Scotland is situated in the northern part of the United Kingdom. The total area of the country is 78,772 km2 and it is home to almost 800 small islands, the most famous are the northern isles of Shetland and Orkney, the Hebrides, Arran and Skye. It has around 5.3 million of inhabitants who speak three official languages: English, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic.
We can divide the Scotland into 3 regions:
– The Upper Lowlands: It’s the South of Scotland, just over the English/Scotland border. This area is agricultural and has lots of beautiful greenery and hills.
– The Central Lowlands: It’s the area where we can find Edinburgh and Glasgow, it’s the most industrial and populated.
– The Highlands and Islands: This wild area represents about 50% of Scotland. It has the most beautiful scenery with its mountains, lochs and islands. On its 800 islands, only 130 are inhabited.
Highlands/Lowlands
There are only 6 officially recognized cities in Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling. The capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, is the second-largest city of the country with 492 680 inhabitants. The city, with its many large finance firms as Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland, is the financial services centre of Scotland. Glasgow, with its 599 650 inhabitants, is the Scotland’s largest city and is a big industrial city.
The official national flag of Scotland is the Saltire. The flag is composed of a white cross on a blue background. The cross represent the cross where Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified.
The Saltire
Politically, Scotland is a constitutional monarchy, the head of the state is Queen Elizabeth II since 1952, and the First Minister is Nicola Sturgeon the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since November 2014. The SNP supports Scottish independence, so it legislated for an independence referendum which was held on 18 September 2014. The independence was rejected by a majority of 55%. Then, the UK Conservative Party legislated for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union which was held on 23 June 2016. The result is that a majority of 62% in Scotland rejected withdrawal from the EU. After this referendum the Scotland’s First Minister, Nicolas Sturgeon, announced it is likely that it have a new independence referendum.
Economically, Scotland has a GVA (Gross Value Added) of £117 billion and a GVA per head of £21 982, that it’s more than the United Kingdom and the France. The main exports of Scotland are: food and drink (whisky), refined petroleum, electronics and financial services. And Scotland exports mostly in the United States, Netherlands, Germany, France and Norway.
