|Beginning in the late 1970s, offshore oil deposits in the North Sea became |
|an important part of the Scottish economy. |
| |
|Population |
| |
|The people of Scotland, like those of Great Britain in general, are |
|descendants of various racial stocks, including the Picts, Celts, |
|Scandinavians, and Romans. Scotland is a mixed rural-industrial society. |
|Scots divide themselves into Highlanders, who consider themselves of purer |
|Celtic blood and retain a stronger feeling of the clan, and Lowlanders, who|
|are largely of Teutonic blood. |
| |
|Population Characteristics |
| |
|The population of Scotland was (1991 preliminary) 4,957,289. The population|
|density was about 64 persons per sq km (167 per sq mi). The highest density|
|is in the Central Lowlands, where nearly three-quarters of the Scots live, |
|and the lowest is in the Highlands. About two-thirds of the populations are|
|urban dwellers. |
| |
|Principal Cities |
| |
|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). |
| |
|Religion and Language |
| |
|The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination, is the official state |
|church. 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. English is |
|generally spoken; fewer than 100,000 Scots (mainly inhabitants of the |
|Highlands and island groups) also speak the Scottish form of Gaelic. |
| |
|Education |
| |
|Schools in Scotland are administered by the Scottish Education Department |
|and by local education authorities. |
| |
|Elementary and Secondary Schools |
| |
|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. |
| |
|Universities and Colleges |
|[pic] |
|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. |
| |
|Culture |
| |
|Clans, the traditional keystone of Scottish society, are no longer |
|powerful. 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. [pic] |
|[pic] |
| |
|Government |
| |
|Scotland is governed as an integral part of Great Britain. It is |
|represented by 72 members in the House of Commons and by 16 Scottish peers |
|in the House of Lords. |
| |
|Central Government |
| |
|Scottish affairs are administered by a British cabinet ministry, headed by |
|the secretary of state for Scotland. The statutory functions of the |
|secretary of state are discharged by five main departments of equal status:|
|the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, the Scottish |
|Development Department, the Scottish Education Department, the Scottish |
|Home and Health Department, and the Industry Department for Scotland. Each |
|is administered by a secretary who is responsible to the secretary of |
|state. The routine administration of the department’s proceeds from |
|Edinburgh, but each department has representatives in London, where they |
|perform liaison and parliamentary duties. |
| |
|Legislature |
| |
|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. |
| |
|Judiciary |
| |
|The Scottish judiciary is organized separately from that of the rest of |
|Great Britain. The two higher courts of Scotland are the High Court of |
|Justiciary (criminal) and the Court of Session (civil). A panel of 21 |
|judges is provided for both courts together. Major criminal trials are held|
|before 1 or 2 judges of the High Court of Justiciary and a 15-member jury; |
|criminal appeals may be heard by a bench of at least 3 judges. The Court of|
|Session is divided into an Outer House, which holds all divorce trials and |
|the more important civil trials, and an Inner House, which functions |
|chiefly as an appellate court in civil cases. Appeals to the British House |
|of Lords may be made from the Court of Session; appellate judgments of the |
|High Court of Justiciary are final. Each of the six sheriff domes, into |
|which Scotland is divided, has a sheriff court for less important civil and|
|criminal cases. Petty cases are tried by police courts and justices of the |
|peace. |
| |
|Local Government and Political Parties |
| |
|The Scottish Development Department is responsible for general policy in |
