– in the United Kingdom (light green)
Scotland is a country which is part of the United Kingdom, having previously been an independent, sovereign country prior to the 1707 union with England.[1][2][3] Established in 843, this would make Scotland the second oldest country in Europe and the fifth oldest country in the world.[4] It's monarchy is amongst the oldest in the world, and is the oldest recorded monarchy in Europe.[5]
Occupying the northern third of the largest island, it shares a 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 and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands[6] including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
The countries head of government is the First Minister who is the head of the Scottish Government and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The First Minister chairs the Scottish cabinet and is accountable to the Scottish Parliament which is situated in the countries capital city, Edinburgh.
- ^ The Countries of the UK statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
- ^ "Countries within a country". 10 Downing Street. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- ^ "ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Date: 2007-11-28 No I-9. "Changes in the list of subdivision names and code elements" (Page 11)" (PDF). International Organization for Standardization codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions -- Part 2: Country subdivision codes. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
SCT Scotland country
- ^ "Oldest Country in Europe 2024". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "How does the UK's Royal Family compare with others around the world?". Sky News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Scottish Executive Resources" (PDF). Scotland in Short. Scottish Executive. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2006.