Facts about Scotland

Here are some facts about Scotland and their background. Scotland is one of the nations of the United Kingdom along with England, Northern Ireland and Wales. When looking at Scotland facts it would be important to recognise that the population of Scotland is just over 5 million people and the capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. However, Edinburgh is not the largest city in Scotland as it's population is surpassed by the city of Glasgow and it's 600,000 population.

The flag of Scotland is known as the saltire or St.Andrews cross and other flags such as the yellow and red lion rampant are also associated with Scotland. Other Scottish emblems include the tartan which is often associated with the Scottish kilt dresswear and the flower of Scotland is also known as the thistle which is often worn at weddings or formal occasions.

The official language of Scotland is English but 1% of the population still speak in the traditional Scots gaelic language which is still used in a few places including the Western Isles. The national anthem of Scotland is known as the flower of Scotland but other popular songs include Scotland the Brave.Transport in scotland is modern with 5 international airports serving the nation at Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Prestwick and Edinburgh International airport. Many charter and scheduled airlines operate at most airports and you can find budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet also offering cheap flights to other European destinations.

Education in Scotland is a high standard with 14 universities including the University of St.Andrews which is one of the oldest in the world, founded in 1410 and recently welcomed Prince William as one of it's students. The patron saint of Scotland is St.Andrew and the 30th of November is recognised as St.Andrews day and the Scottish Parliament are hoping to make this a national bank holiday in Scotland.

The national newspaper in Scotland is open to debate but the best selling tabloid newspapers are the Daily Record and The Sun, until recently the Daily Record sold nearly twice as much as the Sun but an aggressive pricing campaign has worked well for the Sun newspaper as they are currently the best selling daily newspaper in Scotland. Other national newspapers in Scotland include the well respected The Scotsman and the Herald.

A famous Scotland fact is the home of golf is widely recognised as the famous St.Andrews old course which has hosted many British opens and other championship courses include the excellent Carnoustie and Royal Troon golf courses. But it is the sport of Football which is at the heart of Scottish culture and the Scottish football association have the honour of offering the oldest national trophy in the world every year which is the Scottish Cup and teams such as Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen regularly compete in.