Scotland (Gaelic/G�idhlig (Scottish Gaelic): Alba) is a country that is part of (Countries of the United Kingdom) the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border (Anglo-Scottish 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 (North Channel (British Isles)) and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland includes over 790 islands (List of islands of Scotland) including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the countrys capital (capital (political)) and second largest city, is one of Europes largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was once one of the worlds leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital.
The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent sovereign state before 1 May 1707 when it entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain. This union resulted from the Treaty of Union agreed in 1706 and enacted by the twin Acts of Union (Acts of Union 1707) passed by the Parliaments of both countries, despite widespread protest across Scotland. Scotlands legal system (legal systems of the world) continues to be separate from those of England, Wales (English law), and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland law) and Scotland still constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in public (public international law) and in private (private international law) law.
The continued existence of legal (Scots law), educational (Scottish education system) and religious (Religion in Scotland) institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity (Scottish national identity) since the Union. Although Scotland is no longer a separate sovereign state, issues surrounding devolution (History of Scottish devolution) and independence (Scottish independence) continue to be debated. After the creation of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, the first ever pro-independence Scottish Government was elected in 2007 when the Scottish National Party formed a minority administration (minority government).
Conventional Long Name: Scotlandspaces2resize75%(English (Scottish English) / Scots (Scots language)),''Alba''spaces2resize75%(Scottish Gaelic)
Common Name: Scotland
Image Flag: Flag of Scotland.svg
Image Coat: Lionrampant.svg!border
Symbol Type: Royal Standard
National Motto: ''In My Defens God Me Defend'' (Scots (Scots language)),(often shown abbreviated as ''IN DEFENS'')
National Anthem: None (National anthem of Scotland) (''de jure''),Flower of Scotland (''de facto'')
Image Map: Europe location SCO2.png
Map Caption: map_captionlocation=inset ? orange),in the United Kingdom (camelregion=the European continent (Europe)region_color=white
Capital: Edinburgh
Latd: 55 latm=57 latNS=N longd=3 longm=10
Largest City: Glasgow
Latd: 55 latm=57 latNS=N longd=3 longm=12 longEW=W
Official Languages: English (Scottish English) (''de facto'')1
Regional Languages: Scottish Gaelic (Scottish Gaelic language), Scots (Scots language)
Ethnic Groups: 89% Scottish (Scottish people), 7% English (English people), Irish (Irish people), Welsh (Welsh people), 4% other
Demonym: Scots, Scottish (Scottish people)2
Leader Title1: Monarch (British monarchy)
Leader Name1: Elizabeth II (Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom)
Leader Title2: First Minister (First Minister of Scotland) (Head of Scottish Government (Scottish Government))
Leader Name2: Alex Salmond MSP (Members of the 3rd Scottish Parliament)
Leader Title3: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Leader Name3: David Cameron
Legislature: Scottish Parliament
Area Magnitude: 1 E10
Area Km2: 78,772
Area Sq Mi: 30,414
Percent Water: 1.9
Population Estimate: 5,194,000
Population Census: 5,062,011
Population Density Km2: 65.9
Population Density Sq Mi: 170.8
Gdp Ppp: US$194 billionCitation neededdate=July 2008
Gdp Ppp Per Capita: US$39,680Citation neededdate=July 2008
Currency: Pound sterling
Currency Code: GBP
Time Zone: GMT
Utc Offset: 0
Time Zone Dst: BST
Utc Offset Dst: +1
Cctld: .uk4
Calling Code: 44
Patron Saint: St Andrew (Saint Andrew) , St Margaret (Saint Margaret of Scotland) , St Columba (Saint Columba)
Footnote1: Both Scots and Scottish Gaelic are officially recognised as autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; the B�rd na G�idhlig is tasked, under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, with securing Gaelic as an official language of Scotland, commanding "equal respect" with English.
Footnote2: Historically, the use of "Scotch" as an adjective comparable to "Scottish" was commonplace, particularly outwith Scotland. However, the modern use of the term describes only ''products'' of Scotland, usually food or drink related.
Footnote3: Scotland's head of state is the monarch of the United Kingdom, currently Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952). Scotland has limited self-government within the United Kingdom as well as representation in the UK Parliament. It is also a UK electoral region (Scotland (European Parliament constituency)) for the European Parliament. Executive and legislative powers have been devolved to, respectively, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh.
Footnote4: Also .eu, as part of the European Union. ISO 3166-1 is GB (Great Britain), but .gb is unused.