Scotland

Core values & worldview

If you want to understand a Scot, start with the fact that Scotland is a nation that has spent three centuries inside someone else’s state without ever forgetting it is a nation. It was a kingdom from the ninth century; it fought off England’s attempt at conquest in the Wars of Independence; and when it joined England in 1707 it kept its own Church, law and schools.^•

A few values come up again and again.

Fairness and equality. Many Scots like to see their country as egalitarian, summed up in Burns’s “A man’s a man for a’ that” and the old saying “we’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns” (we’re all the same people’s children). Historians call this partly a myth, since Scotland had harsh class divisions, but it is a myth people live by. Surveys tend to find Scots somewhat to the left of England on economics, though less different on social issues than often assumed.^•

Education and argument. The Reformation’s ideal of a school in every parish, the ancient universities and the Enlightenment left a deep respect for learning, the “democratic intellect”. Scots tend to enjoy a good argument, and debate in pubs and kitchens can be fierce and funny at once.^•

Directness and humour. Scottish humour is dry, self-deprecating and often merciless towards anyone getting above themselves. Praise is understated; “not bad” can be high praise. Some writers speak of the “Scottish cringe”, an embarrassment about Scottishness that coexists with fierce pride.^•

Community and place. Loyalty to a town, a region, a football club or an island runs deep. Glaswegians, Edinburghers, Aberdonians, Islanders and Borderers will each tell you they are quite different from the others.^•

Daily life & customs

Most of Scotland’s 5.4 million people live in the Central Belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh; the Highlands and islands are beautiful and thinly peopled.^•

The calendar has its own high points. Hogmanay, New Year, was historically a bigger celebration than Christmas, which the Kirk long discouraged. Burns Night on 25 January brings haggis, whisky and poetry. St Andrew’s Day on 30 November is a bank holiday. Highland games, Border Common Ridings and the Edinburgh Festival fill the summer.^•

Language is quietly everywhere. Almost half of Scots reported some skills in Scots in the 2022 census, the language of Burns, which many speak as a mix with English without labelling it. About 130,000 people, 2.5%, had some skills in Gaelic, and about 70,000 can speak it; it is the majority language only in parts of the Western Isles and is now growing through Gaelic-medium schools.^•

Football is close to a religion, from the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers to small-town clubs. The national team’s fans, the Tartan Army, pride themselves on being good-humoured travellers. Rugby matters in the Borders and in private schools, and golf was born here.^•

Wounds & sensitivities

The Clearances. The removal of Highland communities to make way for sheep, and the emigration that followed, is the deepest historical wound, especially in the Highlands and the diaspora. Glib jokes about it, or treating Highland culture as just a tourist backdrop, can sting.^•

Culloden and the romantic myth. Culloden is mourned, but many Scots are also tired of being reduced to tartan, kilts and Braveheart; history in Scotland is more complicated, and many Scots fought on the government side.^•

Deindustrialisation. The closure of the shipyards, steelworks and pits in the 1970s and 1980s left communities in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Fife with lasting poverty, and a resentment of Thatcher-era governments that is still alive.^•

Health. Scotland has the lowest life expectancy in the UK and among the highest rates of drug deaths in Europe, concentrated in deprived areas. Many Scots see this as a scandal and a legacy of poverty; being reminded of it by outsiders, especially in jokes about deep-fried food or drink, can hurt.^•

Sectarianism. Large-scale Irish Catholic immigration in the nineteenth century created a Catholic minority that long faced discrimination, and a Protestant-Catholic divide that still flares around some Old Firm matches and Orange walks in west-central Scotland. Most Scots are embarrassed by it.^•

Slavery and empire. Scotland has long told itself it was a victim of England rather than a partner in empire. Revelations about Scottish slave-owning and the wealth it built, from Glasgow’s merchant houses to university donations, have prompted uncomfortable reckoning.^•

Modern attitudes

Divided on independence, united on being Scottish. Independence divides the country almost in half. Support in the Scottish Social Attitudes survey rose from 27% when devolution began in 1999 to 47% in 2024. Yet Scots of all views share a strong national identity, and many unionists are as proud of Scotland as any nationalist.^•

Pro-European. Scotland voted 62% to remain in the EU in 2016, with every council area voting Remain, and pro-European feeling remains strong.^•

Secular and fairly liberal. In 2022, for the first time, a majority, 51.1%, said they had no religion; 20.4% said Church of Scotland and 13.3% Roman Catholic. Scotland legalised same-sex marriage in 2014, and the Church of Scotland has since allowed ministers to conduct same-sex weddings.^•

Open to newcomers, mostly. Scotland’s population is ageing and its governments have generally welcomed immigration. Scots of Pakistani, Indian, Polish, Chinese and Irish descent are part of national life; Humza Yousaf became the first Muslim First Minister in 2023. Racism exists here as elsewhere, but civic rather than ethnic nationalism is the mainstream: if you live here and want to be Scottish, you are.^•

Not all Scots are the same

Yes and No. Since 2014 many Scots think of themselves, at least politically, as Yes or No voters, and the line runs through families. Older people, Protestants and the more affluent lean No; younger people and the working-class central belt lean Yes.^•

Highlands, islands and Lowlands. The Gaelic Western Isles, the Norse-flavoured Orkney and Shetland (part of Norway until 1468–69, where many feel quite separate from “mainland” Scotland), the Doric-speaking north-east, the Borders with their rugby and Common Ridings, and the big cities all feel distinct.^•

Glasgow and Edinburgh. The great rivalry: Glasgow, the friendly, working-class, Labour and then Yes-voting industrial city; Edinburgh, the elegant capital of lawyers, bankers and festivals. Locals enjoy the stereotypes more than they believe them.^•

Catholic and Protestant. In the west, Irish Catholic and Ulster Protestant heritage still shapes identity, from football loyalties to Orange walks, though religious practice has collapsed in both communities.^•

The diaspora. Many millions of people around the world claim Scottish ancestry, especially in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and in Ulster. Scots welcome their interest warmly, though the clan-and-tartan version of Scotland some descendants bring with them can seem quaint to people at home.^•

Meeting someone

Conversation starters

• Where they’re from. Ask about their town, island or region, and you’ll often get a warm lecture on why it’s the best bit of Scotland.
• Food and drink. Whisky regions, the best chip shop, Irn-Bru, tablet and macaroni pies.
• Football or rugby. Ask who they support, then listen; in the west, the answer can tell you a lot.^•
  • The Scottish Nation 1700–2000 — T. M. Devine, Allen Lane (1999)
• Culture. Burns, the Edinburgh Festival, Scottish bands from the Proclaimers to Biffy Clyro, or Outlander and the Highlands.
• The weather. A national pastime.

Topics to approach carefully

• Never call a Scot English. Or Scotland “England”. “British” is fine for some, unwelcome to others; let them choose.^•
  • Scotland's Census 2022: Religion, ethnic group, language and national identity — National Records of Scotland (2024)
• Independence. People feel strongly and it can strain friendships. Ask rather than assume, and don’t treat either side as obviously foolish.^•
  • Scottish Social Attitudes Survey — ScotCen / National Centre for Social Research, NatCen Social Research
• Celtic and Rangers. The rivalry can carry sectarian undertones; avoid jokes about which side someone’s family is on.
• Margaret Thatcher. In many parts of Scotland her name still provokes strong feeling.^•
  • "We in Scotland": Thatcherism in a Cold Climate — David Torrance, Birlinn (2009)
• Accent jokes and stereotypes. Mean, drunk, deep-fried and kilted: Scots have heard them all, and are much better at making the jokes about themselves.

Common misconceptions

• “Scotland is just part of England.” It is a nation within the UK, with its own parliament, law, Church, education system and national teams.^•
  • The Scots and the Union — Christopher A. Whatley, Edinburgh University Press (2006)
  • Devolution in the UK — James Mitchell, Manchester University Press (2009)
• “Scots wear kilts all the time.” Kilts are for weddings, ceilidhs, graduations and international matches. Much of the “ancient” clan tartan system was formalised in the nineteenth century.^•
  • Culloden — Murray Pittock, Oxford University Press (2016)
  • The Scottish Nation 1700–2000 — T. M. Devine, Allen Lane (1999)
• “Scotch” for Scots. Scotch is whisky. People are Scots or Scottish.
• “All Scots want independence” (or “none do”). It is close to an even split.^•
  • Scottish Social Attitudes Survey — ScotCen / National Centre for Social Research, NatCen Social Research
• “Gaelic is the Scottish language.” Gaelic is one of Scotland’s languages, spoken by a small minority. Most Scots speak English, Scots or a blend of both.^•
  • Scotland's Census 2022: Religion, ethnic group, language and national identity — National Records of Scotland (2024)