Scotland today

                                       2 Scotland today

      There are more than five million people in Scotland. Most Scots live in the south, in or near the big cities of Edinburg and Glasgow (see the map on page 19). Most of the north of the country is very empty – not many people live there. Aberdeen – the oil city of Scotland – is the only big city in the north.

      Scottish people are called Scots, but not Scotch is a drink made in Scotland (see page 17). Scots people are British, because Scotland is part of Britain, but don’t call them English! The Scots and English are different.

      Today everyone in Scotland speaks English (some words in Scotland are different). But at one time, people in the north and west of Scotland did not. They had a different language, a beautiful language called Gaelic. About 60,000 people speak Gaelic today, but many more want Gaelic to live: it is part of the story of Scotland.

      Scotland is not a vary hot country so take some warm clothes with you when you go. In the summer, the days are long and it can be warm. But it can be cold a . . . wet, too, an in the winter the days are short and can be snow.

      For many years, Scotland was a poor country, but today it is getting richer. People in many courtiers drink Scotch whisky and this brings money to Scotland. There is oil and gas in the sea between Scotland and Norway. Visitors bring money to the country too because there are lots of things to see and do. And Scotland is freer now with its own parliament in Edinburgh. Life can be hard, but for many people things are getting better.