Historical area and region of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Became a part of Great Britain after the Law on Union was adopted in 1707. The movement for autonomy (devolution) unfolded since the 1970s. After the referendum in 1998, the Act of Scotland was passed; consequently, the competencies of the Scottish Parliament and Westminster were divided. Acts of Scotland were also adopted in 2012 and 2016. The Scottish way of devolution is considered the most successful in comparison with Welsh and Northern Ireland ones.
88% of Scotland's population are Scots, an ethnic minority of Celtic origin. 42% of the inhabitants of Scotland are followers of the national Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In Scotland, the status of the Gaelic language is officially protected, 2% of the population of the region speaks Gaelic. Scotland is economically developed; it has large reserves of oil and gas.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) receives a majority in legislative elections and forms the Scottish government. After the elections of 2015, SNP became the third largest party in the UK national parliament, which helps party to push the regional demands further. On September 18, 2014, a referendum (SNP's initiative) was held on the secession of Scotland from the United Kingdom. 55.3% of the respondents decided that the region should remain part of the UK. However, after the 2016 referendum on the withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union, where the majority of Scots (62%) opposed the decision to exit EU, the SNP announced the need for a new referendum on the independence of Scotland. It might take place between the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019.
