Scotland GREAT BRITAIN-SCOTLAND Has Retained a £1 Banknote
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Scotland I.H.T. tender of Scotland but the country can also issue its own banknotes; Scotland GREAT BRITAIN-SCOTLAND has retained a £1 banknote. Both agriculture and industry are important in the economy of Scotland, but the main growth sector has been the services industries in recent years. The chief exports are oil and natural gas, chemicals, and manufactured goods, especially whisky, electronics equipment, clothing, machinery, and textiles. Scotland has experienced the same pressure on its traditional industries, particularly shipbuilding, as Wales and the north of England. However, since 1987 economic growth in Scotland has on average been greater than in the United Kingdom as a whole, and it was less affected by the recession in the early 1990s than other areas. In part this has been a consequence of the new jobs and industries created by North Sea oil, and in part a result of Scotland’s success in attracting high-technology industries. The centre of Scottish trade unionism is the Scottish Trades Union Congress, with an affiliated membership of around 980,000. Industries: The other traditional heavy industries of Scotland’s industrialization, shipbuilding and steel-making, have also largely been consigned to history— although the building of rigs for the North Sea oilfields and gasfields has enabled a number of the former Clydeside shipyards to stay in business. The decline of these traditional industries, however, has been paralleled by a growth of new industries such as chemicals, light mechanical and instrument engineering, and, especially, electronics. Many of the world’s leading companies in the electronics field, such as IBM and Motorola, have located to Scotland, notably around Glasgow and West Lothian. By the late 1990s, more than 200 electronics companies were operating in Scotland, making the country one of the main focuses of the industry in Western Europe. In particular, Scotland is a major source of computers and peripheral equipment, accounting for more than half of all exports in this area. The electronics industry as a whole accounts for around 13 per cent of manufacturing jobs, 19 per cent of manufacturing output, and 17 per cent of manufacturing investment in Scotland. A number of traditional industries, including the manufacture of food and drink products and of textiles Country Dialling Code (Tel/Fax): ++44 (especially high-quality tweed and knitwear) and hosiery, remain important. VisitScotland: 23 Ravelston Terrace, Edinburgh EH4 3TP, UK Tel: (0131) 332 Prime among the first group is the whisky industry. Scotland has some 110 2433 Fax: (0131) 315 4545 E-mail: [email protected] Website: distillers, located mainly in the north-east. About 80 per cent of their output is www.visitscotland.com exported to more than 200 countries. Export earnings from whisky amounted to Capital: Edinburgh Time: GMT+1 some US$3.3 billion (£2.1 billion) a year (about 20 per cent of Scotland’s Background: The crowns of Scotland and England were united in 1603, and the manufactured export earnings) in the mid-1990s, making it one of Britain’s top governments of the two countries in 1707; Scotland has retained, however, its own foreign-exchange earners. legal system, its own Church, a substantially different education system, and the right Currency: 1 British pound = 100 pence to issue its own bank notes. Since 1999, a Scottish parliament of 129 seats has sat Railways: About 4,376 km (2,720 mi) of railways serve Scotland. independently of the parliament at Westminster. Scotland is bordered on the north by Ports and Harbors: Glasgow. the Atlantic Ocean; on the east by the North Sea; on the south-east by England; on Airports: Many transatlantic flights use Prestwick Airport near Glasgow, the south by the Solway Firth, which partly separates it from England, and by the Irish Britain’s fourth-busiest airport. Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports are also among Sea; and on the west by the North Channel of the Irish Sea which separates it from the ten busiest airports in Britain. the island of Ireland, and by the Atlantic Ocean. As a geopolitical entity Scotland see Visa in UK section. includes 186 nearby islands, a majority of which are contained in three groups—the Visa: Hebrides, also known as the Western Isles (Eilean Siar), situated off the western Duty Free: see Duty Free in UK section. coast; the Orkney Islands, situated off the north-eastern coast; and the Shetland Health: see Health in UK section Islands, situated north-east of the Orkney Islands. The largest of the other islands is Arran, located in the Firth of Clyde, off the west coast. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, and a leading cultural and economic centre. Location: Scotland, country, administrative division of the United Kingdom of Great HOTELS / MOTELS / INNS Britain and Northern Ireland, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Map References: United Kingdom Area: The land area of Scotland, including the islands, is 78,790 sq km (30,420 sq ABERDEEN mi). The figure includes some 1,692 sq km (653 sq mi) of inland water ABERDEEN DOUGLAS HOTEL, 43-45, Market Street, Aberdeen, AB11 Natural Resources: Scotland, like much of Britain, has significant reserves of coal. 5EL, Tel. +44 (0) 1224 582255, Fax. +44 (0) 1224 582966, E-mail: It also possesses large deposits of zinc, chiefly in the south. The soil is generally rocky [email protected], website: www.aberdeendouglas.com and infertile, except for that of the Central Lowlands. Northern Scotland contains most ABERDEEN MARRIOTT HOTEL,Overton Circle-Dyce ,Aberdeen, Scotland of the United Kingdom’s largest hydroelectric generating stations. Following the AB21 7AZ United Kingdom ,Phone: 44 1224 770011,Fax: 44 1224 discovery of substantial oil deposits in the North Sea in the late 1970s, a sizeable 722347,Sales: 44 1224 763738 ,Sales fax: 44 1224 722347 , offshore oil industry grew up and became a vital component of the UK economy as http://www.marriott.co.uk well as an important part of the Scottish economy. Forestry and fishing resources are ABERDEEN NORTHERN HOTEL,1 Great Northern Road,Aberdeen, AB24 also important. 3PS,01224 483 342, www.aberdeennorthernhotel.com Population: Scotland has a population of about 5,119,200 (1999). The average ARDOE HOUSE HOTEL, South Deeside Road, Blairs, Aberdeen, AB1 5YP, If it does not say Intercontex it is not The International Hotel and Travel Directory Directory and Travel Hotel International The it is not Intercontex say does not Ifit population density is about 65 people per sq km (168 per sq mi). The highest density Tel. +44 (0) 1224 860600, Fax. +44 (0) 1224 861283, E-mail: h6626- is in the Central Lowlands, where nearly three quarters of Scots live, and the lowest is [email protected], website: www.mercure-uk.com in the Highlands, where densities are as low as 8 people per sq km (21 per sq km). BAUHAUS HOTEL,52-54 Langstane Place,Aberdeen, AB11 6EN,01224 212 About two thirds of the population are urban dwellers. 122, www.thebauhaus.co.uk Nationality: Scots. BRENTWOOD HOTEL ABERDEEN,101 Crown Street,Aberdeen, AB11 Ethnic Groups: The people of Scotland, like those of Britain in general, are 6HH,01224 595 440, www.brentwood-hotel.co.uk descendants of various northern tribes, including the Picts, Celts, Scandinavians, and, CITY WHARF APARTMENTS,52 Regent Quay,Aberdeen, AB11 5AH,0845 to a lesser extent, Romans. Scotland is a mixed rural-industrial society. Scots divide 094 2424, www.citywharfapartments.co.uk themselves into Highlanders, who consider themselves of “purer” Celtic blood and COPTHORNE HOTEL ABERDEEN,122 Huntly Street,Aberdeen, AB10 retain a strong feeling for the clan, and Lowlanders. There are strong Scandinavian 1SU,01224 630 404, www.hotels-aberdeen.co.uk influences in the Orkney Islands and Shetland islands. CRAIGHAAR HOTEL,1 Waterton Road,Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9HS, Religions: The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian (Protestant) denomination, is the 01224 712 275, www.craighaarhotel.com official Church, with an adult communicant membership of more than 752,000. The Roman Catholic Church is second in importance with some 744,600 adherents. Other DOUBLETREE BY HILTON ABERDEEN CITY CENTRE HOTEL, Beach Boulevard,Aberdeen, AB24,01224 633 339, www.hilton.com leading denominations are the Episcopal Church of Scotland, a province of the Anglican Church, Congregationalist, Baptist, Methodist, and United Free, as well as a EXPRESS BY HOLIDAY INN ABERDEEN CITY CENTRE,Chapel number of small Presbyterian Churches, which in the past formed as breakaway Street,Aberdeen, AB10,01224 623 500, www.hiexpress.com groups from the Church of Scotland. There are small numbers of Muslims, Hindus, HEUGH HOTEL,Westfield Road,Stonehaven, AB39 2EE,01569 762 379, Sikhs, and Jews in the cities. www.home2.btconnect.com Languages: Scottish Language, dialect of the English language, Scottish Gaelic. HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS ABERDEEN-EXHIBITION CENTRE,Parkway Economy: Many aspects of the economy of Scotland are covered in the article East,Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, AB23 8AG,01224 227 250, United Kingdom. The currency of the United Kingdom, the pound sterling, is the legal www.holidayinnexpressaecc.co.uk ©Copyrights Scotland ®Design Intercontex The Intercontex I.H.T.- Over 150,000 Subscribers Scotland I.H.T. HOLIDAY INN HOTEL IN ABERDEEN-WEST, Westhill Drive,Westhill, AB32 ARGYLL 6TT,0871 423 4931, www.ichotelsgroup.com JURYS INN ABERDEEN HOTEL,Jurys Inn Aberdeen Hotel,Union Square, Guild Street, Aberdeen, AB11 5RG,01224 381 200, www.aberdeenhotels.jurysinns.com LOCH