Scotland
country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scotland (Scots: Scotland, Scottish Gaelic: Alba [ˈal̪ˠapə] (listen)) is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. The main part of it is the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Many other islands in the British Isles are also part of Scotland. To the south of Scotland is England. The North Sea is to the east. The Atlantic Ocean is to the west. The Irish Sea is to the south-west.
Scotland | |
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Motto: "In My Defens God Me Defend" (Scots)[a] "In my defence God me defend" | |
Anthem: Various[b] | |
Status | Country |
Capital | Edinburgh 55°57′11″N 3°11′20″W |
Largest city | Glasgow |
Official languages[c] | |
Ethnic groups (2011) | |
Religion (2011) | |
Demonym(s) | |
| |
Government | Devolved parliamentary legislature within a constitutional monarchy[e] |
• Monarch | Charles III |
Humza Yousaf | |
• Deputy First Minister | Shona Robison |
Parliament of the United Kingdom | |
• Secretary of State | Alister Jack |
• House of Commons | 59 MPs (of 650) |
Legislature | Scottish Parliament |
Formation | |
• Established | 9th century (traditionally 843) |
• Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton | 17 March 1328 |
• Treaty of Berwick | 3 October 1357[5] |
1 May 1707 | |
• Devolution | 19 November 1998 |
Area | |
• Land | 77,933 km2 (30,090 sq mi)[6] |
• Water (%) | 3.00% |
Population | |
• 2019 estimate | 5,463,300 |
• 2011 census | 5,313,600[7] |
• Density | 67.5/km2 (174.8/sq mi) |
GVA | 2017 estimate |
• Total | £138 billion[8] |
• Per capita | £25,500[8] |
GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | £166.8 billion[9] |
• Per capita | £30,530 ($44,000)[10] |
HDI (2018) | 0.913[11] very high · 4th |
Currency | Pound sterling (GBP; £) |
Time zone | UTC (Greenwich Mean Time) |
UTC+1 (British Summer Time) | |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AD) |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +44 |
ISO 3166 code | GB-SCT |
Internet TLD | .scot [f] |
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The capital city of Scotland is Edinburgh on the east coast. The biggest city is Glasgow on the west coast. The other cities in Scotland are Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth, Stirling and Dunfermline. About five million people live in Scotland. Most of the population lives in the Central Belt, an area between the Scottish Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands.
Unlike most of Great Britain, most of Scotland was not part of the Roman Empire (only the southern half of Scotland – then named Caledonia – was under Roman control for a century) and did not become part of Anglo-Saxon England. The Kingdom of Scotland started in the 9th century AD. In 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Ireland. In 1707, the parliament of Scotland joined with the parliament of England to become the Parliament of Great Britain. This formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain. This kingdom joined with the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801 to make the modern United Kingdom.