geography/physical/answerphysical_59.shtml |archive-date=2 December 2010 |access-date=11 June 2009 |publisher=BBC}}{{Cite web |date=28 December 2006 |title=Scotland Today " ITKT |url=http://www.intheknowtraveler.com/1144 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106204251/http://www.intheknowtraveler.com/1144 |archive-date=6 January 2007 |access-date=11 June 2009 |publisher=Intheknowtraveler.com}} The geological foundations largely comprise Silurian deposits laid down some 400 to 500 million years ago. The high point of the Southern Uplands is Merrick with an elevation of {{Convert|843|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.Murray, W.H. (1973) The Islands of Western Scotland. London. Eyre Methuen {{ISBN|978-0-413-30380-6}}Murray, W.H. (1968) The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland. London. Collins. {{ISBN|0-00-211135-7}}Johnstone, Scott et al. (1990) The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills. Edinburgh. Scottish Mountaineering Trust. Page 9. The Southern Uplands is home to Scotland's highest village, Wanlockhead ({{Convert|430|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=or}} above sea level).

{{Main|Climate of Scotland}}

File:Traigh Bail, Tiree - geograph.org.uk - 7983.jpg in the Inner Hebrides is one of the sunniest locations in Scotland.]]

The climate of most of Scotland is temperate and oceanic, and tends to be very changeable. As it is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, it has much milder winters (but cooler, wetter summers) than areas on similar latitudes, such as Labrador, southern Scandinavia, the 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 {{Convert|-27.2|°C|°F|1}} recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on 11 February 1895, the coldest ever recorded anywhere in the UK.{{Cite web |title= UK Records |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/uk_records.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202071307/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/uk_records.shtml |archive-date=2 December 2010 |access-date=21 September 2007 |publisher=BBC Weather }} The same temperature was also recorded in Braemar on 10 January 1982 and at Altnaharra, Highland, on 30 December 1995. Winter maxima average {{Convert|6|°C|°F|0}} in the Lowlands, with summer maxima averaging {{Convert|18|°C|°F|0}}. The highest temperature recorded was {{Convert|35.1|°C|°F|1}} at Floors Castle, Scottish Borders on 19 July 2022.{{Cite web |last=Loudon |first=Calum |date=20 July 2022 |title=Temperature reached 35.1C in Scotland as hottest ever day confirmed |url=https://news.stv.tv/scotland/hottest-day-in-scotland-officially-recorded-as-temperatures-reach-35-1c-at-floors-castle |website=STV News |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720103257/https://news.stv.tv/scotland/hottest-day-in-scotland-officially-recorded-as-temperatures-reach-35-1c-at-floors-castle |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite web |title=Weather extremes |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate-extremes/#?tab=climateExtremes |access-date=23 March 2017 |publisher=Met Office |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221004454/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate-extremes/#?tab=climateExtremes |url-status=live }} Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are the wettest, with annual rainfall in a few places exceeding {{Convert|3000|mm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}.{{Cite web |title=Western Scotland: climate |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/ws |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008091252/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/ws |archive-date=8 October 2014 |access-date=17 September 2014}} In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than {{Convert|800|mm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} annually.{{Cite web |title=Eastern Scotland: climate |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008085154/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/es |archive-date=8 October 2014 |access-date=17 September 2014}} Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Braemar has an average of 59 snow days per year,{{Cite web |title=Scottish Weather Part One |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/scotland_01.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126064338/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/scotland_01.shtml |archive-date=26 January 2011 |access-date=21 September 2007 |publisher=BBC}} while many coastal areas average fewer than 10 days of lying snow per year.

{{Main|Fauna of Scotland|Flora of Scotland}}

File:White-tailed eagle in flight at Falkenhof Schloss Rosenburg.jpg]]

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.Fraser Darling, F. & Boyd, J. M. (1969) Natural History in the Highlands and Islands. London. Bloomsbury. The golden eagle is something of a national icon.Benvie, Neil (2004) Scotland's Wildlife. London. Aurum Press. {{ISBN|1-85410-978-2}} p. 12.

On the high mountain tops, species including ptarmigan, mountain hare and stoat can be seen in their white colour phase during winter months.[http://www.cairngorms.co.uk/resource/docs/publications/CNPA.Paper.225.State%20of%20the%20Park%20Report%20-%20Chapter%202%20Natural%20Resources.pdf "State of the Park Report. Chapter 2: Natural Resources"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120222252/https://www.cairngorms.co.uk/resource/docs/publications/CNPA.Paper.225.State%20of%20the%20Park%20Report%20-%20Chapter%202%20Natural%20Resources.pdf |date=20 January 2022 }}(pdf) (2006) Cairngorms National Park Authority. Retrieved 14 October 2007. Remnants of the native Scots pine forest existPreston, C. D., Pearman, D. A., & Dines, T. D. (2002) New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Oxford University Press. and within these areas the Scottish crossbill, the UK's only endemic bird species and vertebrate, can be found alongside capercaillie, Scottish wildcat, red squirrel and pine marten.Gooders, J. (1994) Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland. London. Kingfisher.Matthews, L. H. (1968) British Mammals. London. Bloomsbury.{{Cite book |last=WM Adams |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kxlN8YJQWQsC&q=future+nature:+a+vision+for+conservation |title=Future nature:a vision for conservation |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85383-998-6 |page=30 |publisher=Earthscan |access-date=10 January 2011 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610011748/https://books.google.com/books?id=kxlN8YJQWQsC&q=future+nature:+a+vision+for+conservation |url-status=live }} Various animals have been re-introduced, including the white-tailed eagle in 1975, the red kite in the 1980s,[https://web.archive.org/web/20110420032140/http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/projects/details/274707-east-scotland-sea-eagles-esse "East Scotland Sea Eagles"] RSPB. Retrieved 3 January 2014.{{Cite news |last=Ross |first=John |date=29 December 2006 |title=Mass slaughter of the red kites |work=The Scotsman |location=Edinburgh}} and there have been experimental projects involving the 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.Ross, David (26 November 2009) "Wild Boar: our new eco warriors" The Herald. Glasgow.{{Cite news |date=29 May 2009 |title=Beavers return after 400-year gap |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8072443.stm |access-date=5 December 2009 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104095326/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8072443.stm |url-status=live }}

The flora of the country is varied incorporating both deciduous and coniferous woodland as well as moorland and tundra species. Large-scale commercial tree planting and management of upland moorland habitat for the grazing of sheep and field sport activities like deer stalking and driven grouse shooting impacts the distribution of indigenous plants and animals.[https://web.archive.org/web/20191004122226/http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.382.9320&rep=rep1&type=pdf Integrated Upland Management for Wildlife, Field Sports, Agriculture & Public Enjoyment] (pdf) (September 1999) Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 14 October 2007. 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.{{cite web |title=Yew |url=https://forestryandland.gov.scot/learn/trees/yew |website=www.forestryandland.gov.scot |publisher=Forestry and Land Scotland |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=27 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227071554/https://forestryandland.gov.scot/learn/trees/yew |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Scotland remains home to Britain's tallest tree as Dughall Mor reaches new heights |url=http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/WebPressReleases/3EEE4838BED1F155802570D8003965E9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003182505/http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/WebPressReleases/3EEE4838BED1F155802570D8003965E9 |archive-date=3 October 2012 |access-date=26 April 2008 |publisher=Forestry Commission}}Copping, Jasper (4 June 2011) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607184948/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/8557126/Britains-record-breaking-trees-identified.html "Britain's record-breaking trees identified"] London. The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2011. Although the number of native vascular plants is low by world standards, Scotland's substantial bryophyte flora is of global importance.{{Cite web |title=Why Scotland has so many mosses and liverworts |url=http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/naturallyscottish/mossesliverworts/whyscotland.asp |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Snh.org.uk |archive-date=14 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614133148/http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/naturallyscottish/mossesliverworts/whyscotland.asp |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Bryology (mosses, liverworts and hornworts) |url=http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/cryptogamic-plants-and-fungi/bryology |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Rbge.org.uk |archive-date=2 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602000836/http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/cryptogamic-plants-and-fungi/bryology |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Demographics of Scotland}}

{{See also|Languages of Scotland|Religion in Scotland|Scottish people}}

File:Scotland population cartogram.svg. The size of councils is in proportion to their 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.{{cite web |title=Emigration |url=https://www.nls.uk/family-history/emigration/ |website=www.nls.uk |publisher=National Library of Scotland |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=11 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111212104/https://www.nls.uk/family-history/emigration/ |url-status=live }} The Highlands was the only part of mainland Britain with a recurrent famine.{{cite web |title=Poverty, Protest and Politics: Perceptions of the Scottish Highlands in the 1880s |url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_792389_smxx.pdf |website=www.gla.ac.uk |publisher=University of Glasgow |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=11 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111212100/https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_792389_smxx.pdf |url-status=live }} 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.E. Richards, The Highland Clearances: People, Landlords and Rural Turmoil (2008).

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.A. K. Cairncross, The Scottish Economy: A Statistical Account of Scottish Life by Members of the Staff of Glasgow University (Glasgow: Glasgow University Press, 1953), p. 10. 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.R. A. Houston and W. W. Knox, eds, The New Penguin History of Scotland (Penguin, 2001), p. xxxii. 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.{{Cite book |last=Warren |first=Charles R. |url=https://archive.org/details/managingscotland00warr |title=Managing Scotland's environment |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780748630639 |edition=2nd ed., completely rev. and updated |location=Edinburgh |pages=[https://archive.org/details/managingscotland00warr/page/n73 45] ff., 179 ff |oclc=647881331 |url-access=limited}}

Scotland is the most sparsely populated country of the United Kingdom.{{cite web |title=Number of people per square kilometer in the United Kingdom in 2023, by region |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/281322/population-density-in-the-uk-by-region/ |website=Statista |access-date=27 February 2025}}{{cite web |title=Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.beta.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2023 |website=www.beta.ons.gov.uk |access-date=27 February 2025}} In August 2012, the Scottish population reached an all-time high of 5.25 million people.{{Cite web |date=3 August 2012 |title=Scotland's population reaches record of high of 5.25 million |url=http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland-s-population-reaches-record-of-high-of-5-25-million-1.57049 |access-date=3 January 2014 |publisher=The Courier |archive-date=28 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328131036/http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland-s-population-reaches-record-of-high-of-5-25-million-1.57049 |url-status=live }} 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. The most recent census in Scotland was conducted by the Scottish Government and the National Records of Scotland in March 2022.{{cite web | url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/about/2022-census/2022-timeline/key-milestones/ | title=Scotland's Census 2022 - key milestones | access-date=4 April 2023 | archive-date=4 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404221004/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/about/2022-census/2022-timeline/key-milestones/ | url-status=live }} The population of Scotland at the 2022 Census was 5,436,600, the highest ever, beating the previous record of 5,295,400 at the 2011 Census. It was 5,062,011 at the 2001 Census.{{Cite web |date=30 April 2015 |title=Scotland's Population at its Highest Ever |url=http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2015/scotlands-population-at-its-highest-ever |access-date=12 February 2015 |publisher=National Records of Scotland |archive-date=13 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813015600/http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2015/scotlands-population-at-its-highest-ever |url-status=live }} An ONS estimate for mid-2021 was 5,480,000.{{cite web |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2021 |title=Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2021 |last=Park |first=Neil |date=21 December 2022 |website=Office for National Statistics |publisher= |access-date=14 August 2023 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813214319/https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2021 |url-status=live }} 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'.[http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/news/census-2011-detailed-characteristics-ethnicity-identity-language-and-religion-scotland-%E2%80%93 Census 2011: Detailed characteristics on Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion in Scotland – Release 3A] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630062854/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/news/census-2011-detailed-characteristics-ethnicity-identity-language-and-religion-scotland-%E2%80%93 |date=30 June 2018 }}. Scotland Census 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2014.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://statistics.gov.scot/slice?dataset=http://statistics.gov.scot/data/migration-to-and-from-scotland&http://purl.org/linked-data/cube#measureType=http://statistics.gov.scot/def/measure-properties/count&http://purl.org/linked-data/sdmx/2009/dimension|title=statistics.gov.scot|website=statistics.gov.scot|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=9 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709184633/https://statistics.gov.scot/slice?dataset=http://statistics.gov.scot/data/migration-to-and-from-scotland&http://purl.org/linked-data/cube#measureType=http://statistics.gov.scot/def/measure-properties/count&http://purl.org/linked-data/sdmx/2009/dimension|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://statistics.gov.scot/slice?dataset=http://statistics.gov.scot/data/migration-to-and-from-scotland&http://purl.org/linked-data/cube#measureType=http://statistics.gov.scot/def/measure-properties/count&http://purl.org/linked-data/sdmx/2009/dimension|title=statistics.gov.scot|website=statistics.gov.scot|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610011750/https://statistics.gov.scot/slice?dataset=http://statistics.gov.scot/data/migration-to-and-from-scotland&http://purl.org/linked-data/cube#measureType=http://statistics.gov.scot/def/measure-properties/count&http://purl.org/linked-data/sdmx/2009/dimension|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Cities of Scotland|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.{{Cite web |title=Did You Know?—Scotland's Cities |url=http://rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_cities.htm |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Rampantscotland.com |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402042144/http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_cities.htm |url-status=live }} 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.Clapperton, C.M. (ed) (1983) Scotland: A New Study. London. David & Charles.Miller, J. (2004) Inverness. Edinburgh. Birlinn. {{ISBN|978-1-84158-296-2}} 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.{{Cite web |title=New Towns |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/as/sixties/standard/rural/new_towns.shtml |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Bbc.co.uk |archive-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107024956/https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/as/sixties/standard/rural/new_towns.shtml |url-status=live }}

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

{{Largest cities

| country = Scotland

| stat_ref = Scotland's Census 2022{{Cite web |title=2022 Census population data for localities in Scotland |url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-analyser/jsf/tableView/crosstabTableView.xhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728164340/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-analyser/jsf/login.xhtml?invalidSession=true&reason=Session+not+established. |archive-date=28 July 2020 |access-date=10 July 2014 |website=Scotlandscensus.gov.uk}}

| list_by_pop = List of towns and cities in Scotland by population

| div_name = Council area

| city_1 = Glasgow | div_1 = Glasgow{{!}}Glasgow City | pop_1 = 632,350 | img_1 = Finnieston Crane ^ Clyde Arc Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 3851383.jpg

| city_2 = Edinburgh | div_2 = City of Edinburgh Council{{!}}City of Edinburgh | pop_2 = 506,520 | img_2 = Evening view across Carlton Hill towards the Castle (13164472813).jpg

| city_3 = Aberdeen | div_3 = Aberdeen | pop_3 = 198,590 | img_3 = Aberdeen from Torry - geograph.org.uk - 1454885.jpg

| city_4 = Dundee | div_4 = Dundee City Council{{!}}Dundee City | pop_4 = 148,210 | img_4 = DundeeSkyline2017.jpg

| city_5 = Paisley, Renfrewshire{{!}}Paisley | div_5 = Renfrewshire | pop_5 = 77,270

| city_6 = East Kilbride | div_6 = South Lanarkshire | pop_6 = 75,310

| city_7 = Livingston, West Lothian{{!}}Livingston | div_7 = West Lothian | pop_7 = 56,840

| city_8 = Dunfermline | div_8 = Fife | pop_8 = 54,990

| city_9 = Hamilton, South Lanarkshire{{!}}Hamilton | div_9 = South Lanarkshire| pop_9 = 54,480

| city_10 = Cumbernauld | div_10 = North Lanarkshire | pop_10 = 50,530

| city_11 = Kirkcaldy | div_11 = Fife | pop_11 = 50,370

| city_12 = Inverness | div_12 = Highland (council area){{!}}Highland | pop_12 = 47,790

| city_13 = Perth, Scotland{{!}}Perth | div_13 = Perth and Kinross | pop_13 = 47,350

| city_14 = Kilmarnock| div_14 = East Ayrshire | pop_14 = 46,970

| city_15 = Ayr | div_15 = South Ayrshire | pop_15 = 46,260

| city_16 = Coatbridge| div_16 = North Lanarkshire | pop_16 = 43,950

| city_17 = Greenock| div_17 = Inverclyde | pop_17 = 41,280

| city_18 = Glenrothes| div_18 = Fife | pop_18 = 38,360

| city_19 = Stirling | div_19 = Stirling (council area){{!}}Stirling | pop_19 = 37,910

| city_20 = Airdrie, North Lanarkshire{{!}}Airdrie| div_20 = North Lanarkshire | pop_20 = 36,390

}}

{{Main|Languages of Scotland}}

File:Welcome to South Ayrshire - geograph.org.uk - 6168042.jpg boundary sign, displaying English and Scottish Gaelic]]

Scotland has three indigenous languages: English, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic.[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/GaelicLanguage/languageplan Gaelic Language Plan, www.gov.scot] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104033634/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/GaelicLanguage/languageplan |date=4 January 2018 }}. Retrieved 2 October 2014[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/Scots/ScotsLanguagePolicy Scots Language Policy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129035710/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/Scots/ScotsLanguagePolicy |date=29 January 2018 }}, Gov.scot, Retrieved 2 October 2014 Scottish Standard English, a variety of English as spoken in Scotland, is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum, with broad Scots at the other.Stuart-Smith J. Scottish English: Phonology in Varieties of English: The British Isles, Kortman & Upton (Eds), Mouton de Gruyter, New York 2008. p. 47 Scottish Standard English may have been influenced to varying degrees by Scots.Stuart-Smith J. Scottish English: Phonology in Varieties of English: The British Isles, Kortman & Upton (Eds), Mouton de Gruyter, New York 2008. p.48Macafee C. Scots in Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Vol. 11, Elsevier, Oxford, 2005. p. 33 Highland English is spoken in that region, while Gaelic is mostly spoken in the 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".{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Census 2011 |url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-analyser/jsf/tableView/crosstabTableView.xhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728164340/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-analyser/jsf/login.xhtml?invalidSession=true&reason=Session+not+established. |archive-date=28 July 2020 |access-date=27 May 2014 |publisher=National Records of Scotland}} The use of Gaelic is confined to 1% of the population.{{Cite web |last=Kenneth MacKinnon |title=A Century on the Census—Gaelic in Twentieth Century Focus |url=http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/STELLA/STARN/lang/GAELIC/focus.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905013846/http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/STELLA/STARN/lang/GAELIC/focus.htm |archive-date=5 September 2007 |access-date=26 September 2007 |publisher=University of Glasgow}} The number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland dropped from 250,000 in 1881 to 60,000 in 2008."[http://news.scotsman.com/gaelic/Can-TV39s-evolution-ignite-a.4494029.jp Can TV's evolution ignite a Gaelic revolution?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722053120/http://news.scotsman.com/gaelic/Can-TV39s-evolution-ignite-a.4494029.jp |date=22 July 2011 }}". The Scotsman. 16 September 2008. 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.{{cite web |title=Scotland's Census at a glance: Languages |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/census-results/at-a-glance/languages/ |website=Scotland's Census |access-date=7 June 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=2011: Gaelic report (part 1) |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/media/cqoji4qx/report_part_1.pdf |website=Scotland's Census |access-date=7 June 2024}}

Immigration since World War II has given Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee small South Asian communities.{{Cite web |title=Scotland speaks Urdu |url=http://www.urdustan.net/2004/11/scotland-speaks-urdu.html |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Urdustan.net |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816194535/http://www.urdustan.net/2004/11/scotland-speaks-urdu.html |url-status=live }} In 2011, there were an estimated 49,000 ethnically Pakistani people living in Scotland, making them the largest non-White ethnic group.{{Cite web |year=2013 |title=Ethnic groups, Scotland, 2001 and 2011 |url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2asbtable2.pdf |access-date=9 December 2013 |publisher=Scottish Government |archive-date=12 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212071332/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2asbtable2.pdf |url-status=live }} 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.The Pole Position (6 August 2005). Glasgow. Sunday Herald newspaper.

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 descent.The [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on US Census 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108032342/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on|date=8 January 2012}}. The [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_DP2&-ds_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103071250/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_DP2&-ds_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on|date=3 November 2011}} American Community Survey 2004 by the US Census Bureau estimates 5,752,571 people claiming Scottish ancestry and 5,323,888 people claiming Scotch-Irish ancestry. {{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108032342/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on |archive-date=8 January 2012 |access-date=5 February 2016}} Ulster's Protestant population is mainly of lowland Scottish descent,{{Cite journal |date=December 1970 |title=The Scotch-Irish |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1970/1/1970_1_28.shtml |journal=American Heritage Magazine |volume=22 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020035635/http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1970/1/1970_1_28.shtml |archive-date=20 October 2010}} and it is estimated that there are more than 27 million descendants of the Scots-Irish migration now living in the US.{{Cite web |date=12 August 2009 |title=Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America |url=http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780767916899-1 |access-date=30 April 2010 |publisher=Powells.com |archive-date=16 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116001733/http://powells.com/biblio/1-9780767916899-1 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Scots-Irish By Alister McReynolds, writer and lecturer in Ulster-Scots studies |url=http://www.nitakeacloserlook.gov.uk/index/american-connections/scots-irish.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216090343/http://www.nitakeacloserlook.gov.uk/index/american-connections/scots-irish.htm |archive-date=16 February 2009 |access-date=30 April 2010 |publisher=Nitakeacloserlook.gov.uk}} In Canada, the Scottish-Canadian community accounts for 4.7 million people.{{Cite web |date=2 April 2008 |title=2006 Canadian Census |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723224016/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/index-eng.cfm |archive-date=23 July 2013 |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=12.statcan.ca}} About 20% of the original European settler population of New Zealand came from Scotland.Linguistic Archaeology: The Scottish Input to New Zealand English Phonology Trudgill et al. Journal of English Linguistics.2003; 31: 103–124

{{Main|Religion in Scotland}}

File:St.Giles Cathedral - panoramio.jpg]]

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%).{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/ |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=Scotland's Census |language=en |archive-date=21 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521162438/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/ |url-status=live }} 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.

Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now Scotland for more than 1,400 years.L. Alcock, Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests in Northern Britain AD 550–850 (Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland), {{ISBN|0-903903-24-5}}, p. 63.Lucas Quensel von Kalben, "The British Church and the Emergence of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom", in T. Dickinson and D. Griffiths, eds, Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History, 10: Papers for the 47th Sachsensymposium, York, September 1996 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), {{ISBN|086054138X}}, p. 93.

Since the Scottish Reformation of 1560, the national church (the Church of Scotland, also known as The Kirk) has been Protestant in orientation and Reformed in theology. Since 1689 it has had a Presbyterian system of church government independent from the state. Its membership dropped just below 300,000 in 2020 (5% of the total population){{Cite web|url=https://churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/80744/Order-of-Proceedings-2021.pdf|title=Church of Scotland General Assembly 2021 CONGREGATIONAL STATISTICS 2020 Summary Page 75|access-date=27 April 2022|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602190154/https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/80744/Order-of-Proceedings-2021.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=Church of Scotland 'struggling to stay alive' |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/church-of-scotland-struggling-to-stay-alive-1-3391152 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005055504/http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/church-of-scotland-struggling-to-stay-alive-1-3391152 |archive-date=5 October 2015 |access-date=28 June 2016 |website=scotsman.com}}{{Cite web |title=Survey indicates 1.5 million Scots identify with Church |url=http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news_and_events/news/archive/articles/survey_indicates_1.5_million_scots_identify_with_church |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207160336/http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news_and_events/news/archive/articles/survey_indicates_1.5_million_scots_identify_with_church |archive-date=7 December 2016 |access-date=29 September 2016 |website=Churchofscotland.org.uk}} 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.Andrew Collier, "Scotland's Confident Catholics", The Tablet 10 January 2009, 16. 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.{{Cite web |date=20 May 2016 |title=Scottish Episcopal Church could be first in UK to conduct same-sex weddings |url=http://www.scottishlegal.com/2016/05/20/scottish-episcopal-church-could-be-first-in-uk-to-conduct-same-sex-weddings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913144202/http://www.scottishlegal.com/2016/05/20/scottish-episcopal-church-could-be-first-in-uk-to-conduct-same-sex-weddings |archive-date=13 September 2017 |access-date=1 October 2016 |website=Scottish Legal News}}

Other minority faiths include Islam (2.2%), Hinduism (0.55%), Sikhism and Buddhism.{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Census 2011 |url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS209SCb.pdf |access-date=11 August 2016 |publisher=National Records of Scotland |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052049/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS209SCb.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census |url=http://www.gro-gov.scot/press/news2005/analysis-of-religion-in-the-2001-census.html |access-date=26 September 2007 |publisher=General Register Office for Scotland}} The Samyé Ling monastery near Eskdalemuir, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007, is the oldest Buddhist monastery in Western Europe.{{Cite web |title=In the Scottish Lowlands, Europe's first Buddhist monastery turns 40 |url=http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=3,4102,0,0,1,0 |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Buddhistchannel.tv |archive-date=19 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919134434/http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=3,4102,0,0,1,0 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Education in Scotland}}

File:+ 908 wurde St Andrews bereits Bischohfssitz. 13 (cropped).jpg is the oldest in Scotland and one of the oldest worldwide{{cite web |title=History and hertigate |url=https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/about/history/ |website=www.st-andrews.ac.uk |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=28 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128161357/https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/about/history/ |url-status=live }}]]

The Scottish education system has always had a characteristic emphasis on a broad education.{{Cite web |title=A Guide to Education and Training in Scotland – "the broad education long regarded as characteristic of Scotland" |date=17 March 2003 |url=http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2003/03/16743/19914 |access-date=18 October 2007 |publisher=Scottish Government |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402101320/http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2003/03/16743/19914 |url-status=live }} In the 15th century, the Humanist emphasis on education cumulated with the passing of the Education Act 1496, which decreed that all sons of barons and freeholders of substance should attend grammar schools to learn "perfyct Latyne", resulting in an increase in literacy among a male and wealthy elite.P. J. Bawcutt and J. H. Williams, A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry (Woodbridge: Brewer, 2006), {{ISBN|1-84384-096-0}}, pp. 29–30. In the Reformation, the 1560 First Book of Discipline set out a plan for a school in every parish, but this proved financially impossible.R. A. Houston, Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600–1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), {{ISBN|0-521-89088-8}}, p. 5. In 1616 an act in Privy council commanded every parish to establish a school.{{Citation |title=School education prior to 1873 |url=http://www.scan.org.uk/knowledgebase/topics/education_box1.htm |work=Scottish Archive Network |year=2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928100213/http://www.scan.org.uk/knowledgebase/topics/education_box1.htm |archive-date=28 September 2011 |url-status=dead}} By the late seventeenth century there was a largely complete network of parish schools in the lowlands, but in the Highlands basic education was still lacking in many areas.R. Anderson, "The history of Scottish Education pre-1980", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, Scottish Education: Post-Devolution (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd edn., 2003), {{ISBN|0-7486-1625-X}}, pp. 219–228. Education remained a matter for the church rather than the state until the Education (Scotland) Act 1872."Schools and schooling" in M. Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford, 2001), pp. 561–563.

Education in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government and is overseen by its executive agency Education Scotland.{{Cite web|url=https://education.gov.scot/|title=Education Scotland | Education Scotland|website=education.gov.scot|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=12 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412110913/https://education.gov.scot/|url-status=live}} The Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland's national school curriculum, presently provides the curricular framework for children and young people from age 3 to 18.{{Cite web |title=Curriculum for Excellence – Aims, Purposes and Principles |url=http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/index.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801110701/http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/index.asp |archive-date=1 August 2010 |publisher=Scottish Government}} All 3- and 4-year-old children in Scotland are entitled to a free nursery place. Formal primary education begins at approximately 5 years old and lasts for 7 years (P1–P7); children in Scotland study National Qualifications of the Curriculum for Excellence between the ages of 14 and 18. The school leaving age is 16, after which students may choose to remain at school and study further qualifications. A small number of students at certain private schools may follow the English system and study towards GCSEs and A and AS-Levels instead.{{Cite web |title=The Scottish Exam System |url=http://www.scis.org.uk/genInfo/genInfo_scott_exam.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214084916/http://www.scis.org.uk/genInfo/genInfo_scott_exam.html |archive-date=14 February 2008 |access-date=17 September 2014}}

There are fifteen Scottish universities, some of which are among the oldest in the world.{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland |url=http://www.carnegie-trust.org/what_we_do.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011070532/http://www.carnegie-trust.org/what_we_do.htm |archive-date=11 October 2007 |access-date=18 October 2007 |publisher=Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland}}{{Cite web |title=Understanding Scottish Qualifications |url=http://www.sac.ac.uk/learning/prospective/international/ireland/IrelandScotsqual |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522144025/http://www.sac.ac.uk/learning/prospective/international/ireland/IrelandScotsqual |archive-date=22 May 2012 |access-date=18 October 2007 |publisher=Scottish Agricultural College}} The four universities founded before the end of the 16th century – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh – are collectively known as the ancient universities of Scotland, all of which rank among the 200 best universities in the world in the THE rankings, with Edinburgh placing in the top 50.{{Cite web |date=20 August 2019 |title=World University Rankings |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/world-ranking |access-date=1 August 2020 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918163456/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/world-ranking |url-status=live }} Scotland had more universities per capita in QS' World University Rankings' top 100 in 2012 than any other nation.{{Cite web |date=11 September 2012 |title=Scotland tops global university rankings |url=http://www.newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-news/5813-scotland-tops-global-university-rankings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309062707/http://www.newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-news/5813-scotland-tops-global-university-rankings |archive-date=9 March 2013 |access-date=11 January 2013 |publisher=Newsnet Scotland}} The country produces 1% of the world's published research with less than 0.1% of the world's population, and higher education institutions account for 9% of Scotland's service sector exports.{{Cite web |title=A Framework for Higher Education in Scotland: Higher Education Review Phase 2 |date=20 March 2003 |url=http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2003/03/16786/20354 |access-date=18 October 2007 |publisher=Scottish Government |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402172654/http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2003/03/16786/20354 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=What is higher education? |url=http://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/Facts%20and%20Figures/HigherEducation.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040316132403/http://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/Facts%20and%20Figures/HigherEducation.pdf |archive-date=16 March 2004 |access-date=18 October 2007 |publisher=Universities Scotland}} Scotland's University Courts are the only bodies in Scotland authorised to award degrees.

{{Main|Healthcare in Scotland}}

{{further|List of hospitals in Scotland|Social care in Scotland}}

File:View along the access road towards the new Southern General Hospital (geograph 4542089).jpg's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow. It is the largest hospital campus in Europe.{{Cite web |title=Scotshield wins hospital fire system contract |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/13078939.scotshield-wins-hospital-fire-system-contract |access-date=3 January 2019 |website=HeraldScotland |date=30 October 2012 |archive-date=3 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103210734/https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/13078939.scotshield-wins-hospital-fire-system-contract/ |url-status=live }}]]

Health care in Scotland is mainly provided by NHS Scotland, Scotland's public health care system. This was founded by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 (later repealed by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978) that took effect on 5 July 1948 to coincide with the launch of the NHS in England and Wales. Prior to 1948, half of Scotland's landmass was already covered by state-funded health care, provided by the Highlands and Islands Medical Service.[http://www.60yearsofnhsscotland.co.uk/history/birth-of-nhs-scotland/highlands-and-islands-medical-service.html Highlands and Islands Medical Service (HIMS)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114040031/http://www.60yearsofnhsscotland.co.uk/history/birth-of-nhs-scotland/highlands-and-islands-medical-service.html |date=14 January 2013 }} www.60yearsofnhsscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2008. Healthcare policy and funding is the responsibility of the Scottish Government's Health Directorates. In 2014, the NHS in Scotland had around 140,000 staff.{{Cite web |title=About the NHS in Scotland |url=http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/introduction.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628224652/http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/introduction.aspx |archive-date=28 June 2014 |access-date=17 September 2014}}

The total fertility rate (TFR) in Scotland is below the replacement rate of 2.1 (the TFR was 1.73 in 2011{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Population 2011: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends 157th Edition |url=http://www.gro-gov.scot/files2/stats/annual-review-2011/j21285204.htm |access-date=1 May 2013 |publisher=Gro-gov.scot}}). The majority of births are to unmarried women (51.3% of births were outside of marriage in 2012{{Cite web |title=Table Q1: Births, stillbirths, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships, numbers and rates, Scotland, quarterly, 2002 to 2012 |url=http://www.gro-gov.scot/files2/stats/births-marriages-deaths-quarterly/ve-2012-q4-tableq1.pdf |access-date=1 May 2013 |publisher=General Register Office for Scotland}}).

Life expectancy for those born in Scotland between 2012 and 2014 is 77.1 years for males and 81.1 years for females.{{Cite report |url=https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/life-expectancy-areas-in-scotland/12-14/life-exp-in-scotland-2012-to-2014.pdf |title=Life Expectancy for Areas within Scotland 2012–2014 |date=13 October 2015 |publisher=National Records of Scotland |page=5 |access-date=22 March 2017 |archive-date=6 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106035600/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/life-expectancy-areas-in-scotland/12-14/life-exp-in-scotland-2012-to-2014.pdf |url-status=live }} This is the lowest of any of the four countries of the UK. 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.[https://statistics.gov.scot/slice?dataset=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdata%2Fhospital-admissions&http%3A%2F%2Fpurl.org%2Flinked-data%2Fcube%23measureType=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fmeasure-properties%2Fratio&http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fdimension%2FadmissionType=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fconcept%2Fadmission-type%2Fcancer&http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fdimension%2Fage=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fconcept%2Fage%2Fall&http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fdimension%2Fgender=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fconcept%2Fgender%2Fall Hospital Admissions: a data cube spreadsheet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610011802/https://statistics.gov.scot/slice?dataset=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdata%2Fhospital-admissions&http%3A%2F%2Fpurl.org%2Flinked-data%2Fcube%23measureType=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fmeasure-properties%2Fratio&http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fdimension%2FadmissionType=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fconcept%2Fadmission-type%2Fcancer&http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fdimension%2Fage=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fconcept%2Fage%2Fall&http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fdimension%2Fgender=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fdef%2Fconcept%2Fgender%2Fall |date=10 June 2024 }}, Scottish Government Hospital admissions for other diseases, such as coronary heart disease (CHD) were lower, with 727 admissions in 2002, and decreasing to 489 in 2012.

{{Main|Politics of Scotland|Scottish Parliament|Scottish Government}}

{{further|Political parties in Scotland|Elections in Scotland|Electoral system of Scotland}}

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Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy whose current sovereign is Charles III.{{Cite web |date=5 July 2023 |title=Scotland marks the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla |url=https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2023-07-05/scotland-marks-the-coronation-of-king-charles-iii-and-queen-camilla |access-date=27 October 2023 |website=royal.uk |archive-date=27 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027134536/https://www.royal.uk/news-and-activity/2023-07-05/scotland-marks-the-coronation-of-king-charles-iii-and-queen-camilla |url-status=live }} The monarchy uses a variety of styles, titles and other symbols specific to Scotland, most of which originated in the pre–union Kingdom of Scotland. These include the Royal Standard of Scotland, the royal coat of arms, and the title Duke of Rothesay, which is traditionally given to the heir apparent. There are also distinct Scottish Officers of State and Officers of the Crown, and the Order of the Thistle, a chivalric order, is specific to the country.{{Cite web |date=29 June 2016 |title=Opening of Parliament: Procession of the Crown of Scotland |url=http://www.parliament.scot/newsandmediacentre/100237.aspx |access-date=9 July 2016 |publisher=Scottish Parliament |archive-date=2 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702110213/http://www.parliament.scot/newsandmediacentre/100237.aspx |url-status=live }}

The Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Parliament of Scotland are the country's primary legislative bodies. The UK Parliament is sovereign and therefore has supremacy over the Scottish Parliament,{{Cite book |last=Select Committee on the Constitution |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5802/ldselect/ldconst/142/14206.htm#_idTextAnchor033 |title=Respect and Co-operation: Building a Stronger Union for the 21st century |publisher=House of Lords |year=2022 |chapter=Parliamentary Sovereignty |access-date=27 October 2023 |archive-date=27 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027134536/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5802/ldselect/ldconst/142/14206.htm#_idTextAnchor033 |url-status=live }} but generally restricts itself to legislating over reserved matters: primarily some taxes, some aspects of social security, defence, international relations, and broadcasting.{{Cite web |title=Government of Scotland Facts |url=http://www.scotland.org/about/fact-file/government/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503130512/http://www.scotland.org/about/fact-file/government/index.html |archive-date=3 May 2010 |access-date=17 September 2014}} There is a convention the UK Parliament will not legislate over devolved matters without the Scottish Parliament's consent.{{Cite web |title=Sewel Convention |url=https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/sewel-convention/ |access-date=27 October 2023 |website=UK Parliament |archive-date=30 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430144651/https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/sewel-convention/ |url-status=live }} Scotland is represented in the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the UK Parliament, by 57 Members of Parliament (out of a total of 650).{{Cite web |title=Parliamentary constituencies |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/constituencies/ |access-date=27 October 2023 |website=UK Parliament |archive-date=2 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202095932/https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/constituencies/ |url-status=live }} They are elected to single-member constituencies under the first-past-the-post system of voting. The Scotland Office represents the British government in Scotland and represents Scottish interests within the government.{{Cite web |date=9 August 2004 |title=Scotland Office Charter |url=http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/our-communications/doc.php?id=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030185025/http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/our-communications/doc.php?id=11 |archive-date=30 October 2007 |access-date=22 December 2007 |website=Scotland Office website}} The Scotland Office is led by the secretary of state for Scotland, who sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.{{Cite web |date=24 July 2019 |title=Alister Jack: What do we know about the new Scottish Secretary? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-49103859 |access-date=18 December 2019 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |archive-date=18 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218082821/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-49103859 |url-status=live }} The Labour MP Ian Murray has held the position since July 2024.{{cite news|date=5 July 2024|title=Ian Murray: From lone Labour MP to Scottish secretary|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxe2xyv13g3o.amp|work=BBC|access-date=5 July 2024}}

File:Scottish Parliament - 49188771378.jpg in Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Parliament and its committees]]

The Scottish Parliament is a unicameral legislature with 129 members (MSPs): 73 of them represent individual constituencies and are elected on a first-past-the-post system, and the other 56 are elected in eight different electoral regions by the additional member system. MSPs normally serve for a five-year period.{{Cite web |date=3 June 2020 |title=Parliamentary and local election terms extended |url=https://www.gov.scot/news/parliamentary-and-local-election-terms-extended |access-date=16 September 2020 |website=www.gov.scot |publisher=Scottish Government |archive-date=21 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021124957/https://www.gov.scot/news/parliamentary-and-local-election-terms-extended/ |url-status=live }} The Scottish Parliament has the most extensive devolved powers amongst the devolved parliaments in the United Kingdom,{{cite web |title=The progress of devolution - Erskine May - UK Parliament |url=https://erskinemay.parliament.uk/section/4537/the-progress-of-devolution |website=erskinemay.parliament.uk |access-date=1 March 2025 |language=en}} and considered one of the most powerful devolved parliaments internationally.{{cite web |title=David Mundell speech: 20 years of Scottish devolution |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/david-mundell-speech-20-years-of-scottish-devolution |website=GOV.UK |access-date=1 March 2025 |language=en}} The largest party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, has been the Scottish National Party (SNP), which won 64 of the 129 seats.{{Cite web |title=Scottish Parliament election 2021 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c37d28xdn99t/scottish-parliament-election-2021 |access-date=9 May 2021 |website=BBC News |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011204736/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c37d28xdn99t/scottish-parliament-election-2021 |url-status=live }} The Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens also have representation in the current Parliament. The next Scottish Parliament election is due to be held on 7 May 2026.{{Cite web |title=Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2020/12/enacted#:~:text=Scottish%20Elections%20%28Reform%29%20Act%202020%202020%20asp%2012,and%20received%20Royal%20Assent%20on%208th%20July%202020 |access-date=9 May 2021 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |archive-date=9 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509130926/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2020/12/enacted#:~:text=Scottish%20Elections%20%28Reform%29%20Act%202020%202020%20asp%2012,and%20received%20Royal%20Assent%20on%208th%20July%202020 |url-status=live }}

The Scottish Government, which has been described as one of the most powerful devolved governments globally,{{cite web |title=5 reasons why Scotland is more powerful as part of the United Kingdom |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/5-reasons-why-scotland-is-more-powerful-as-part-of-the-united-kingdom |website=GOV.UK |access-date=1 January 2025 |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |date=21 November 2014 |title=People: Who runs the Scottish Government |url=http://www.gov.scot/About/People |access-date=11 January 2015 |publisher=Scottish Government |archive-date=25 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225061456/http://www.gov.scot/About/People |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |title=First Minister |url=https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/first-minister/ |website=www.gov.scot |access-date=24 August 2024 |language=en}} John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has served as the first minister since 8 May 2024.{{cite web |title=First Minister swearing in ceremony |url=https://www.ros.gov.uk/about/news/2024/first-minister-swearing-in-ceremony |website=ros.gov.uk |publisher=National Records of Scotland |access-date=24 August 2024}}

{{clear}}

{{Main|International relations of Scotland|List of consular missions in Scotland}}

{{see|Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom}}

File:First Minister meets President of Zambia (53802279691).jpg meets with President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema at Bute House, 2024]]

As leader of the Scottish Government, the first minister is a member of the Heads of Government Council and the Council of the Nations and Regions, the bodies which facilitate intergovernmental relations.{{Cite web |date=11 December 2017 |title=StackPath |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/devolution-joint-ministerial-committee |website=www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk |access-date=14 January 2021 |archive-date=6 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206003835/https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/devolution-joint-ministerial-committee |url-status=live }} Foreign policy is a reserved matter and primarily the responsibility of the Foreign Office, a department of the UK Government.{{Cite web |date=14 February 2017 |title=Devolved and Reserved Matters – Visit & Learn |url=http://www.parliament.scot/visitandlearn/Education/18642.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722092046/http://www.parliament.scot/visitandlearn/Education/18642.aspx |archive-date=22 July 2017 |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=Scottish Parliament}} Nevertheless, the Scottish Government may promote Scottish interests abroad and encourage foreign investment in Scotland.{{Cite web |title=International |url=http://www.gov.scot/Topics/International |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=gov.scot |archive-date=6 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606160325/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/International |url-status=live }} The first minister and the constitution secretary{{Cite web |title=Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs |url=https://beta.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/cabinet-secretary-culture-tourism-external-affairs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801221257/https://beta.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/cabinet-secretary-culture-tourism-external-affairs |archive-date=1 August 2018 |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=gov.scot}} have portfolios which include foreign affairs.{{Cite web |title=Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development |url=https://beta.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/minister-international-development-europe |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=gov.scot |archive-date=23 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523091452/https://beta.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/minister-international-development-europe/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=The Review of Intergovernmental Relations |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1046083/The_Review_of_Intergovernmental_Relations.pdf |access-date=30 May 2023 |publisher=Government of the United Kingdom |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024210943/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1046083/The_Review_of_Intergovernmental_Relations.pdf |url-status=live }} Scotland's international network consists of two Scotland Houses, one in Brussels and the other in London, seven Scottish Government international offices, and over thirty Scottish Development International offices in other countries globally. Both Scotland Houses are independent Scottish Government establishments, whilst the seven Scottish Government international offices are based in British embassies or British High Commission offices.{{cite web |title=Scotland's International Network Annual Report 2022-23 |url=https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/corporate-report/2023/12/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23/documents/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23/govscot%3Adocument/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23.pdf |publisher=Scottish Government |access-date=11 December 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211192122/https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/corporate-report/2023/12/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23/documents/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23/govscot%3Adocument/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2022-23.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2023 }} The Scottish Government has a network of offices in Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, London, Ottawa, Paris, and Washington, D.C., which promote Scottish interests in their respective areas.{{Cite web |title=International relations - gov.scot |url=https://www.gov.scot/policies/international-relations/ |website=gov.scot |access-date=17 July 2023 |archive-date=11 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411115447/https://www.gov.scot/policies/international-relations/ |url-status=live }} Additionally, the country has a number of foreign diplomatic missions, most of which are located in the capital city, Edinburgh.{{cite web |title=Consular Corps in Scotland {{!}} Consulates in Scotland |url=https://www.consularcorpsscotland.org |website=CCS |access-date=9 February 2025 |language=en}}

File:Henry McLeish and George Bush.jpeg meets with U.S. president George W. Bush at the White House, 2001]]

The nation has historic ties to France as a result of the 'Auld Alliance', a treaty signed between the Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of France in 1295 to discourage an English invasion of either country.{{Cite web |title=Scotland's History – The Auld Alliance |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/auld_alliance |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 January 2023 |archive-date=22 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222152550/https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/auld_alliance/ |url-status=live }} The alliance effectively ended in the sixteenth century, but the two countries continue to have a close relationship, with a Statement of Intent being signed in 2013 between the Scottish Government and the Government of France.{{Cite web |title=Scottish & French Connections |url=https://www.scotland.org/events/lorient-celtic-festival/scottish-french-connections |website=Scotland.org |access-date=8 January 2021 |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109233202/https://www.scotland.org/events/lorient-celtic-festival/scottish-french-connections |url-status=dead }} In 2004 the Scotland Malawi Partnership was established, which co-ordinates Scottish activities to strengthen existing links with Malawi, and in 2021, the Scottish Government and Government of Ireland signed the Ireland-Scotland Bilateral Review, committing both governments to increased levels of co-operation on areas such as diplomacy, economy and business.{{Cite web |date=3 November 2005 |title=About us |url=https://www.scotland-malawipartnership.org/who-we-are/about-us |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=Scotland Malawi Partnership |archive-date=1 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801222745/https://www.scotland-malawipartnership.org/who-we-are/about-us/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=29 November 2016 |title=First Minister in Dublin: Day 2 |url=https://firstminister.gov.scot/first-minister-in-dublin-day-2 |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=First Minister of Scotland |archive-date=26 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626001525/https://firstminister.gov.scot/first-minister-in-dublin-day-2/ |url-status=live }} Scotland also has historical and cultural ties with the Scandinavian countries.{{Cite web |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Tara |date=29 September 2022 |title=Arts festival celebrates Scotland's ties to Canada and Scandinavia |url=https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/highlands-arts-festival-celebrates-scotlands-ties-to-canada-and-scandinavia |access-date=13 October 2022 |website=STV News |language=en-GB}}{{Citation |title=How DNA reveals Vikings never left Scotland – BBC REEL |date=6 June 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw3VbJ0RTcQ |language=en |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621152150/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw3VbJ0RTcQ&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }} Scottish Government policy advocates for stronger political relations with the Nordic and Baltic countries, which has resulted in some Nordic-inspired policies being adopted such as baby boxes.{{Cite web |last=Heather |first=Alistair |date=17 May 2020 |title=Why Finns believe Scotland could become Nordic nation number six |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/alistair-heather-why-finns-believe-scotland-could-become-nordic-nation-number-six-2855748 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201165903/https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/alistair-heather-why-finns-believe-scotland-could-become-nordic-nation-number-six-2855748 |archive-date=1 December 2022 |access-date=25 September 2022 |website=The Scotsman}}{{Cite web |title=Nordic Baltic Policy Statement |url=https://www.gov.scot/policies/europe/nordic-baltic-policy-statement/ |access-date=12 January 2023 |website=gov.scot |language=en |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112223310/https://www.gov.scot/policies/europe/nordic-baltic-policy-statement/ |url-status=live }} Representatives from the Scottish Parliament attended the Nordic Council for the first time in 2022.{{Cite news|url=https://www.parliament.scot/about/news/news-listing/presiding-officer-leads-holyrood-delegation-to-strengthen-links-with-nordic-council|title=Presiding Officer leads Holyrood delegation to strengthen links with Nordic Council|date=31 October 2022|website=parliament.scot|access-date=15 July 2023|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115033121/https://www.parliament.scot/about/news/news-listing/presiding-officer-leads-holyrood-delegation-to-strengthen-links-with-nordic-council|url-status=live}}

Scotland is a member of the British–Irish Council, the Conference of European Regions with Legislative Power (REGLEG), the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions,{{cite web |title=National Associations |url=https://ccre-cemr.org/national-associations |website=CEMR CCRE |access-date=15 November 2024}} the Inter-Parliamentary Forum, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities,{{cite web |title=Détail pays - Congress of Local and Regional Authorities - www.coe.int |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/congress/country?id=13 |website=Congress of Local and Regional Authorities |access-date=15 November 2024}} the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association{{cite web |title=Scotland |url=https://www.uk-cpa.org/where-we-work/americas-caribbean-europe/scotland |website=UK-CPA |access-date=17 August 2024 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=7 December 2011 |title=Scotland / Alba |url=http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/member-administrations/scotland-alba |access-date=4 May 2013 |publisher=British-Irish Council |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615223139/http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/member-administrations/scotland-alba |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Members |url=http://www.britishirish.org/members-2 |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly |archive-date=14 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214125526/http://www.britishirish.org/members-2/ |url-status=live }} and the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly with the European Union.{{cite web |title=Parliamentary Partnership Assembly |url=https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-constitution-europe-external-affairs-and-culture-committee/correspondence/2021/parliamentary-partnership-assembly |website=www.parliament.scot |access-date=22 June 2024 |language=en}} Scotland held the Presidency of Conference of European Regions with Legislative Power from November 2003 until November 2004 during the premiership of Jack McConnell.{{cite web |title=Scotland on the international stage |url=https://spice-spotlight.scot/2019/09/18/scotland-on-the-international-stage/ |website=SPICe Spotlight {{!}} Solas air SPICe |access-date=9 November 2024 |date=18 September 2019}}

{{Main|Scottish devolution|Scottish independence}}

File:Donald Dewar in Strasbourg 01.jpg, the inaugural first minister and was referred to as the "Father of the Nation"{{cite web |title=Donald Dewar, Father of a Nation? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3727308.stm |website=BBC |access-date=20 January 2025 |date=8 October 2004}}]]

Devolution—the granting of central government powers to a regional government{{Cite OED|term=Devolution|id=4958732321|access-date=4 November 2023}}– gained increasing popularity as a policy in the United Kingdom the late twentieth century; it was described by John Smith, then Leader of the Labour Party, as the "settled will of the Scottish people".Cavanagh, Michael (2001) [http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/aspect/docs/aspectcampaigns.htm The Campaigns for a Scottish Parliament] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202030909/http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/aspect/docs/aspectcampaigns.htm |date=2 February 2016 }}. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved 12 April 2008. The Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government were subsequently established under the Scotland Act 1998; the Act followed a successful referendum in 1997 which found majority support for both creating the Parliament and granting it limited powers to vary income tax.{{Cite news |last=Kerr |first=Andrew |date=8 September 2017 |title=Scottish devolution referendum: The birth of a parliament |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-41189455 |access-date=3 January 2019 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129022824/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-41189455 |url-status=live }} The Act enabled the new institutions to legislate in all areas not explicitly reserved by the UK Parliament.{{Cite web |title=Devolved and Reserved Powers |url=https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers |access-date=27 October 2023 |website=www.parliament.scot |language=en |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920053732/https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers |url-status=live }}

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;{{Cite web |last=Fraser |first=Douglas |date=2 February 2016 |title=Scotland's tax powers: What it has and what's coming? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35470086 |access-date=27 April 2017 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |archive-date=3 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203203616/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35470086 |url-status=live }} the 2016 Act also gave the Scottish Government powers to manage the affairs of the Crown Estate in Scotland.{{Cite news |date=16 March 2016 |title=Holyrood gives approval to devolved powers Scotland Bill |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35815426 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125214530/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35815426 |url-status=live }} Conversely, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 constrains the Scottish Parliament's autonomy to regulate goods and services,{{cite book |last1=Masterman |first1=Roger |last2=Murray |first2=Colin |title=Constitutional and Administrative Law |date=2022 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781009158503 |pages=471–473 |edition=Third |chapter=The{{nbsp}}United Kingdom's Devolution Arrangements |quote=UK Internal Market Act 2020 imposed new restrictions on the ability of the devolved institutions to enact measures...mutual recognition and non-discrimination requirements mean that standards set by the legislatures in Wales and Scotland cannot restrict the sale of goods which are acceptable in other parts of the UK. In other words, imposing such measures would simply create competitive disadvantages for businesses in Wales and Scotland; they would not change the product standards or environmental protections applicable to all goods which can be purchased in Wales and Scotland. |doi=10.1017/9781009158497 |s2cid=248929397 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/constitutional-and-administrative-law/E1EB9FEDC43459C991E42BD945231DB5 |access-date=27 October 2023 |archive-date=4 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504011056/https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/constitutional-and-administrative-law/E1EB9FEDC43459C991E42BD945231DB5 |url-status=live }}{{cite journal|last1=Dougan|first1=Michael|last2=Hunt|first2=Jo|last3=McEwen|first3=Nicola|last4=McHarg|first4=Aileen|author-link1=Michael Dougan|author-link3=Nicola McEwen|title=Sleeping with an Elephant: Devolution and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020|journal=Law Quarterly Review|date=2022|volume=138|issue=Oct|pages=650–676|url=https://dro.dur.ac.uk/35167/|location=London|publisher=Sweet & Maxwell|ssrn=4018581|via=Durham Research Online|access-date=4 March 2022|quote=The Act has restrictive – and potentially damaging – consequences for the regulatory capacity of the devolved legislatures...the primary purpose of the legislation was to constrain the capacity of the devolved institutions to use their regulatory autonomy...in practice, it constrains the ability of the devolved institutions to make effective regulatory choices for their territories in ways that do not apply to the choices made by the UK government and parliament for the English market.|issn=0023-933X|archive-date=2 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802185022/https://dro.dur.ac.uk/35167/|url-status=live}} and the academic view is that this undermines devolution.{{refn|{{cite book |last1=Guderjan |first1=Marius |title=Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Cooperation and Conflict in a Devolved Unitary State |date=2023 |publisher=Routledge |location=London/New York|doi=10.4324/9781003349952|isbn=978-1-032-39485-5 |pages=166–176|s2cid=257877108 |quote=Since the act became law on 17 December 2020, the devolved administrations can continue to set standards for goods and services produced within their territory, but their rules do not apply to goods and services coming from other jurisdictions. They also must accept products imported into one part of the UK. This undermines their legislative autonomy and renders certain policies ineffective|url=https://www.routledge.com/Intergovernmental-Relations-in-the-UK-Cooperation-and-Conflict-in-a-Devolved/Guderjan/p/book/9781032394855}}{{cite journal |last=Keating |first=Michael |title=Taking back control? Brexit and the territorial constitution of the United Kingdom|author-link=Michael Keating (political scientist)|journal=Journal of European Public Policy|publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=Abingdon|date=2 February 2021 |volume=29|issue=4|pages=491–509|doi=10.1080/13501763.2021.1876156|hdl=1814/70296|doi-access=free|hdl-access=free|quote=The UK Internal Market Act gives ministers sweeping powers to enforce mutual recognition and non-discrimination across the four jurisdictions. Existing differences and some social and health matters are exempted but these are much less extensive than the exemptions permitted under the EU Internal Market provisions. Only after an amendment in the House of Lords, the Bill was amended to provide a weak and non-binding consent mechanism for amendments (equivalent to the Sewel Convention) to the list of exemptions. The result is that, while the devolved governments retain regulatory competences, these are undermined by the fact that goods and services originating in, or imported into, England can be marketed anywhere.}}{{cite journal |last1=Lydgate |first1=Emily |last2=Anthony |first2=Chloe |title=Brexit, food law and the UK's search for a post-EU identity |journal=Modern Law Review |date=September 2022 |volume=85 |issue=5|publisher=Wiley|location=London|doi-access=free|quote=While the mutual recognition principle preserves devolved powers, rather than requiring that devolved nations conform with a wide range of harmonised standards (as they did in the EU), the Act undermines devolution simply because devolved legislation will no longer apply to all relevant activity in the devolved territory...Devolution is also undermined by the asymmetry of legislative authority...the UK Internal Market Act is a protected enactment, which devolved administrations are unable to appeal or modify, but which the UK parliament will be able to modify when legislating for England.|pages=1168–1190 |doi=10.1111/1468-2230.12735}}{{cite report |last1=Dougan |first1=Michael |last2=Hayward |first2=Katy |last3=Hunt |first3=Jo |last4=McEwen |first4=Nicola |last5=McHarg |first5=Aileen |last6=Wincott |first6=Daniel |date=2020 |title=UK and the Internal Market, Devolution and the Union |url=https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/publications/uk-and-internal-market-devolution-and-union |quote=The market access principles undermine devolved competences in two ways...[they] significantly undermine the purpose of devolution, which was to enable the devolved nations and regions to legislate according to their own local needs and political preferences. |department=Centre on Constitutional Change |author-link1=Michael Dougan |author-link2=Katy Hayward |author-link4=Nicola McEwen |author-link6=Daniel Wincott |publisher=University of Edinburgh; University of Aberdeen |pages=2–3 |access-date=16 October 2020 |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018185830/https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/publications/uk-and-internal-market-devolution-and-union |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Armstrong |first1=Kenneth A. |title=The Governance of Economic Unionism after the United Kingdom Internal Market Act |journal=Modern Law Review |date=May 2022 |volume=85 |issue=3 |pages=635–660 |doi=10.1111/1468-2230.12706|doi-access=free|location=Oxford|publisher=Wiley|quote=So when used to disapply relevant requirements in a destination devolved jurisdiction the effect is different from that generated by the devolution statutes when they treat rules that are outside of competence as being 'not law'. In this way, the legislative competence of each jurisdiction is formally maintained, but its exercise constrained by the extraterritorial reach of regulatory norms applicable elsewhere in the UK and by the potential for regulatory competition where local producers are subject to local rules but competing goods can enter that market in compliance with the regulatory standards from where they originate...the UKIM Act 2020 allows extraterritorial application of rules that reflect different preferences or even undermines local preferences through regulatory competition, its effects are not insignificant for devolved legislatures.}}}}

The 2007 Scottish Parliament elections led to the Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence, forming a minority government. The new government established a "National Conversation" on constitutional issues, proposing a number of options such as increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament, federalism, or a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. The three main unionist opposition parties–Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats–created a separate commission to investigate the distribution of powers between devolved Scottish and UK-wide bodies while not considering independence.{{Cite news |title=Party people confront new realities |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7195800.stm |access-date=18 January 2008 |first=David |last=Porter |date=18 January 2008 |archive-date=23 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123085719/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7195800.stm |url-status=live }} In August 2009 the SNP proposed a bill to hold a referendum on independence in November 2010, but was defeated by opposition from all other major parties.{{Cite web |date=2 September 2009 |title=Referendum Bill |url=http://www.gov.scot/About/programme-for-government/2009-10/summary-of-bills/referendum-bill |archive-url=http://www.gov.scot/About/Factfile/18060/11552 |archive-date=10 September 2009 |access-date=10 September 2009 |website= |publisher=Scottish Government}}{{Cite news |last=MacLeod |first=Angus |date=3 September 2009 |title=Salmond to push ahead with referendum Bill |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6820542.ece |url-status=dead |access-date=10 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531170941/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6820542.ece |archive-date=31 May 2010}}{{Cite news |date=6 September 2010 |title=Scottish independence plan 'an election issue' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11196967 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=7 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007113657/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11196967 |url-status=live }}

File:The Edinburgh Agreement signing (8090772713).jpg in 2012 to hold a referendum on independence]]

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.{{Cite news |last=Black |first=Andrew |date=21 March 2013 |title=Scottish independence: Referendum to be held on 18 September, 2014 |work=BBC News |location=London |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21828424 |access-date=21 March 2013 |archive-date=21 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321165209/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21828424 |url-status=live }} The referendum resulted in a rejection of independence, by 55.3% to 44.7%.{{Cite news |date=19 September 2014 |title=Scotland votes no: the union has survived, but the questions for the left are profound |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/19/scottish-independence-union-survived-put-away-flags}}{{Cite web |title=Scotland decides |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/live |access-date=19 September 2014 |website=BBC |archive-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609121516/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/live |url-status=live }} 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.[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scottish-independence-referendum-statement-by-the-prime-minister Scottish Independence Referendum: statement by the Prime Minister] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929043500/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scottish-independence-referendum-statement-by-the-prime-minister |date=29 September 2014 }}, UK Government An all-party commission chaired by Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin was formed,[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29273177 Scottish referendum: Who is Lord Smith of Kelvin?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112235245/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29273177 |date=12 November 2018 }}, BBC News which led to the Scotland Act 2016.{{Cite act | url = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/11/contents/enacted | title = Scotland Act 2016 | legislature = Parliament of the United Kingdom | date = 23 March 2016 | language = English}}

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. The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced the following day that as a result a new independence referendum was "highly likely".{{Cite magazine |date=24 June 2016 |title=Scottish Leader Nicola Sturgeon Announces Plans for Second Independence Referendum |url=https://time.com/4381327/brexit-nicole-sturgeon-scotland-referendum/ |magazine=Time |access-date=24 June 2016 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624121953/http://time.com/4381327/brexit-nicole-sturgeon-scotland-referendum/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=24 June 2016 |title=Brexit: Nicola Sturgeon says second Scottish independence vote 'highly likely' |agency=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36621030 |access-date=24 June 2016 |archive-date=3 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803120628/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36621030 |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Campbell (broadcaster) |date=6 November 2020 |title=Indyref2: Scottish Secretary rejects new vote 'for a generation' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-54827100 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116114519/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-54827100 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Sim |first=Philip |date=19 December 2019 |title=Scottish independence: What is a section 30 order? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50744526 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=18 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118154406/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50744526 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=6 December 2019 |title=General election 2019: Sturgeon says legal indyref2 is a 'hard truth' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50687876 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=7 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907155822/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50687876 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Local government in Scotland|Subdivisions of Scotland}}

File:SouthLanarkshireCouncilHQ.JPG in Hamilton, seat of South Lanarkshire Council]]

For local government purposes Scotland is subdivided into 32 single-tier council areas.[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1994/Ukpga_19940039_en_1.htm "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301043228/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1994/Ukpga_19940039_en_1.htm |date=1 March 2010 }} Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 26 September 2007. 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.{{Cite web |title=Local authorities: factsheet |url=http://www.gov.scot/publications/local-authorities-factsheet/ |access-date=28 October 2023 |website=www.gov.scot |language=en |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922192732/https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-authorities-factsheet/ |url-status=live }} Community Councils are informal organisations that represent smaller subdivisions within each council area.{{Cite web |title=Scotland – Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/geography/ukgeographies/administrativegeography/scotland |access-date=17 January 2021 |website=www.ons.gov.uk |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122182241/https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/geography/ukgeographies/administrativegeography/scotland |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite web |title=UK Cities |url=http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/city/citygj.htm |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Dca.gov.uk |archive-date=17 January 2009 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090117113043/http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/city/citygj.htm |url-status=live }} City status in the United Kingdom is conferred by the monarch through letters patent.{{Cite web |title=City status |url=http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/city/cityhome.htm |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Dca.gov.uk |archive-date=17 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117105426/http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/city/cityhome.htm |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Armed forces in Scotland}}

{{see|Scots Army|Royal Scots Navy|Military history of Scotland}}

File:Eurofighter Typhoon, ZK312 (19451923880).jpg in No. 6 Squadron markings at RAF Lossiemouth]]

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.{{cite web |title=Government Expenditure & Review 2018-19 |url=https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2019/08/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-gers/documents/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2018-19/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2018-19/govscot%3Adocument/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2018-19.pdf?forceDownload=true |website=www.gov.scot |publisher=Scottish Government |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406224956/https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2019/08/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-gers/documents/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2018-19/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2018-19/govscot%3Adocument/government-expenditure-revenue-scotland-2018-19.pdf?forceDownload=true |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zDxnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22british+army%22+1660|title=Redcoats and courtesans: the birth of the British Army (1660–1690)|last=Williams|first=Noel T. St John|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Brassey's (UK)|pages=1–2|isbn=9781857530971|access-date=7 January 2024|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610012306/https://books.google.com/books?id=zDxnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22british+army%22+1660|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/historybritishs00waltgoog|title=History of the British Standing Army. A.D. 1660 to 1700|last=Walton|first=Clifford|date=1 January 1894|publisher=Harrison and Sons|page=[https://archive.org/details/historybritishs00waltgoog/page/n42 16]}} 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.{{cite web |title=Atholl Highlanders |url=https://atholl-estates.co.uk/blair-castle/atholl-highlanders/ |website=www.atholl-estates.co.uk |publisher=Atholl Estates |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107013741/https://atholl-estates.co.uk/blair-castle/atholl-highlanders/ |url-status=live }}

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.{{cite web |title=Royal Regiment of Scotland |url=https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/infantry/royal-regiment-of-scotland/#:~:text=The%20Royal%20Regiment%20of%20Scotland%20was%20formed%20in%202006%20through,those%20regiments%20that%20formed%20us. |website=www.army.mod.uk |publisher=The British Army |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107194152/http://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/infantry/royal-regiment-of-scotland/#:~:text=The%20Royal%20Regiment%20of%20Scotland%20was%20formed%20in%202006%20through,those%20regiments%20that%20formed%20us. |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |title=Army to merge Scottish brigades |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1329420/Army-to-merge-Scottish-brigades.html |website=www.telegraph.co.uk |date=7 May 2001 |publisher=The Telegraph |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107013739/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1329420/Army-to-merge-Scottish-brigades.html |url-status=live }}

Because of their topography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed many sensitive defence establishments.The large number of military bases in Scotland led some to use the euphemism "Fortress Scotland". See Spaven, Malcolm (1983) Fortress Scotland. London. Pluto Press in association with Scottish CND.{{Cite news |date=16 December 2006 |title=Pensioner, 94, in nuclear protest |work=BBC News Online |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6186213.stm |url-status=live |access-date=17 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215171500/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6186213.stm |archive-date=15 December 2013}}{{Cite news |title=Reprieve for RAF Lossiemouth base |work=News.bbc.co.uk |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4083933.stm |access-date=17 September 2014 |archive-date=12 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112005112/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4083933.stm |url-status=live }} Between 1960 and 1991, the Holy Loch was a base for the US fleet of Polaris-equipped ballistic missile submarines.{{Cite web |title=Dunoon and the US Navy |url=http://www.argyllonline.co.uk/places/dunoon-cowal/dunoon-and-the-us-navy |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Argyllonline.co.uk |archive-date=2 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140902021616/http://www.argyllonline.co.uk/places/dunoon-cowal/dunoon-and-the-us-navy/ |url-status=dead }} Today, His Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, {{Convert|25|mi|km|abbr=off}} north-west of Glasgow, is the base for the four Trident-armed {{Sclass|Vanguard|submarine|0}} ballistic missile submarines that comprise the Britain's nuclear deterrent.File:Challenger2-Bergen-Hohne-Training-Area-2.jpg main battle tank of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards]]

Scotland's Scapa Flow was the main base for the Royal Navy in the 20th century.Angus Konstam, Scapa Flow: The Defences of Britain's Great Fleet Anchorage 1914–45 (2009). As the Cold War intensified in 1961, the United States deployed Polaris ballistic missiles, and submarines, in the Firth of Clyde's Holy Loch. Public protests from CND campaigners proved futile. The Royal Navy successfully convinced the government to allow the base because it wanted its own Polaris submarines, and it obtained them in 1963. The RN's nuclear submarine base opened with four {{Sclass|Resolution|submarine|0}} Polaris submarines at the expanded Faslane Naval Base on the Gare Loch. The first patrol of a Trident-armed submarine occurred in 1994, although the US base was closed at the end of the Cold War.Andrew Marr, A History of Modern Britain (2009), p. 211.

A single front-line Royal Air Force base is located in Scotland. RAF Lossiemouth, located in Moray, is the most northerly air defence fighter base in the United Kingdom and is home to four Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft squadrons, three Poseidon MRA1 squadrons, and a full–time, permanently based RAF Regiment squadron.{{cite web |title=RAF Lossiemouth |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/stations/raf-lossiemouth/#:~:text=RAF%20Lossiemouth%20in%20Moray%2C%20north,and%20an%20RAF%20Regiment%20squadron. |website=www.raf.mod.uk |publisher=Royal Air Force |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106232247/https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/stations/raf-lossiemouth/#:~:text=RAF%20Lossiemouth%20in%20Moray%2C%20north,and%20an%20RAF%20Regiment%20squadron. |url-status=live }} An additional four RAF Reserve Squadrons are based in Scotland – 612 Squadron, 2622 (Highland) Squadron and 602 Squadron in Glasgow, and 603 Squadron in Edinburgh.{{cite web |title=The Royal Air Force in Scotland |url=https://www.deliveringforscotland.gov.uk/security/the-royal-air-force-in-scotland/ |website=Delivering for Scotland |access-date=13 February 2025}}

{{Main|Scots law}}

File:Parliament Square, Edinburgh facing east.jpg, the former Parliament of Scotland, houses the Supreme Courts of Scotland]]

Scots law has a basis derived from Roman law,{{Cite web |title=History of the Faculty of Law |url=http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/history/chpt4.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122202314/http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/history/chpt4.aspx |archive-date=22 November 2007 |access-date=22 October 2007 |publisher=The University of Edinburgh School of Law}} combining features of both uncodified civil law, dating back to the {{Lang|la|Corpus Juris Civilis}}, and common law with medieval sources. The terms of the Treaty of Union with England in 1707 guaranteed the continued existence of a separate legal system in Scotland from that of England and Wales.The Articles: legal and miscellaneous, UK Parliament House of Lords (2007). "Article 19: The Scottish legal system and its courts were to remain unchanged":{{Cite web |title=Act of Union 1707 |url=http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/04_05_legal.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114022831/http://www.parliament.uk/actofunion/04_05_legal.html |archive-date=14 November 2007 |access-date=22 October 2007 |publisher=House of Lords}} Prior to 1611, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, most notably Udal law in Orkney and Shetland, based on old Norse law. Various other systems derived from common Celtic or Brehon laws survived in the Highlands until the 1800s."Law and institutions, Gaelic" & "Law and lawyers" in M. Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford, 2001), pp. 381–382 & 382–386. Udal Law remains relevant to land law in Orkney and Shetland: {{Cite web |title=A General History of Scots Law (20th century) |url=http://www.lawscot.org.uk/uploads/Ad-Hoc/AGeneralHistoryofScotsLaw_20thCentury.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925220347/http://www.lawscot.org.uk/uploads/Ad-Hoc/AGeneralHistoryofScotsLaw_20thCentury.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2007 |access-date=20 September 2007 |publisher=Law Society of Scotland}}

Scots law provides for three types of courts responsible for the administration of justice: civil, criminal and heraldic. The supreme civil court is the Court of Session, although civil appeals can be taken to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (or before 1 October 2009, the House of Lords). The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The Court of Session is housed at Parliament House, in Edinburgh, which was the home of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland with the High Court of Justiciary and the Supreme Court of Appeal currently located at the Lawnmarket. The sheriff court is the main criminal and civil court, hearing most cases. There are 49 sheriff courts throughout the country.[http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/locations/index.asp "Court Information"] www.scotcourts.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 September 207. {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320151120/http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/locations/index.asp |date=20 March 2015 }} District courts were introduced in 1975 for minor offences and small claims. These were gradually replaced by Justice of the Peace Courts from 2008 to 2010.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers|title=Devolved and Reserved Powers|website=www.parliament.scot|access-date=28 October 2023|archive-date=20 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920053732/https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers|url-status=live}} 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".{{Cite news |title=The case for keeping 'not proven' verdict |work=Timesonline.co.uk |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article431121.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1 |access-date=17 September 2014 |publisher=The Times |archive-date=25 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525121435/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article431121.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1 |url-status=dead }} 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.{{Cite web |date=11 May 2009 |title=Scotland's unique 15-strong juries will not be abolished |publisher=The Scotsman |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scotland-s-unique-15-strong-juries-will-not-be-abolished-1-1037747 |access-date=13 March 2017 |website=www.scotsman.com |archive-date=14 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314064457/http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scotland-s-unique-15-strong-juries-will-not-be-abolished-1-1037747 |url-status=live }}

File:Court of Session (53707036026).jpg is the highest national court for civil cases]]

The Lord Advocate is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland. The Lord Advocate is the head of the systems in Scotland for the investigation and prosecution of crime, the investigation of deaths as well as serving as the principal legal adviser to the Scottish Government and representing the government in legal proceedings.{{cite web |title=Lord Advocate |url=https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/lord-advocate/ |website=www.gov.scot |date=16 August 2021 |publisher=Scottish Government |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115014431/https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/lord-advocate/ |url-status=live }} They are the chief public prosecutor for Scotland and all prosecutions on indictment are conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Lord Advocate's name on behalf of the Monarch. The officeholder is one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland. The current Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain, was nominated by first minister Nicola Sturgeon, and was appointed in June 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/dorothy-bain-qc/ | website=www.gov.scot | publisher=Scottish Government | title=Rt Hon Dorothy Bain KC | access-date=7 January 2024 | archive-date=14 July 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714174415/https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/dorothy-bain-qc/ | url-status=live }} The Lord Advocate is supported by the Solicitor General for Scotland.{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/solicitor-general/ | website=www.gov.scot | publisher=Scottish Government | title=Solicitor General | access-date=7 January 2024 | archive-date=5 March 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305000828/https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/solicitor-general/ | url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite web |title=Prisoner Population |url=http://www.sps.gov.uk/default.aspx?documentid=7811a7f1-6c61-4667-a12c-f102bbf5b808 |publisher=Scottish Prison Service |website=www.sps.gov.uk |access-date=8 July 2009 |archive-date=7 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307182522/http://www.sps.gov.uk/default.aspx?documentid=7811a7f1-6c61-4667-a12c-f102bbf5b808 |url-status=dead }} The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs is responsible for the Scottish Prison Service within the Scottish Government.

{{Main|Economy of Scotland}}

{{further|Economic history of Scotland|Taxation in Scotland|Scottish budget}}File:Skyline of Edinburgh.jpg, the 13th-largest financial centre in the world and 4th largest in Europe in 2020{{Cite web |last=McSherry |first=Mark |title=Edinburgh 4th in Europe in new Financial Centres index – Scottish Financial Review |url=https://scottishfinancialreview.com/2020/09/25/edinburgh-4th-in-europe-in-new-financial-centres-index/ |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122062218/https://scottishfinancialreview.com/2020/09/25/edinburgh-4th-in-europe-in-new-financial-centres-index/ |url-status=live }}]]

Scotland has a Western-style open mixed economy closely linked with the rest of the UK and the wider world. Scotland is one of the leading financial centres in Europe, and is the largest financial centre in the United Kingdom outside of London.{{cite web |title=Scotland retains status as the UK's second largest international financial hub |url=https://scottishbusinessnews.net/scotland-retains-status-as-the-uks-second-largest-international-financial-hub/ |website=Scottish Business News |date=5 September 2023 |publisher=Union Media |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107021637/https://scottishbusinessnews.net/scotland-retains-status-as-the-uks-second-largest-international-financial-hub/ |url-status=live }} Edinburgh is the financial services centre of Scotland, with many large finance firms based there, including: Lloyds Banking Group, the Bank of Scotland, the Government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life.{{cite web |title=Financial services and fintech |url=https://www.sdi.co.uk/business-in-scotland/find-your-industry/digital-and-technology-industries/financial-services-and-fintech |website=www.sdi.co.uk |publisher=Scottish Development International |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610012307/https://www.sdi.co.uk/business-in-scotland/find-your-industry/digital-and-technology-industries/financial-services-and-fintech |url-status=live }} Edinburgh was ranked 15th in the list of world financial centres in 2007, but fell to 37th in 2012, following damage to its reputation,Askeland, Erikka (20 March 2012) [http://www.scotsman.com/business/scots-cities-slide-down-chart-of-the-world-s-top-financial-centres-1-2182954 "Scots Cities Slide down Chart of the World's Top Financial Centres"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527213619/http://www.scotsman.com/business/scots-cities-slide-down-chart-of-the-world-s-top-financial-centres-1-2182954 |date=27 May 2014 }}. The Scotsman. and in 2016 was ranked 56th out of 86.{{Cite web |date=March 2016 |title=The Global Financial Centres Index 19 |url=http://www.longfinance.net/global-financial-centre-index-19/976-gfci-19-the-overall-rankings.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408123054/http://www.longfinance.net/global-financial-centre-index-19/976-gfci-19-the-overall-rankings.html |archive-date=8 April 2016 |access-date=6 July 2016 |publisher=Long Finance}} Its rank had returned to 17th by 2020.{{Cite web |title=GFCI 27 Rank – Long Finance |url=https://www.longfinance.net/programmes/financial-centre-futures/global-financial-centres-index/gfci-27-explore-data/gfci-27-rank |website=www.longfinance.net |access-date=18 June 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815191828/https://www.longfinance.net/programmes/financial-centre-futures/global-financial-centres-index/gfci-27-explore-data/gfci-27-rank/ |url-status=live }} Historically, the Scottish economy was dominated by heavy industry underpinned by shipbuilding in Glasgow, coal mining and steel industries. Petroleum-related industries associated with the extraction of North Sea oil have also been important employers since the 1970s, especially in the north-east of Scotland. De-industrialisation during the 1970s and 1980s saw a shift from a manufacturing focus towards a more service-oriented economy. The Scottish National Investment Bank was established in 2020 by the Scottish Government, which uses public money to fund commercial projects across Scotland in the hope that this seed capital will encourage further private investment, to help develop a fairer, more sustainable economy. £2 billion of taxpayers' money was earmarked for the bank.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-55035520|title=Scotland's national investment bank launches|date=23 November 2020|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=23 November 2020|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124033721/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-55035520|url-status=live}}

File:Distillery-gates.jpg production at Bruichladdich distillery]]

In 2023, Scotland's gross domestic product (GDP), including offshore oil and gas, was estimated at £218.0 billion.{{cite web |title=GDP Quarterly National Accounts, Scotland: 2023 Quarter 4 (October to December) |url=https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2024/05/gdp-quarterly-national-accounts-2023-q4/documents/downloadable-publication/downloadable-publication/govscot%3Adocument/GDP%2BQNAS%2B-%2B2023%2BQ4%2B-%2BPublication.pdf |website=gov.scot |access-date=2 November 2024}} In 2021, Scottish exports in goods and services (excluding intra-UK trade) were estimated to be £50.1 billion.{{Cite web |last=Tuck |first=Helen |date=28 June 2023 |title=International trade in UK nations, regions and cities: 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/bulletins/internationaltradeinuknationsregionsandcities/2021 |access-date=24 December 2023 |website=Office for National Statistics |archive-date=24 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224130525/https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/bulletins/internationaltradeinuknationsregionsandcities/2021 |url-status=live }} Scotland's primary goods exports are mineral fuels, machinery and transport, and beverages and tobacco.{{Cite web |date=14 December 2023 |title=UK Regional Trade in Goods Statistics |url=https://www.uktradeinfo.com/media/uainztpl/rts-q3-2023.xlsx |access-date=24 December 2023 |website=UK Trade Info |publisher=HM Revenue and Customs |archive-date=24 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224172915/https://www.uktradeinfo.com/media/uainztpl/rts-q3-2023.xlsx |url-status=live }} The country's largest export markets in goods are the European Union, Asia and Oceania, and North America. Whisky is one of Scotland's more known goods of economic activity. Exports increased by 87% in the decade to 2012{{Cite web |date=2 April 2013 |title=Scotch Whisky Exports Hit Record Level |url=http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/news-publications/publications/documents/scotch-whisky-exports-hit-record-level |access-date=12 June 2013 |publisher=Scotch Whisky Association |archive-date=31 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531090235/http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/news-publications/publications/documents/scotch-whisky-exports-hit-record-level/ |url-status=dead }} and were valued at £4.3 billion in 2013, which was 85% of Scotland's food and drink exports.{{Cite news |date=11 April 2014 |title=Scotch Whisky Exports Remain Flat |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-26974320 |access-date=17 September 2014 |archive-date=20 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920181201/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-26974320 |url-status=live }} It supports around 10,000 jobs directly and 25,000 indirectly.{{Cite web |title=Scotch Whisky Briefing 2014 |url=http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/news-publications/publications/documents/scotch-whisky-briefing-2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |publisher=Scotch Whisky Association |archive-date=31 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531090407/http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/news-publications/publications/documents/scotch-whisky-briefing-2014/ |url-status=dead }} 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.{{Cite web |last1=Carrell, Severin |last2=Griffiths, Ian |last3=Terry Macalister, Terry |date=29 May 2014 |title=New Doubt Cast over Alex Salmond's Claims of Scottish Wealth |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/29/scotland-wealth-alex-salmond-study |access-date=30 May 2014 |website=The Guardian}} 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.{{Cite web |date=28 August 2002 |website=Scottish Parliament |title=The Economics of Tourism |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/pdf_res_brief/sb02-97.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051106161727/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/pdf_res_brief/sb02-97.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2005 |access-date=22 October 2007 |publisher=SPICe}}

File:North Sea oil rig.jpg in the North Sea]]

Scotland was one of the industrial powerhouses of Europe from the time of the Industrial Revolution onwards, being a world leader in manufacturing.{{Cite news |date=17 October 2012 |title=Scotland profile |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/7219799.stm |access-date=31 October 2013 |archive-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503094427/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/7219799.stm |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite web |title=Scottish Goods and Services |url=https://www.scotland.org/business/goods-and-services |access-date=17 January 2021 |website=Scotland |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Financial and Business Services |work=Scotland: a trading nation |url=https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotland-a-trading-nation/sectors/financial-and-business-services |access-date=17 January 2021 |publisher= gov.scot |date=1 May 2019 }}

{{Main|Income tax in Scotland}}

{{further|Scottish variable rate|Scottish Consolidated Fund|Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland}}

File:Museum on the mound, Edinburgh (41404375864).jpg is one of the oldest banks in the world]]

The average weekly income for workplace-based employees in Scotland is £573,{{cite web |url=https://statistics.gov.scot/resource?uri=http://statistics.gov.scot/data/earnings/year/2021/S92000003/gender/all/working-pattern/all-patterns/population-group/workplace-based/pounds-gbp/mean|title=Earnings: an observation – Mean and median gross weekly earnings (£s) by gender, working pattern and workplace/residence measure: Workplace-based |website= statistics.gov.scot |publisher=Scottish Government |access-date=7 January 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709181648/https://statistics.gov.scot/resource?uri=http://statistics.gov.scot/data/earnings/year/2021/S92000003/gender/all/working-pattern/all-patterns/population-group/workplace-based/pounds-gbp/mean |archive-date= Jul 9, 2023 }} and £576 for home-based employees. Scotland has the third highest median gross salary in the United Kingdom at £26,007, which is higher than the overall UK average annual salary of £25,971.{{cite web |title=Earnings in Scotland: 2021 |url=https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2022/3/9/ce765259-d82e-4db7-8ecf-802683f7e56b |first1=Andrew |last1=Aiton |date=9 Mar 2022 |publisher=Scottish Parliament |access-date=7 January 2024}} With an average of £14.28, Scotland has the third highest median hourly rate (excluding overtime working hours) of the countries of the United Kingdom, and like the annual salary, this is higher than the average UK figure as a whole. The highest paid industries in Scotland tend of be in the utility electricity, gas and air conditioning sectors, while industries like tourism, accommodation and food and drink tend to be the lowest paid. The top local authority for pay, based on place of residence, is East Renfrewshire (£20.87 per hour).

The top local authority for pay based on place of work is East Ayrshire (£16.92 per hour). Scotland's cities commonly have the largest salaries in Scotland based on place of work. 2021/2022 data indicate that there were 2.6 million dwellings across Scotland, with 318,369 local authority dwellings.{{cite web |title=Annual Housing Statistics, 2020-21 |url=https://www.gov.scot/news/annual-housing-statistics-2020-21/ |date=10 May 2022 |publisher=Scottish Government |access-date=7 January 2024}} A typical price for a house in Scotland was £195,000 in August 2022.{{cite web |title=National statistics UK House Price Index Scotland: August 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-for-august-2022/uk-house-price-index-scotland-august-2022 |website=gov.uk |date=19 October 2022 |publisher=HM Land Registry |access-date=7 January 2024}}

Between 2016 and 2020, the Scottish Government estimated that 10% of people in Scotland were in persistent poverty following housing costs,{{cite web |title=Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-2020 |url=https://data.gov.scot/poverty/2022/persistent.html#:~:text=Between%202016%20and%202020%2C%2010%25%20of%20people%20were%20in%20persistent,period%20(2015%2D2019). |website=data.gov.scot |access-date=18 April 2025}} with similar rates of persistent poverty for children (10%), working-age adults (10%) and pensioners (11%).{{cite web |url=https://data.gov.scot/poverty/2022/persistent.html |title=Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010–2020 |publisher=Scottish Government |date=31 March 2022 |access-date=30 May 2023}} 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. 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.{{cite web |title=Scottish Child Payment - Social security |url=https://www.gov.scot/policies/social-security/scottish-child-payment/ |website=www.gov.scot |publisher=Scottish Government |access-date=7 January 2024}} As of October 2023, 10% of the Scottish population were estimated to be living in poverty.{{Cite news |date=2 October 2023 |title=One in 10 Scots living in 'very deep poverty' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-66982168 |access-date=2 October 2023}}

{{Main|Banknotes of Scotland}}

File:RoyBankScotland100.jpg banknote]]

Although the Bank of England is the central bank for the UK, three Scottish clearing banks issue Sterling banknotes: the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank. The Bank of Scotland was the first bank in Europe to successfully print its own paper currency, with the new banknotes entering circulation in 1696, making the Bank of Scotland the longest continuous issuer of banknotes in the world.{{cite web |title=Lloyds Banking Group - Bank of Scotland History |url=https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/bank-of-scotland-heritage.html |website=www.lloydsbankinggroup.com |access-date=9 February 2025}} The issuing of banknotes by retail banks in Scotland is subject to the Banking Act 2009, which repealed all earlier legislation under which banknote issuance was regulated, and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknote Regulations 2009.{{Cite web |date=March 2017 |title=The Bank of England's approach to regulating Scottish and Northern Ireland commercial banknotes |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/banknotes/scottish-northern-ireland/scottish-and-northern-ireland-regime-approach.pdf |access-date=31 March 2020}}

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.{{Cite news |title=Scottish Banknotes: The Treasury's Symbolic Hostage in the Independence Debate |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/scottish-independence-blog/2013/apr/22/scottish-independence-banknotes |access-date=26 May 2014}}

{{See also|Transport in Scotland}}

File:Airport and plane Barra airstrip - geograph.org.uk - 852094.jpg, the only airport in the world to use a tidal beach as the runway]]

File:Forth bridge evening long exposure.jpg, a well-known structure in Scottish rail and a UNESCO World Heritage Site]]

Scotland has five international airports operating scheduled services to Europe, North America and Asia, as well as domestic services to England, Northern Ireland and Wales and within Scotland.{{cite web |title=Scotland's Airports & Flights Around The Country |url=https://www.visitscotland.com/travel-planning/getting-around/plane |website=www.visitscotland.com |publisher=Visit Scotland |access-date=7 January 2024}} Highlands and Islands Airports operates eleven airports across the Highlands, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, which are primarily used for short distance, public service operations, although Inverness Airport has a number of scheduled flights to destinations across the UK and mainland Europe.{{cite web |title=Destinations from Inverness Airport |url=https://www.hial.co.uk/inverness-airport/destinations-5/1 |website=www.hial.co.uk |publisher=Highlands and Islands Airport Limited |access-date=7 January 2024}} Edinburgh Airport is currently Scotland's busiest airport, handling over 13 million passengers in 2017.{{Cite web |title=Datasets – UK Civil Aviation Authority |url=https://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets |access-date=3 January 2019 |website=Caa.co.uk}} It is also the UK's 6th busiest airport. The airline Loganair has its headquarters at Glasgow Airport and markets itself as Scotland's Airline.{{cite web |title=Loganair to link Scotland's capital with the Isle of Man |url=https://www.gov.im/news/2017/mar/31/loganair-to-link-scotlands-capital-with-the-isle-of-man/ |website=www.gov.im |publisher=Isle of Man Government |access-date=11 January 2024}}

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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20050722065527/http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/238.pdf "Disaggregating Network Rail's expenditure and revenue allowance and future price control framework: a consultation (June 2005)"] Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 2 November 2007. Scotland's rail network has 359 railway stations and around {{Convert|2760|km|mi|-1|order=flip}} of track.{{Cite web |date=18 March 2020 |title=Scottish Transport Statistics No 38: 2019 Edition Chapter 7: Rail Services |url=https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/scottish-transport-statistics-no-38-2019-edition/chapter-7-rail-services |access-date=29 April 2020 |website=Transport.gov.scot |publisher=Transport Scotland}} In 2022–23 there were 64 million passenger journeys on ScotRail rail services.{{cite web |title=Scottish Transport Statistics 2023 Rail |url=https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/ahohoblv/chapter-7-rail-transport-scottish-transport-statistics-2023.pdf |website=transport.gov.scot |access-date=19 April 2025}} On 1 January 2006, Transport Scotland was established, which would oversee the regulation of railways in Scotland and administer major rail projects.{{cite web |url=http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/corporate/freedom-information-publication-scheme/freedom-information-publication-scheme |title=Corporate: Freedom of Information Publication Scheme |publisher=Transport in Scotland |access-date=24 September 2014 |archive-date=15 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915182734/http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/corporate/freedom-information-publication-scheme/freedom-information-publication-scheme |url-status=dead }}

Since April 2022, Transport Scotland has taken ScotRail back into public ownership via its operator of last resort, Scottish Rail Holdings.{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-60842268 | newspaper = BBC News | date = 1 April 2022 | access-date = 1 April 2022 | title = ScotRail goes back into public ownership}} It did the same with the Caledonian Sleeper service in June 2023.{{cite web | url = https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/caledonian-sleeper-to-be-delivered-by-the-scottish-government/ | title = Caledonian Sleeper to be delivered by the Scottish Government | date = 2 March 2023 | access-date = 3 March 2023 | publisher = Transport Scotland}}

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.{{cite web |title=Celebrating 125 years of Subway |url=https://www.spt.co.uk/125/ |website=www.spt.co.uk |publisher=Strathclyde Partnership for Transport |access-date=22 January 2024}}

The Scottish motorways and major trunk roads are managed by Transport Scotland. The remainder of the road network is managed by the Scottish local authorities in each of their areas.

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.{{cite web |title=Ferry operators |url=https://www.travelinescotland.com/ferry-operators |website=www.travelinescotland.com |publisher=Traveline Scotland |access-date=7 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=Scotland's west coast ferry seascape |url=https://www.calmac.co.uk/article/5655/Scotlands-west-coast-ferry-seascape#:~:text=They%20are%20a%20company%20wholly%20owned%20by%20the%20Scottish%20Government.&text=CalMac%20Ferries%20Ltd%20is%20a,service%20provider%20David%20MacBrayne%20Ltd. |website=www.calmac.co.uk |publisher=CalMac Ferries |access-date=7 January 2024}} Services to the Northern Isles are operated by Serco. Other routes, such as southwest Scotland to Northern Ireland, are served by multiple companies.{{cite web |title=Ferries from Northern Ireland to Scotland |url=https://www.directferries.co.uk/ferries_from_northern_ireland_to_scotland.htm#:~:text=There%20are%202%20ferry%20routes,which%20runs%205%20times%20daily. |website=www.directferries.co.uk |publisher=Direct Ferries |access-date=7 January 2024}} DFDS Seaways operated a freight-only Rosyth – Zeebrugge ferry service, until a fire damaged the vessel DFDS were using.{{Cite web |date=23 April 2018 |title=Ferry freight service axed after fire |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-43864813 |access-date=3 January 2019 |website=Bbc.co.uk}} A passenger service was also operated between 2002 and 2010.{{Cite web |date=20 August 2010 |title=Passenger ferry service to stop |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11041554 |access-date=3 January 2019 |website=Bbc.co.uk}}

{{further|Nuclear power in Scotland|Renewable energy in Scotland|Oil industry in Scotland|Energy in Scotland|Space industry of Scotland}}

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Scotland's primary sources of energy are provided through renewable energy (61.8%), nuclear (25.7%) and fossil fuel generation (10.9%).{{Cite web |title=Quarterly energy statistics bulletins |url=http://www.gov.scot/publications/quarterly-energy-statistics-bulletins |access-date=3 March 2022 |website=www.gov.scot |language=en}} Whitelee Wind Farm is the largest onshore wind farm in the United Kingdom, and was Europe's largest onshore wind farm for some time.{{cite web |title=Whitelee wind farm in Scotland |url=https://www.iberdrola.com/about-us/what-we-do/onshore-wind-energy/-whitelee-onshore-wind-farm#:~:text=Whitelee%2C%20with%20215%20turbines%20in,period%20the%20largest%20in%20Europe. |website=iberdrola.com |publisher=Iberdrola |access-date=3 January 2024}} 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.{{cite web |title=Scotland unveils world's largest tidal stream power project |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d197308a-7826-11e6-97ae-647294649b28 |website=ft.com |date=12 September 2016 |publisher=Financial Times |access-date=3 January 2024 |last1=Dickie |first1=Mure }} In Scotland, 98.6% of all electricity used was from renewable sources. This is minus net exports. 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.{{Cite web |title=Scottish Energy Statistics Hub: Proportion of electricity consumption by fuel |url=https://scotland.shinyapps.io/Energy/?Section=RenLowCarbon&Subsection=RenElec&Chart=ElecConsumptionFuel |access-date=7 October 2022 |website=scotland.shinyapps.io}} 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.{{Cite web |title=The future of energy in Scotland: Scottish energy strategy |url=https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-energy-strategy-future-energy-scotland-9781788515276/pages/5 |access-date=3 January 2019 |website=Gov.scot}} 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.{{cite web |title=Record renewable energy output |url=https://www.gov.scot/news/record-renewable-energy-output/ |website=www.gov.scot |publisher=Scottish Government |access-date=26 January 2024}}

Scotland's inventions and discoveries are said to have revolutionised human technology and have played a major role in the creation of the modern world. Such inventions – the television, the telephone, refrigerators, the MRI scanner, flushing toilets and the steam engine – are said to have been possible by Scotland's universities and parish schools, together with the commitment Scots had to education during the Scottish Enlightenment.{{cite web |title=Scottish Inventions |url=https://www.livebreathescotland.com/scottish-inventions/ |publisher=Live Breathe Scotland |access-date=3 January 2024}} Alexander Fleming is responsible for the discovery of the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin, earning him a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945.{{cite web|title=Alexander Fleming Biography|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1945/fleming.html|work=Les Prix Nobel|publisher=The Nobel Foundation|year=1945|access-date=27 March 2011|archive-date=30 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130092208/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1945/fleming.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal | last= Hugh |first=T. B. | title = Howard Florey, Alexander Fleming and the fairy tale of penicillin | journal = The Medical Journal of Australia | volume = 177 | issue = 1 | pages = 52–53; author 53 53 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12436980 |doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04643.x |s2cid=222048204 }}{{cite journal | first= Robert |last=Cruickshank | title = Sir Alexander Fleming, F.R.S | journal = Nature | volume = 175 | issue = 4459 | pages = 355–6 | year = 1955 | doi = 10.1038/175663a0 |pmid=13271592 |pmc=1023893 | bibcode =1955Natur.175..663C | doi-access = free }} Modern Scottish inventions – the Falkirk Wheel and the Glasgow Tower – hold world records for being the only rotating boat lift and the tallest fully rotating freestanding structure in the world respectively.{{cite web |title=The Falkirk Wheel |url=https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/visit/canals/visit-the-forth-clyde-canal/attractions/the-falkirk-wheel |publisher=Scottish Canals |access-date=3 January 2024}}{{cite web |title=Glasgow Tower |url=https://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/discover/our-experiences/glasgow-tower |publisher=Glasgow Science Centre |access-date=3 January 2024}}

Scotland's space industry is a world leader in sustainable space technology,{{cite web|title=The Scottish Space Cluster Executive Summary May 2020|url=https://londoneconomics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/LE-SE-Scottish-Space-Cluster-EXECUTIVE-SUMMARY-FINAL-Issue-4-S2C110520.pdf|access-date=12 November 2022}}{{cite web |title=Space technology industry in Scotland |url=https://www.sdi.co.uk/business-in-scotland/find-your-industry/digital-and-technology-industries/space-tech |website=Sdi.co.uk |publisher=Scottish Development International |access-date=2 January 2024}} and, according to the UK Space Agency, there are 173 space companies currently operating in Scotland as of May 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-3000-jobs-created-as-space-sector-grows-across-the-uk|title=More than 3,000 jobs created as space sector grows across the UK|website=GOV.UK}} These include spacecraft manufacturers, launch providers, downstream data analyzers, and research organisations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19104939.boldly-going-towards-new-age-space/|title=Boldly going towards the new age of space|website=HeraldScotland|date=20 February 2021 }} The space industry in Scotland is projected to generate £2billion in income for Scotland's space cluster by 2030. Scottish space industry jobs represent almost one in five of all UK space industry employment.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.scot/policies/manufacturing/space-sector/|title=Manufacturing: Space sector - gov.scot|website=www.gov.scot}} In addition to its space industry, Scotland is home to two planned spaceports – Sutherland spaceport and SaxaVord Spaceport – with launch vehicles such as the Orbex Prime from Scottish–based aerospace company Orbex expected to be launched from Sutherland.{{cite news |last1=Carrell |first1=Severin |last2=Morris |first2=Steven |last3=Sample |first3=Ian |date=16 July 2018 |title=Rocket men: locals divided over plans for UK's first spaceport |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jul/16/rocket-men-locals-divided-over-plans-for-uks-first-spaceport |access-date=3 January 2024 |work=The Guardian }}

{{Main|Culture of Scotland|Music of Scotland|}}

File:Edinburgh Scottish bagpiper (49552292312).jpg are an instrument largely associated with Scotland, and an early example of popular Scottish music]]

Scottish music is a significant aspect of the nation's culture, with both traditional and modern influences. A famous traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland bagpipe, a woodwind reed instrument consisting of three drones and a melody pipe (called the chanter), which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag. The popularity of pipe bands—primarily featuring bagpipes, various types of snares and drums, and showcasing Scottish traditional dress and music—has spread throughout the world. Bagpipes are featured in holiday celebrations, parades, funerals, weddings, and other events internationally. Many military regiments have a pipe band of their own. In addition to the Great Highland pipes, several smaller, somewhat quieter bellows-blown varieties of bagpipe are played in Scotland, including the smallpipes and the Border pipes.

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,{{cite web |title=Spotify Wrapped 2023 top song predictions ahead of release |url=https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/23875288.spotify-wrapped-2023-top-song-predictions-ahead-release/ |website=www.bracknellnews.co.uk |date=25 October 2023 |publisher=Bracknell News |access-date=11 February 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/united-kingdom/top-25-most-popular-scottish-singers/#:~:text=1.,help%20of%20his%20eldest%20brother.|title=Top 25 Most Popular Scottish Singers|author=Lydia|date=4 February 2023|website=discoverwalks.com}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/celebrities-gone-bad/tragedies-feuds-and-public-tantrums-is-the-dream-finally-over-for-susan-boyle/news-story/bdfa00d9c14b9ccf1ec22d59ebdc80fa |title=Tragedies, feuds and public tantrums: Is the dream finally over for Susan Boyle? |first=Ryan |last=Kisiel |date=2 May 2016 |work=news.com.au}} 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.{{cite web |title=RUNRIG – The Story (Ridge RR078) |url=https://folking.com/runrig-the-story-ridge-rr078/ |website=Folking.com |access-date=27 December 2024 |date=22 January 2016}} 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.

{{Main|Scottish literature|Media of Scotland|Scottish art|Comedy in Scotland|Festivals in Scotland|Cinema of Scotland}}

File:PG 1063Burns Naysmithcrop.jpg is considered the national poet, best known for works such as "Auld Lang Syne" and writing in the Scots language]]

Scotland has a literary heritage dating back to the early Middle Ages. The earliest extant literature composed in what is now Scotland was in Brythonic speech in the 6th century, but is preserved as part of Welsh literature.R. T. Lambdin and L. C. Lambdin, Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature (London: Greenwood, 2000), {{ISBN|0-313-30054-2}}, p. 508. Later medieval literature included works in Latin,I. Brown, T. Owen Clancy, M. Pittock, S. Manning, eds, The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union, until 1707 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0-7486-1615-2}}, p. 94. Gaelic,J. T. Koch, Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2006), {{ISBN|1-85109-440-7}}, p. 999. Old EnglishE. M. Treharne, Old and Middle English c.890-c.1400: an Anthology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004), {{ISBN|1-4051-1313-8}}, p. 108. and French.M. Fry, Edinburgh (London: Pan Macmillan, 2011), {{ISBN|0-330-53997-3}}. The first surviving major text in Early Scots is the 14th-century poet John Barbour's epic Brus, focusing on the life of Robert I,N. Jayapalan, History of English Literature (Atlantic, 2001), {{ISBN|81-269-0041-5}}, p. 23. and was soon followed by a series of vernacular romances and prose works.J. Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), {{ISBN|0-7486-0276-3}}, pp. 60–67. In the 16th century, the crown's patronage helped the development of Scots drama and poetry,I. Brown, T. Owen Clancy, M. Pittock, S. Manning, eds, The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union, until 1707 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0-7486-1615-2}}, pp. 256–257. but the accession of James VI to the English throne removed a major centre of literary patronage and Scots was sidelined as a literary language.R. D. S. Jack, "Poetry under King James VI", in C. Cairns, ed., The History of Scottish Literature (Aberdeen University Press, 1988), vol. 1, {{ISBN|0-08-037728-9}}, pp. 137–138. Interest in Scots literature was revived in the 18th century by figures including James Macpherson, whose Ossian Cycle made him the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation and was a major influence on the European Enlightenment.{{Cite book |last=J. Buchan |url=https://archive.org/details/crowdedwithgeniu00buch/page/163 |title=Crowded with Genius |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-06-055888-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/crowdedwithgeniu00buch/page/163 163]}} It was also a major influence on Robert Burns, whom many consider the national poet,{{Cite journal |last=L. McIlvanney |date=Spring 2005 |title=Hugh Blair, Robert Burns, and the Invention of Scottish Literature |journal=Eighteenth-Century Life |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=25–46 |doi=10.1215/00982601-29-2-25 |s2cid=144358210}} and Walter Scott, whose Waverley Novels did much to define Scottish identity in the 19th century.{{Cite book |last=N. Davidson |url=https://archive.org/details/originsscottishn00davi |title=The Origins of Scottish Nationhood |publisher=Pluto Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7453-1608-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/originsscottishn00davi/page/n141 136] |url-access=limited}} Towards the end of the Victorian era a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations as writers in English, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald.{{Cite journal |title=Cultural Profile: 19th and early 20th century developments |url=http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5402.html |url-status=dead |journal=Visiting Arts: Scotland: Cultural Profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930034445/http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5402.html |archive-date=30 September 2011}}

In the 20th century the Scottish Renaissance saw a surge of literary activity and attempts to reclaim the Scots language as a medium for serious literature.{{Cite journal |title=The Scottish 'Renaissance' and beyond |url=http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5403.html |url-status=dead |journal=Visiting Arts: Scotland: Cultural Profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930034437/http://www.culturalprofiles.net/scotland/Directories/Scotland_Cultural_Profile/-5403.html |archive-date=30 September 2011}} Members of the movement were followed by a new generation of post-war poets including Edwin Morgan, who would be appointed the first Makar by the Scottish Government in 2004.{{Cite press release |date=16 February 2004 |title=The Scots Makar |url=http://www.gov.scot/News/Releases/2004/02/5075 |url-status=dead |publisher=Scottish Government |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204042020/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2004/02/5075 |archive-date=4 February 2012 |access-date=28 October 2007}} Sorley MacLean was described by the Scottish Poetry Library as "one of the major Scottish poets of the modern era" because of his "mastery of his chosen medium and his engagement with the European poetic tradition and European politics".{{cite web |title=Sorley MacLean |url=http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poets/sorley-maclean |publisher=Scottish Poetry Library |access-date=17 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817225519/http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poets/sorley-maclean |archive-date=17 August 2018 |url-status=live }} Nobel Prize Laureate Seamus Heaney credited MacLean with saving Scottish Gaelic poetry.{{cite web |title=Edinburgh streets could be given Gaelic names under plans to celebrate language |date=18 March 2022 |url=https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-streets-could-given-gaelic-23437071 |publisher=Edinburgh Live |access-date=28 December 2023}} From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another major revival, particularly associated with a group of writers including Irvine Welsh. Scottish poets who emerged in the same period included Carol Ann Duffy, who, in May 2009, was the first Scot named the monarch's Poet Laureate.{{Cite journal |date=1 May 2009 |title=Duffy reacts to new Laureate post |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm |url-status=dead |journal=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030093931/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm |archive-date=30 October 2011}} Scotland's national poet is known as the Makar and is appointed by the first minister to promote literacy, writing and poetry across the country, as well as to produce work for national events and produce annual reports to the government.{{cite web |title=The story of the Makar - National Poet of Scotland |url=https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/the-story-of-the-makar-national-poet-of-scotland/ |website=Scottish Poetry Library |access-date=18 January 2025}} The incumbent Makar is Pàdraig MacAoidh, the first Scottish Gaelic writer to hold the position.{{cite web |title=Lewis-born Gaelic poet Peter Mackay appointed Scotland's Makar |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0x31w69d1o |website=BBC News |access-date=18 January 2025 |date=3 December 2024}}

National newspapers such as the Daily Record, The Herald, The Scotsman and The National are all produced in Scotland.{{Cite web |title=Newspapers and National Identity in Scotland |url=http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/051-127e.pdf |access-date=12 December 2006 |publisher=IFLA University of Stirling}} 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. 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.{{Cite web |year=2014 |title=About Us::Celtic Media Festival |url=http://www.celticmediafestival.co.uk/about |access-date=3 January 2014 |website=Celtic Media Festival website |publisher=Celtic Media Festival}} Scotland's national broadcaster is BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC, which runs three national television stations, BBC One Scotland, BBC Scotland and the Gaelic-language BBC Alba, and the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. The main Scottish commercial television station is STV which broadcasts on two of the three ITV regions of Scotland.{{Cite web |title=ITV Media – STV |url=https://www.itvmedia.co.uk/itv-regions/stv |website=www.itvmedia.co.uk}} Scotland's film industry is supported by Screen Scotland, the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which provides funding and support for film production in the country.{{cite web |last1=Scotland |first1=Screen |title=About Us |url=https://www.screen.scot/about |website=Screen Scotland |access-date=21 March 2025 |language=en |date=12 January 2021}}

{{clear}}

{{Further|Celtic nations}}

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.{{Cite web |year=2010 |title=Celtic connections:Scotland's premier winter music festival |url=http://www.celticconnections.com |access-date=23 January 2010 |website=Celtic connections website |publisher=Celtic Connections}}{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=Site Officiel du Festival Interceltique de Lorient |url=http://www.festival-interceltique.com/le-monde-des-celtes-et-de-la-celtie.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305062016/http://www.festival-interceltique.com/le-monde-des-celtes-et-de-la-celtie.php |archive-date=5 March 2010 |access-date=23 January 2010 |website=Festival Interceltique de Lorient website |publisher=Festival Interceltique de Lorient}}{{Cite web |year=2010 |title=Welcome to the Pan Celtic 2010 Home Page |url=http://www.panceltic.ie |access-date=26 January 2010 |website=Pan Celtic Festival 2010 website |publisher=Fáilte Ireland}}{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=About the Festival |url=http://www.nationalcelticfestival.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24&Itemid=26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119080041/http://www.nationalcelticfestival.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24&Itemid=26 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |access-date=23 January 2010 |website=National Celtic Festival website |publisher=National Celtic Festival}}

{{Further|Scottish people|National symbols of Scotland}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| total_width = 320

| image_style = border:yes;

| image1 = Royal Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg

| alt1 = Royal Arms of Scotland

| caption1 = The Royal Arms of Scotland

| image2 = Mooie bloeiwijze van een Speerdistel (Cirsium vulgare) 03.jpg

| alt2 = Scottish Thistle

| caption2 = The spear thistle, the national emblem of Scotland

}}

The image of St. Andrew, martyred while bound to an X-shaped cross, first appeared in the Kingdom of Scotland during the reign of William I.[http://www.nas.gov.uk/about/051124.asp "Feature: Saint Andrew seals Scotland's independence"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916085046/http://www.nas.gov.uk/about/051124.asp |date=16 September 2013 }}, The National Archives of Scotland, 28 November 2007, retrieved 12 September 2009. Following the death of King Alexander III in 1286 an image of Andrew was used on the seal of the Guardians of Scotland who assumed control of the kingdom during the subsequent interregnum.{{Cite web |date=28 November 2007 |title=Feature: Saint Andrew seals Scotland's independence |url=http://www.nas.gov.uk/about/051124.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916085046/http://www.nas.gov.uk/about/051124.asp |archive-date=16 September 2013 |access-date=9 December 2009 |publisher=The National Archives of Scotland}} Use of a simplified symbol associated with Saint Andrew, the saltire, has its origins in the late 14th century; the Parliament of Scotland decreeing in 1385 that Scottish soldiers should wear a white Saint Andrew's Cross on the front and back of their tunics.Dickinson, Donaldson, Milne (eds.), A Source Book Of Scottish History, Nelson and Sons Ltd, Edinburgh 1952, p.205 Use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century.G. Bartram, [http://www.flaginstitute.org/images/page10_large.gif www.flaginstitute.org British Flags & Emblems] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109055700/http://www.flaginstitute.org/images/page10_large.gif |date=9 November 2012 }} (Edinburgh: Tuckwell Press, 2004), {{ISBN|1-86232-297-X}}, p. 10. Since 1606 the saltire has also formed part of the design of the Union Flag.

There are numerous other symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the thistle, the nation's floral emblem (celebrated in the song, The Thistle o' Scotland), the Declaration of Arbroath, incorporating a statement of political independence made on 6 April 1320, the textile pattern tartan that often signifies a particular Scottish clan and the royal Lion Rampant flag."National identity" in M. Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford, 2001), pp. 437–444.Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins. Page 936.{{Cite web |title=Symbols of Scotland—Index |url=http://www.rampantscotland.com/symbols/blsymbols_index.htm |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Rampantscotland.com}} Highlanders can thank James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose, for the repeal in 1782 of the Dress Act 1746, which prohibiting the wearing of tartans.{{Cite book |last=Bain |first=Robert |title=Clans & Tartans of Scotland (revised) |publisher=William Collins Sons & Co., Ltd. |others=P.E. Stewart-Blacker (heraldic advisor), foreword by The R. Hon. C/refountess of Erroll |year=1959 |editor-last=Margaret O. MacDougall |page=108}}

Scotland has its own regalia known as the Honours of Scotland (informally the Scottish Crown Jewels) which consists of the Crown of Scotland, a Sceptre and Scottish Sword of State. The Scottish crown was worn by Scottish monarchs during their coronation, and today is kept in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle. The Crown of Scotland is present at each state opening of the Scottish Parliament.{{cite web |title=Scottish Parliament opening: Crown returns to seat of parliament |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/06/99/scottish_parliament_opening/378157.stm |website=BBC News |access-date=6 December 2024}} Collectively, the Honours of Scotland are the oldest regalia in the British Isles, dating from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.{{cite web |title=The Honours of Scotland |url=https://www.royal.uk/honours-scotland |website=www.royal.uk |access-date=6 December 2024 |language=en}}

File:The Queen at the Scottish Parliament - crop.jpg]]

Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland,{{Cite news |date=21 March 2006 |title=Action call over national anthem |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4828454.stm |access-date=3 November 2011}} Flower of Scotland is played on special occasions and sporting events such as football and rugby matches involving the Scotland national teams and since 2010 is also played at the Commonwealth Games after it was voted the overwhelming favourite by participating Scottish athletes.{{Cite news |date=9 January 2010 |title=Games team picks new Scots anthem |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8449939.stm}} Other currently less popular candidates for the National Anthem of Scotland include Scotland the Brave, Highland Cathedral, Scots Wha Hae and A Man's A Man for A' That.{{Cite web |date=11 May 2014 |title=Background Info |url=http://www.parliament.scot/gettinginvolved/petitions/PE01500-PE01599/PE01541_BackgroundInfo.aspx |access-date=17 January 2021 |website=www.parliament.scot}}

St Andrew's Day, 30 November, is the national day, although Burns' Night tends to be more widely observed, particularly outside Scotland. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, designating the day an official bank holiday.[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/en2007/2007en02.htm "Explanatory Notes to St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001002638/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/en2007/2007en02.htm |date=1 October 2007 }} Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 22 September 2007. Tartan Day is a recent innovation from Canada.{{Cite web |title=Tartan Day in Canada {{!}} Scotland.org |url=https://www.scotland.org/events/scotland-week/tartan-day-in-canada |access-date=17 August 2021 |website=Scotland |language=en |archive-date=25 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425221329/https://scotland.org/events/scotland-week/tartan-day-in-canada |url-status=dead }}

The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn, which has been a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century.{{Cite web |title=Scottish fact of the week: Scotland's official animal, the Unicorn |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/scottish-fact-of-the-week-scotland-s-official-animal-the-unicorn-1-2564399 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016033524/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/scottish-fact-of-the-week-scotland-s-official-animal-the-unicorn-1-2564399 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Scotsman.com}} The Court of the Lord Lyon regulates Scottish heraldry and the Public Register of All Armorial Bearings in Scotland.{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.courtofthelordlyon.scot/about%20us.htm|website=The Court of the Lord Lyon |access-date=7 January 2024}}

{{Main|Scottish cuisine}}

File:Haggis neeps and tatties.jpg, neeps and tatties]]

Scottish cuisine has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own but shares much with wider British and European cuisine as a result of local and foreign influences, both ancient and modern. Traditional Scottish dishes exist alongside international foodstuffs brought about by migration. Scotland's natural larder of game, dairy products, fish, fruit, and vegetables is the chief factor in traditional Scots cooking, with a high reliance on simplicity and a lack of spices from abroad, as these were historically rare and expensive.{{cite web |title=Edinburgh's Pantry: Tatties, neeps, oranges and lemons |url=https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/edinburghs-pantry-tatties-neeps-oranges-and-lemons |website=www.nts.org.uk |publisher=National Trust for Scotland |access-date=7 January 2024}}

Irn-Bru is the most common Scottish carbonated soft drink, often described as "Scotland's other national drink" (after whisky).{{Cite news |last=Brooks |first=Libby |date=30 May 2007 |title=Scotland's other national drink |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/may/30/scotlandsothernationaldrink |access-date=5 January 2020 |work=The Guardian |oclc=60623878}} During the Late Middle Ages and early modern era, French cuisine played a role in Scottish cookery due to cultural exchanges brought about by the "Auld Alliance",{{Cite web |last=Gail Kilgore |title=The Auld Alliance and its Influence on Scottish Cuisine |url=http://www.historichighlanders.com/auldfood.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030355/http://www.historichighlanders.com/auldfood.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=29 July 2006}} especially during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, on her return to Scotland, brought an entourage of French staff who are considered responsible for revolutionising Scots cooking and for some of Scotland's unique food terminology.{{Cite web |title=Traditional Scottish Food – Brief History of Food in Scotland |url=https://www.taste-of-scotland.com/traditional-scottish-food-scotlands-cuisine |access-date=17 January 2021 |website=Taste of Scotland |language=en-GB}}

{{Main|Sport in Scotland}}

File:Brazil v Scotland 25 (5575226993).jpg's fans are commonly known as The Tartan Army]]

Scotland hosts its own national sporting competitions and has independent representation at several international sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Nations League, the UEFA European Championship, the Rugby Union World Cup, the Rugby League World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, the Netball World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. Scotland has its own national governing bodies, such as the Scottish Football Association (the second oldest national football association in the world)Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora by James Mills, Paul Dimeo: Page 18 – Oldest Football Association is England's FA, then Scotland and third oldest is the Indian FA. and the Scottish Rugby Union. Variations of football have been played in Scotland for centuries, with the earliest reference dating back to 1424.{{Cite web |last=Gerhardt, W. |title=The colourful history of a fascinating game. More than 2000 Years of Football |url=https://www.fifa.com/en/history/history/0,1283,1,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060810202927/http://www.fifa.com/en/history/history/0%2C1283%2C1%2C00.html |archive-date=10 August 2006 |access-date=11 August 2006 |publisher=FIFA}}

The world's first official international association football match, between Scotland and England was held in Glasgow on 30 November 1872, and resulted in a 0–0 draw.{{Cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/027c-16b892bcfd7e-1d75251aa5cc-1000--first-ever-international-football-match-recreated-in-glasgow/|title=First ever international football match recreated in Glasgow|date=1 December 2022|website=UEFA}} The Scottish Cup was first contested in 1873, and is the oldest trophy in association football.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-cup/archive/scottish-cup-history/|title=Scottish Cup History {{!}} Scottish Cup {{!}} Scottish FA|website=scottishfa.co.uk}} The Scottish Football Association (SFA) is the main governing body for Scottish association football, and a founding member of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the Laws of the Game. Scotland is one of only four countries to have a permanent representative on the IFAB; the other four representatives being appointed for set periods by FIFA.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/organisation/ip-100_04e_ifab_9481.pdf|title=IFAB Meetings 1914-2008|website=FIFA|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410113056/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/organisation/ip-100_04e_ifab_9481.pdf|archive-date=10 April 2008}}{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Kevin |title=What you think you know about football is wrong |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2019 |isbn=9781472955678 |chapter=FIFA does not make the rules, and never has}} The SFA has responsibility for the Scotland national football team and the Scotland women's team.

File:Old 18th tee lr.jpg, the oldest golf course in the world]]

With the modern game of golf originating in 15th-century Scotland, the country is promoted as the home of golf.{{Cite web |title=Scotland is the home of golf |url=http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourlife/travel/04/08/trans_atlantic/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828200541/http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourlife/travel/04/08/trans_atlantic/index.html |archive-date=28 August 2008 |access-date=4 December 2008 |publisher=PGA Tour official website |quote=Scotland is the home of golf...}}{{Cite web |date=6 March 2007 |title=The Home of Golf |url=http://www.gov.scot/News/Releases/2007/03/06090032 |access-date=4 December 2008 |publisher=Scottish Government |quote=The Royal & Ancient and three public sector agencies are to continue using the Open Championship to promote Scotland as the worldwide home of golf.}}Keay (1994) op cit page 839. "In 1834 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club declared St. Andrews 'the Alma Mater of golf'". To many golfers the Old Course in the Fife town of St Andrews, an ancient links course dating to before 1552,{{Cite web |title=1574 St Andrews – The Student Golfer |url=http://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/oldest-golf-sites/1574-st-andrews |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=Scottish Golf History}} is considered a site of pilgrimage.Cochrane, Alistair (ed) Science and Golf IV: proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf. Page 849. Routledge. In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes.Forrest L. Richardson (2002). "Routing the Golf Course: The Art & Science That Forms the Golf Journey". p. 46. John Wiley & Sons The world's oldest golf tournament, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors.[http://www.pgatour.com/2007/travel/07/16/trans_071607/index.html The Open Championship – More Scottish than British] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002214520/http://www.pgatour.com/2007/travel/07/16/trans_071607/index.html |date=2 October 2012 }} PGA Tour. Retrieved 23 September 2011 There are many other famous golf courses in Scotland, including Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Muirfield, and Royal Troon.

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 times. 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.{{cite web |last1=Calvert |first1=Lee |title=Scotland 30-21 England: Six Nations 2024 – as it happened |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2024/feb/24/scotland-v-england-six-nations-2024-live |website=the Guardian |access-date=7 June 2024 |date=24 February 2024}}

File:Murrayfield Autumn 2017.jpg, the national stadium of the Scottish national rugby team]]

Other distinctive features of the national sporting culture include the Highland games, curling and shinty. In boxing, Scotland has had 13 world champions, including Ken Buchanan, Benny Lynch and Jim Watt. Scotland has also been successful in motorsport, particularly in Formula One. Notable drivers include; David Coulthard, Jim Clark, Paul Di Resta, and Jackie Stewart.{{Cite web |date=30 January 2015 |title=10 Scottish motor racing great |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/other_sports/13199539.10-scottish-motor-racing-great |access-date=30 January 2015 |website=heraldscotland.com}} In IndyCar, Dario Franchitti has won 4 consecutive IndyCar world championships.{{Cite web |last=Oreovicz |first=John |date=4 October 2010 |title=Dario Franchitti seals his place as the greatest Indy car driver of the modern era |url=https://www.espn.com/racing/racing/indycar/columns/story?columnist=oreovicz_john&id=5649822 |access-date=4 October 2010 |website=ESPN.com}}

Scotland has competed at every Commonwealth Games since 1930 and has won 356 medals in total—91 Gold, 104 Silver and 161 Bronze.{{Cite web |title=Medal Tally |url=http://www.cgcs.org.uk/team-scotland/medal-tally |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Cgcs.org.uk |archive-date=4 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104205624/http://www.cgcs.org.uk/team-scotland/medal-tally/ |url-status=dead }} 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.{{Cite web |title=Overview and History |url=http://www.cgcs.org.uk/past-games/overview-and-history |access-date=17 September 2014 |website=Cgcs.org.uk |archive-date=4 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104205508/http://www.cgcs.org.uk/past-games/overview-and-history/ |url-status=dead }} Glasgow was confirmed as the host city for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in September 2024.{{cite web |title=Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games - What do we know so far? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czj978gnmgpo |website=BBC News |access-date=22 September 2024 |date=18 September 2024}} Edinburgh was the host city for the inaugural Commonwealth Youth Games in 2000.{{cite web |title=Edinburgh 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games |url=https://www.commonwealthsport.com/commonwealth-youth-games/edinburgh-2000 |website=Commonwealth Sport |access-date=22 September 2024 |language=en}}

{{Portal|Scotland|United Kingdom}}

• Outline of Scotland{{-}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Richard J. |title=The Third Reich at War |publisher=Penguin Group |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-14-311671-4 |location=New York |author-link=Richard J. Evans}}
• {{Cite book |last=Sereny |first=Gitta |title=Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth |publisher=Vintage |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-679-76812-8 |location=New York |author-link=Gitta Sereny |orig-year=1995}}

{{refbegin}}

• Devine, T. M. [1999] (2000). The Scottish Nation 1700–2000 (New edition). London: Penguin. {{ISBN|0-14-023004-1}}
• Donnachie, Ian and George Hewitt. Dictionary of Scottish History. (2001). 384 pp.
• Keay, John, and Julia Keay. Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland (2nd ed. 2001), 1101pp; 4000 articles; emphasis on history
• Koch, J. T. Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2006), {{ISBN|1-85109-440-7}}, 999pp.
• MacGibbon, David and Ross, Thomas, [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65014 The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 3/3], (1897).
• Tabraham, Chris, and Colin Baxter. The Illustrated History of Scotland (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1932573011/ excerpt and text search]
• Trevor-Roper, Hugh, The Invention of Scotland: Myth and History, Yale, 2008, {{ISBN|0-300-13686-2}}
• Watson, Fiona, Scotland; From Prehistory to the Present. Tempus, 2003. 286 pp.
• Wilson, Neil. Lonely Planet Scotland (2013)
• Wormald, Jenny, Scotland: A History (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0198206151/ excerpt and text search]

{{refend}}

{{Sister project links|voy=Scotland|d=Q22|s=Portal:Scotland|n=Category:Scotland}}

• {{Official website|https://www.scotland.org/|name=Scotland}} – official online gateway to Scotland managed by the Scottish Government
• [https://www.visitscotland.com/ Visit Scotland] – official site of Scotland's national tourist board
• [https://www.gov.scot/ Scottish Government] – official site of the Scottish Government
• {{GovPubs|Scotland}}.
• {{OSM relation|58446}}

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