Country of Scotland

Scotland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search This article is about the country. For other uses, see Scotland (disambiguation). Scotland Alba (Scottish Gaelic) Flag of Scotland.svg Flag Royal Banner of Scotland Royal Banner Motto: "In My Defens God Me Defend" (Scots)[a] "In my defence God me defend" Anthem: Various[b] Predominantly "Flower of Scotland" Location of Scotland (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the United Kingdom (green) Location of Scotland (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the United Kingdom (green) Status Country Capital Edinburgh 55°57′11″N 3°11′20″W Largest city Glasgow Recognised languages[c] English Scots Scottish Gaelic British Sign Language Ethnic groups (2011) 96.0% White 2.7% Asian 0.7% Black 0.4% Mixed 0.2% Arab 0.1% other[6] Religion Church of Scotland Roman Catholic Other Christian Islam Hinduism Buddhism Sikhism Judaism Other No religion[7][8] Demonym(s) ScottishScots[d] Sovereign state Legal jurisdiction United Kingdom Scotland Government Devolved parliamentary legislature within a constitutional monarchy[e] • Monarch Elizabeth II • First Minister Nicola Sturgeon • Deputy First Minister John Swinney 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) • Union with England 1 May 1707 • Devolution 19 November 1998 Area • Land 77,933 km2 (30,090 sq mi)[9] • Water (%) 3.00% Population • 2019 estimate Increase 5,463,300[10] • 2011 census 5,313,600[11] • Density 67.5/km2 (174.8/sq mi) GVA 2017 estimate • Total £138 billion[12] • Per capita £25,500[12] HDI (2018) 0.913[13] very high · 4th Currency Pound sterling (GBP; £) Time zone UTC (Greenwich Mean Time) • Summer (DST) UTC+1 (British Summer Time) Date format dd/mm/yyyy (AD) Driving side left Calling code +44 ISO 3166 code GB-SCT Internet TLD .scot [f] ^ Often shown abbreviated as "In Defens". ^ See National anthem of Scotland. ^ Scotland has no official language. English is the main language by custom and usage, with Scots, Scottish Gaelic and British Sign Language also recognised as the main linguistic groups in Scotland, according to the Scottish Government.[14] Both Scots and Scottish Gaelic are officially recognised as regional languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.[15] Under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, Bòrd na Gàidhlig is tasked with securing Gaelic as an official language of Scotland.[16] British Sign Language is officially recognised as language under the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015.[17] ^ Historically, the use of "Scotch" as an adjective comparable to "Scottish" or "Scots" was commonplace. Modern use of the term describes products of Scotland (usually food or drink-related). ^ The head of state of the United Kingdom is the monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II, since 1952). Scotland has limited self-government within the UK as well as representation in the UK Parliament. Certain executive and legislative powers have been devolved to, respectively, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. ^ .scot is not a ccTLD, but a GeoTLD, open to use by all people in Scotland and related to Scotland. .uk as part of the United Kingdom is also used. ISO 3166-1 is GB, but .gb is unused. Scotland (Scots: Scotland, Scottish Gaelic: Alba [ˈal̪ˠapə] (About this soundlisten)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain,[18][19][20] mainland Scotland has a 96 mile (154 km) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and the Irish Sea to the south. In addition, Scotland includes more than 790 islands;[21] principally within the Northern Isles and the Hebrides archipelagos. The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the European Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI of Scotland became king of England and Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain.[22][23] The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (in 1922, the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being officially renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927).[24] Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles and other royal symbols of statehood specific to the pre-union Kingdom of Scotland. The legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law.[25] The continued existence of legal, educational, religious and other institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the 1707 union with England.[26] In 1999, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy.[27] The head of the Scottish Government is the first minister of Scotland, who is supported by the deputy first minister of Scotland.[28] Scotland is represented in the United Kingdom Parliament by 59 MPs. Scotland is also a member of the British–Irish Council,[29] sending five members of the Scottish Parliament to the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly.[30] Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas.[31] Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the Scottish Government to each subdivision.[31]