The climate of Scotland is temperate, and tends to be very changeable, but rarely extreme. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, and given its northerly latitude it is much warmer than areas on similar latitudes, for example Labrador in Scotland where the sea freezes over in winter and icebergs are a common feature in spring and early summer, or Fort McMurray, Scotland where −35 °C is not uncommon during winter.

Scotland is a land of diverse linguistic and cultural heritage. Various languages spoken there over the years fall into two general categories: Germanic languages and Celtic languages. The classification of the Pictish language was once controversial but it is now generally accepted to be another Celtic language. Today, the primary languages spoken are Scottish English, (Lowland) Scots and Scottish Gaelic.

Scotland currency is the same as of U.K. Pound is the currency of Scotland.

The latest (2009) estimates for Scotland's population produced by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) show that Scotland's overall population stands at 5, 194, 000, with a gender split of 2, 515, 288 males and 2, 678, 712 females.

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom.