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Scotland, administrative division of the kingdom of Great Britain, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean; on the east by the North Sea; on the southeast by England; on the south by Solway Firth, which partly separates it from England, and by the Irish Sea; and on the west by North Channel, which separates it from Ireland, and by the Atlantic Ocean. As a geopolitical entity Scotland includes 186 nearby islands, a majority of which are contained in three groups—namely, the Hebrides, also known as the Western Islands, situated off the western coast; the Orkney Islands, situated off the northeastern coast; and the Shetland Islands, situated northeast of the Orkney Islands. The largest of the other islands is the Island of Arran. The area, including the islands, is 78,772 sq km (30,414 sq mi). Edinburgh (population, 1991, 421,213) is the capital of Scotland as well as a major industrial area and seaport.

Scotland has a very irregular coastline. The western coast in particular is deeply penetrated by numerous arms of the sea, most of which are narrow submerged valleys, known locally as sea lochs, and by a number of broad indentations, generally called firths. The principal firths are the Firth of Lorne, the Firth of Clyde, and Solway Firth. The major indentations on the eastern coast are Dornoch Firth, Moray Firth, the Firth of Tay, and the Firth of Forth. Measured around the various firths and lochs, the coastline of Scotland is about 3700 km (about 2300 mi) long.

The terrain of Scotland is predominantly mountainous but may be divided into three distinct regions, from north to south: the Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands. More than one-half of the surface of Scotland is occupied by the Highlands, the most rugged region on the island of Great Britain. Consisting of parallel mountain chains with a general northeastern-southwestern trend and broken by deep ravines and valleys, the Highlands are noted for their scenic grandeur. Precipitous cliffs, moorland plateaus, mountain lakes, sea lochs, swift-flowing streams, and dense thickets are common to the Highlands, the most sparsely inhabited section of Scotland. The region is divided in two by a depression, known as the Glen More, or Great Glen, which extends from Moray Firth to Loch Linnhe. To the northwest of this lie heavily eroded peaks with fairly uniform elevations ranging from 610 to 915 m (about 2000 to 3000 ft). In the Highlands southeast of the Great Glen the topography is highly diversified. This region is traversed by the Grampian Mountains, the principal mountain system of Scotland. The highest peak of the Grampians is Ben Nevis (1343 m/4406 ft), the highest summit in Great Britain.

To the south of the Highlands lies the Central Lowlands, a narrow belt comprising only about one-tenth of the area of Scotland, but containing the majority of the country's population. The Central Lowlands are traversed by several chains of hills, including the Ochil and Sidlaw hills, and by several important rivers, notably the Clyde, Forth, and Tay.

Scotland is characterized by an abundance of streams and lakes (lochs). Notable among the lakes, which are especially numerous in the central and northern regions, are Loch Lomond (the largest), Loch Ness, Loch Tay, and Loch Katrine. Many of the rivers of Scotland, in particular the rivers in the west, are short, torrential streams, generally of little commercial importance. The longest river of Scotland is the Tay; the Clyde, however, is the principal navigational stream, site of the port of Glasgow. Other chief rivers include the Forth, Tweed, Dee, and Spey.

The most populous city in Scotland (654,542) is Glasgow. The conurbation of Clydeside, which includes the cities of Glasgow and Clydebank, is the largest shipbuilding and marine engineering center in Great Britain. Other important industrial cities are Dundee (165,548) and Aberdeen (201,099).

The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination, is the official state church (see Scotland, Church of). The Roman Catholic church is second in importance. Other leading denominations are the Episcopal Church in Scotland, Congregationalist, Baptist, Methodist, and Unitarian. Jews are a small minority.

Schools in Scotland are administered by the Scottish Education Department and by local education authorities. For historical and organization information, see Great Britain.

In the mid-1980s some 879,000 pupils were attending publicly maintained schools and about 31,900 were in private schools. The transfer from elementary to secondary schools generally takes place at the age of 12. For a discussion on specialized schools, see England.

Scotland has about 66 institutions providing programs of study beyond the secondary level for those students who do not go on to the universities. These include colleges of agriculture, art, commerce, and science, and in the mid-1980s the total enrollment was more than 81,000. Teacher-training colleges numbered seven, with approximately 3000 students. Of the eight universities in Scotland, the oldest (University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, and University of St. Andrews) were founded in the 15th and 16th centuries. Four universities have received their charters since 1960. Total university enrollment was about 43,100 in the early 1980s.

Clans, the traditional keystone of Scottish society, are no longer powerful (see Clan). Originally, the clan, a grouping of an entire family with one head, or laird, was also important as a fighting unit. The solidarity associated with clan membership has been expanded into a strong national pride. The Puritan zeal of Scottish Presbyterianism, which is traceable to John Knox, the 16th-century religious reformer and statesman, is also strong. Popular sports of Scottish origin include curling and golf.

Bagpipes, usually associated with Scottish music, were probably introduced by the Romans, who acquired them in the Middle East. Scottish music is noted for the wide use of a five-tone, or pentatonic, scale. Folk tunes are not standardized, and a single song may have hundreds of variations in lyrics and music.

Scotland is governed as an integral part of Great Britain (see Great Britain: Government). It is represented by 72 members in the House of Commons and by 16 Scottish peers in the House of Lords.

Before the union of Scotland and England in 1707, Scotland had developed its own system of law, which continued after the union. The Scottish law system is based on civil law, which is derived from ancient Roman law, whereas the other parts of Great Britain follow the common law, which originated in England with the evolution of case law and precedents. Because of the different systems of law, separate statutes or statutory provisions often are enacted by Parliament for application in Scotland. Any statute must state expressly or imply that it is applicable to Scotland in order to become enforceable.

The Scottish Development Department is responsible for general policy in regard to local government. A reorganization of local government in Scotland was made effective in 1975, when the counties and burghs were abolished and replaced by nine regions and three island areas. The regions (but not the island areas) are divided into districts. Each of these units is administered by a council, whose members are elected to 4-year terms. The island areas, numbering some 700 islands and islets to the north and west, the regions, and the former counties, all of which are described in separate articles, are listed in the accompanying table. See also Hebrides.

Two leading British parties, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, have shared Scottish seats in Parliament about equally since the 1920s. The Scottish Nationalist Party, which was founded in 1927 in order to press for complete self-government, has played a minor role in the politics of the country.

Many aspects of the economy of Scotland are covered in the article on Great Britain. The currency of Great Britain is the legal tender of Scotland. Both agriculture and industry are important in the economy of Scotland. The chief exports are petroleum and natural gas and manufactured goods, especially burlap, clothing, machinery, textiles, and whiskey. The chief imports are food and iron. The center of Scottish trade unionism is the Scottish Trades Union Congress, with an affiliated membership of more than 980,000.