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Scotland
General information factsheet
+ Geography and climate
+ Population
+ Government and sovereignty
+ Economy
+ Historical background
+ Tourism
and Culture
Geography and climate
Talla, Southern Scotland
Photo © P. Kelly - Celtia.info |
| Location:
Western Europe, northern third of the island of Great Britain.
Area:
78,782 sq km (approximately the size of the Czech Republic or South Carolina).
Coastline: 3,700 km.
Terrain: Low rounded mountains in the south,
gently rolling hills on the eastern shores, rugged mountains on western and central
Scotland (Highlands). Plain areas in the south and north east. See
webcams & pictures..»
Forest: 1,300,000 ha. - (17%)
Highest elevation: Ben Nevis (1,344 m), Highlands, western Scotland.
Climate:
Temperate maritime, influenced by the North Atlantic current, the "Gulf Stream";
mild winters, cool summers and consistently humid. See
weather forecast..»
Average temperature and rainfall index:
| Glasgow
(Sth-West) | Edinburgh
(Sth-East) | Fort
William (Highlands) | | Temp.
August | 19 C
/ 10 C | 18 C
/ 10 C | 16 C
/ 11 C | | Temp.
January | 6 C
/ 2 C | 6 C /
0 C | 6 C / 2
C | | Rainfall | 951
mm | 664 mm | 1934
mm |
Population Population: 5.0
million.
Around 75% of the population lives within the triangle Gasgow-Dundee-Edinburgh.
Main 3 cities: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen. See
webcams & pictures..»
Scottish diaspora: Largest Scottish
emigrant communities are found in England, USA and Canada. Scots
abroad..»
Population growth rate: -2% between 1981 - 2001.
Ethnic composition: Base of Celtic and Germanic (Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian).
New population contributions from English, white European groups, and Asian groups
from India and Pakistan.
Religious affiliation: Christian Protestant
Church of Scotland 42%, No religion 28%, Christian Roman Catholic 16%, Others:
14% (2001).
Official languages: English. Spoken and understood by 100%
of the Scottish population.
Unofficial languages: Scots, Scottish Gaelic
and Doric. Scots and Doric languages are very close to English. Scots is widely
spoken in Scotland, while Doric is spoken in rural areas of the north east. Because
of its similarity with English, Scots and Doric are often considered to be a dialect
of English. Scottish Gaelic is close to Irish Gaelic, and it is fluently spoken
by about 50,000 speakers in the west of Scotland. Language
info..»
Government
Edinburgh, Capital of Scotland
Photo © P. Kelly - Celtia.info |
| Sovereignty:
Former independent Kingdom united with England since the Act of Union of 1707.
In 1999 Scotland became an autonomous territory of the United Kingdom with full
autonomy on economy, infrastructure, environment, health, social services, education
and culture.
Government type: Parliamentary democracy, autonomous region
of the United Kingdom. More
info..»
Capital: Edinburgh.
Administrative divisions:
32 council areas; Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll & Bute, Scottish
Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire,
East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk,
Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North
Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands,
South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Western Isles,
West Lothian.
Constitution: Unwritten; partly statutes, partly common
law and practice.
Legal system: Scots Law, uncodified combination of
both civil law and common law.
Executive branch: Scottish Executive,
composed by a Head of Government (First Minister) and a Cabinet (Ministers) selected
by the First Minister and appointed by the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Legislative
branch: Parliament (Scottish Parliament), consisting on 129 members elected
by popular vote, serve four year term.
Judicial branch: Scotland's
Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary.
Current Government: Centre-Left
government coalition of Scottish Labour and The Liberal Democrats. First Minister:
Mr. Jack Mc Connell. More
info..»
Political parties: Scottish Labour Party; Scottish
National Party (SNP); Scottish Liberal Democrats; Scottish Conservative &
Unionist Party; Scottish Green Party; Scottish Socialist Party (SSP). More
info..»
National holiday: No Scottish national day is officially
celebrated, although St.
Andrew, 30 November, is unofficially considered Scotland's national day.
Official flag: The Saltire, St
Andrew's flag, known to be a national emblem of Scotland as early as 1286.
The legend accounts that the St. Andrew's cross appeared in the sky to help the
Scots to win a battle against the Angles, hence the colours of the white cross
over the blue flag. |
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