Scotland is a country which is part of the United Kingdom, having previously been an independent, sovereign country prior to the 1707 union with England.[1][2][3] Established in 843, this would make Scotland the second oldest country in Europe and the fifth oldest country in the world.[4] It's monarchy is amongst the oldest in the world, and is the oldest recorded monarchy in Europe.[5]

Location of Scotland (dark green)
– in Europe (light green & dark grey)
– in the United Kingdom (light green)

Occupying the northern third of the largest island, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands[6] including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

The countries head of government is the First Minister who is the head of the Scottish Government and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The First Minister chairs the Scottish cabinet and is accountable to the Scottish Parliament which is situated in the countries capital city, Edinburgh.

General reference

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Geography of Scotland

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Enlargeable relief map of Scotland

Geography of Scotland

Location

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Environment of Scotland

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Arrochar Alps
 
Ben Lomond
 
Loch Lomond
 
Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles

Environment of Scotland

Natural geographic features of Scotland

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Regions of Scotland

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Ecoregions of Scotland

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List of ecoregions in Scotland

Administrative divisions of Scotland

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Administrative divisions of Scotland

Municipalities of Scotland
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Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland

Municipalities of Scotland

Demography of Scotland

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People on Buchanan Street, Glasgow

Demographics of Scotland

Government and politics of Scotland

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The Scottish Parliament, the national legislature of Scotland

Politics of Scotland

The Scottish Government

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The incumbent Scottish Government, the Swinney government, lead by First Minister John Swinney

Government of Scotland

Government

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Legislative

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Local government in Scotland

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East Ayrshire Council, one of Scotland's 32 council areas

Local government in Scotland

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Scots law

Military

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Census of Scotland

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1891 Census of Scotland

History of Scotland

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By period

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By region

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By subject

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Culture of Scotland

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Edinburgh as seen from Calton Hill, with Dugald Stewart Monument
 
Fireworks over Edinburgh Castle on Hogmanay, the Scottish celebration of the last day of the year (31 December)

Culture of Scotland

Art in Scotland

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Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet
 
Pipe band at Inverness Castle

People of Scotland

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Sean Connery, the inaugural actor to play fictional MI5 agent James Bond on screen

Religion in Scotland

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Sports in Scotland

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The Scotland national football team in competition against the Czech Republic at Euro 2012. Scotland competes at the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Nations League and UEFA European Championship
 
Scotland has competed in every Commonwealth Games since 1930, and hosted three times; 1970, 1986 and 2014
 
Turnberry Golf Course

Sports in Scotland

Economy and infrastructure of Scotland

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Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city, is the 13th-largest financial centre in the world and 4th largest in Europe in 2020[7]
 
RMS Queen Elizabeth on the slipway at Clydebank, circa 1938.
 
Oil and gas extraction in the North Sea of the coast of northeast Scotland

Education in Scotland

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Specific schools

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Notes

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Countries of the UK statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Countries within a country". 10 Downing Street. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
  3. ^ "ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Date: 2007-11-28 No I-9. "Changes in the list of subdivision names and code elements" (Page 11)" (PDF). International Organization for Standardization codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions -- Part 2: Country subdivision codes. Retrieved 31 May 2008. SCT Scotland country
  4. ^ "Oldest Country in Europe 2024". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  5. ^ "How does the UK's Royal Family compare with others around the world?". Sky News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Scottish Executive Resources" (PDF). Scotland in Short. Scottish Executive. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2006.
  7. ^ McSherry, Mark. "Edinburgh 4th in Europe in new Financial Centres index – Scottish Financial Review".
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  Wikimedia Atlas of Scotland