User:BNPUP/Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a constituent country in the north-west part of Europe, and is one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. It is the northern half of the island of Great Britain, with a population of about five million. To the south of Scotland is the border with England. Scotland has coasts on the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Irish Sea to the south-west.
Scotland [Alba] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) | |
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Motto: "In My Defens God Me Defend" (Scots) "In my defence God me defend"a | |
Anthem: Variousb Usually "Flower of Scotland" | |
Capital | Edinburgh |
Largest city | Glasgow 55°51′N 4°16′W |
Official languages | Englishc |
Recognised regional languages | |
Ethnic groups (2011) |
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Demonym(s) |
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Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Government | Devolved government inside of a constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Nicola Sturgeon | |
British Government | |
Theresa May | |
David Mundell | |
Legislature | Scottish Parliament |
Formation | |
• Established | 9th century (traditionally 843) |
1 May 1707 | |
Area | |
• Total | 78,387 km2 (30,265 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 1.9 |
Population | |
• 2013 estimate | 5,327,700[2] |
• 2011 census | 5,313,600[3] |
• Density | 67.5/km2 (174.8/sq mi) |
GDP (nominal) | 2012 estimate |
• Total | $235 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $44,378 |
Currency | Pound sterling (GBP) |
Time zone | UTC (GMT) |
UTC+1 (BST) | |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AD / CE) |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +44 |
ISO 3166 code | GB-SCT |
Internet TLD | .scot |
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Scotland was once an independent country and had its own monarch, but is now in a union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which we now call the United Kingdom. In 1603, the King of Scotland, James VI, became King of England too, because Queen Elizabeth I of England died. In 1707, the parliament of Scotland joined with the parliament of England to become the Parliament of Great Britain.
Even though Scotland is not independent, throughout history it has had its own legal system and culture.[7] Since 1999, Scotland has had its own parliament, the Scottish Parliament. It was devolved from the British parliament, which still controls many things regarding Scotland.
On 18 September 2014, a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom took place. A majority (55%) voted to stay in the United Kingdom. [8][9]
The Flag of Scotland is blue with a white diagonal cross. This is the cross of Saint Andrew, who is the patron saint of Scotland. Some other symbols used for Scotland are a thistle, and a lion rampant.
The capital city of Scotland is Edinburgh on the east coast, but the biggest city is Glasgow on the west coast. Other cities in Scotland are Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth and Stirling.