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the northernmost part of Britain, formerly an independent country, now part of the UK
area 78,470 sq km/30,297 sq mi
capital: Edinburgh
other towns and cities: Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen
features: the Highlands in the N (with the Grampian Mountains); central Lowlands, including valleys of the Clyde and Forth, with most of the country's population and industries; Southern Uplands (including the Lammermuir Hills); and islands of the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Western Isles;
the world's greatest concentration of nuclear weapons are at the UK and US bases on the Clyde, near Glasgow;
8,000-year-old pinewood forests once covered 1,500,000
hectares/3,706,500 acres, now reduced to 12,500 hectares/30,900 acres;
there are at least 104,876 hectares of native woodlands remaining in the
Highlands 1994, covering only 2% of the total area
industry electronics, marine and aircraft engines,
oil, natural gas, chemicals, textiles, clothing, printing, paper, food
processing, tourism
currency pound sterling
population (1988 est) 5,094,000
languages English; Scots, a lowland dialect (derived
from Northumbrian Anglo-Saxon); Gaelic spoken by 1.3%, mainly in the Highlands
religions Presbyterian (Church of Scotland), Roman
Catholic
famous people Robert
Bruce, Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, Adam Smith
government Scotland sends 72 members to the UK Parliament at Westminster. Local government is on similar lines to that of England, but there is a differing legal system. Since 1999 Scotland has had it's own parliament.
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Click on the links below to find out more:
Scottish History For information and links which will tell you all about the long and bloody history of Scotland, from pre-history to the present day.
Scottish Myths and Legends Much of Scotland's past is shrouded in mystery, and for a long part of its history, there are few or no written records. For this reason, there are many myths and legends in Scotland. Find out about some of them here.
Famous Scots For such a small nation, Scotland has produced a surprising number of famous people. You can find out more by clicking on ths link.
Scotland in Film Mention Scotland these days and people automatically think of Braveheart, and sometimes of Trainspotting. Find out more about these and other films relating to Scotland here.
Scottish Football Football is Scotland's number one passion. Find out about club and national football here
Scottish Music Scotland has produced a lot of music, and its Celtic traditions mean that music is central to Scottish life. Find out about Scottish music, past and present, traditional and contemporary, here.
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For a comprehensive list of Scottish newspapers, local and national, click here: http://www.zen.co.uk/wrx/scotland.htm
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For general information about Scotland, try the following:
http://www.simplyscottish.com/
http://www.electricscotland.com/
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