Homepage  >  Discover Scotland  >  Culture

Scottish Culture

The Scots have been typecast as being thrifty, cautious, and sincere. They are however far from being boringly similar. Scotland is a country in which individualism flourishes. This diversity explains why Scots have been responsible for more of the notable discoveries and inventions in today’s world than any other nation.

The Highlands and West of our country has retained much of its Celtic origins, while the southern part of the nation reflects ancient Scots, Nordic and Anglo-Saxon influences. Modern Scotland is a vibrant mixture of international cultures, global perspectives, and growing rebirth of nationhood. In an era when small countries can compete across the world, there is also growing interest in independence from the UK.

Language

The official and most common language in Scotland is English. Through the centuries, England’s influence has displaced the former native tongue, Gaelic. Gaelic, a language derived from Celtic origins, came via Ireland when St Columba and the Scots settled from the West. Today it is spoken by less than 70,000 people in Scotland with the majority of these being in the islands of the Hebrides in the North-West, although it is now being encouraged once again in the schools.

Demographics

Scotland has a population of about 5.2 million which is only about 10 percent of the United Kingdom’s total population. The bulk of the population live in a central triangular region made up of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee.