Facts about Scotland - Research Paper Example

Facts about Scotland An overview While the following map of Scotland would enlighten us about the physical location of this country, the other facts regarding Scotland are listed below: The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, while the largest city of the country is Glasgow. The official languages followed by the people here include English and Scots. As Queen Elizabeth II, who is the queen of UK, is the monarch head of this country; Scotland has established constitutional monarchy government, which is headed by the prime minister of UK, Gordon Brown, who happens to be the prime minister of Scotland as well. However, Alex Saimond, MSP is the first minister of the country. The country covers an area of 78,772 sq. kms, while it has a population of 5168500 as per the 2008 estimates. The currency of the country is Pound Sterling, as it has GVA per head of 19,152 Pounds. The country has a population density of 64 for one sq. km. While Scotland’s history is filled with stories of romance, thrills and bravery, it has a fairly established tourism industry, which employs almost 8% of the nation’s workforce. The people love water sports, walking, climbing and trekking on the hills, along with fishing, pony tracking. However, Golf playing remains the leisure game for its people, as this sport gives an earning of roughly 100 million pounds every year to the country. Yet, in the wake of international competition, the country needs taking a proactive approach to keep alive its Scottish golf image…..(Scotland fact file, Business.., 2003) (source: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usmapindexes/northcentral.html ) Economic Facts The total GVA of the country is 98 million Pound Sterling. The total available labor force is estimated as 2.678.000, while exports are the major economic activities of the country. While the countries to which Scotland exports is headed by USA, importing goods from Scotland estimated at the value of 2.8 billion Pounds; France follows it with Scottish exports of 1.5 billion Pounds. The country also exports to Netherlands, goods worth of 1.4 billion Pounds and Germany gets goods from Scotland worth 1.3 billion Pounds. The country’s top export industries are food and drinks, which cater to exports of around 4.6 billion Pounds, as chemicals exports are estimated at 2.2 billion Pounds. In addition, the country exports business services to the tune of 1.9 billion Pounds and office machinery worth 1.2 billion pounds…….(facts on economy….) Economic indicators The Scottish government strategy for economic growth emphasizes on the factors of productivity and participation of work force, o achieve the set targets. Accordingly, depending upon the number of people working and their individual productivity, the government prepares plans for the long term economic growth that takes into account the employment rate, visa-vis, the population growth rate, along with the increasing labor productivity estimates. The following is the guide map for charting such an economic strategy as set by the Scottish Economic Policy Committee, which monitors the progress of the economy in the Empire. (Source: http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/economicresearch.htm#scottish_economy , Economic Performance Indicators) Scotland’s Economic performance compared to OECD countries The following table shows Scotland’s international quartile position, as measured with different indicators. The indicators used for this purpose include, GDP details, its growth rate and per head value, rates of employment and productivity, population dynamics, export sales growth and graduates as the percentage of population, total research and development, along with the R&D figures for the development of business, as well as, entrepreneurial activity. The table further gives the details of Scotland’s performance against each of these indicators, as compared to other OECD countries and UK. It also gives the size and gap between the top OECD performer and Scotland performance on each measured indicator, as well as the recommended measures to be taken by Scottish authorities to reach the top rank. The table also shows latest trends of narrowing or widening of this gap, measured since 1999…..(Economic Performance Indicators…) No Measure Latest year full set of data available Frequency of publication Source Scotland’s international quartile position To reach OECD top quartile, Scotland would need an additional: Scotland’s UK region quartile position Latest trend International Top Quartile Latest Trend UK Regional Top Quartile 1. GDP growth - 10 year annual average (1998-2008) 2008 Annual OECD, ONS 3 (23 out of 31 countries) £2.3 billion GDP growth to match Q1 long term growth rates 2 (6 out of 12 regions) 2. GDP per head 2008 Annual OECD, ONS 3 (17 out of 31) £2,500 GDP per head from £23,000 (current Q1 of £25,500 2008 PPPs) 1 (3 out of 12) - 3. Employment rate (15-64 yr olds) 2008 (2009 Q1 for UK regions) Annual OECD, Scottish Govt 2 (10 out of 31) 31,000 more in employment from 2.52 million to 2.55 million 2 (5 out of 12) 4. Productivity (GDP per hour worked) 2007 Annual OECD, ONS 3 (17 out of 30) £5.20 per hour from £28.30 to £33.50 (equivalent to £21.3 billion GDP) 2 (4 out of 12) 5. Entrepreneurial activity 2008 Annual GEM, ONS 3 (12 out of 17) 111,000 more entrepreneurially active from 144,000 to 255,000 4 (10 out of 12) 6a. Total R&D expressed as % GDP 2007 Annual OECD, S Govt 3 (20 out of 31) £1.2 billion R&D from £1.7 billion to £2.9 billion 2 (6 out of 12) 6b. Business R&D as % total R&D 2007 Annual OECD, S Govt 4 (30 out of 31) £700 million BERD from £500 million to £1.2 billion 4 (12 out of 12) 6c. Business R&D as % of GDP 2007 (2008 for UK) Annual OECD, S Govt 4 (26 out of 31) £1.5 billion BERD from £500 million to £2 billion 3 (9 out of 12) 7. Graduates as % of the population (aged 25-64) 2007 (2008 for UK) Annual OECD, S Govt 2 (16 out of 31) 100,000 more graduates from 579,000 to 679,000 1 (3 out of 12) 8a. Population growth (1999-2008) 2008 Annual OECD, GROS 4 (25 out of 31) 406,000 more people from 97,000 to 503,000 4 (10 out of 12) 8b Net migration as a % of the population 2007 Annual OECD, ONS 2 (12 out of 28) 17,000 more people from 28,000 to 45,000 2 (4 out of 12) 9. Export sales growth - 3 year annual ave (2006-2008) 2008 Annual OECD, S Govt 4 (25 out of 31) £8 billion more exports from £60 billion to £68 billion 4 (10 out of 12) Scottish heritage The picture above is a fine example of Scottish heritage and architecture, which has adjusted itself to the modern business requirements. (Source: http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/Scotland/en-GB-list.html ) Scottish culture Britain being the powerful and large sized neighbor of Scotland, the people of the country look for their separate identity, as they have often seen England as the country that stands for power, greed, arrogance and oppression. This has resulted in the feeling of an inferiority complex in the minds of strong Scottish people who are culturally freedom loving. History of Scotland has a fine chapter for its people, which relates to the defeat of England by Scots during the battle of Bannockburn, in 1314. This finds reference in the unofficial national anthem of Scotland, called “Flower of Scotland”, which is written by late Roy Williamson. During the Thatcher Government, from 1979-90, Scots had resented to various administrative measures, including the unpopular poll tax levied by the English Government on Scotland, one full year before it was made mandatory for England and Wales. However, as this saw the peak of political conflict between England and Scotland, the same is now confined to the sports arena. While Christianity has been the religion of masses for Scotland, there is a tendency of declining religious observance as studies suggest that only 6.5% of the population attend regularly church on Sundays. However, church attendance is observed to be the highest in Outer Hebrides, while it is the lowest in cities. Nevertheless, the other religions like Hindus, Jews and Muslims form only 2 % of the population……..(Murphy & Wilson, Scotland, page-37) Scottish people As people of Scotland are physically active and have strong will power, we have historical records, which suggest that thousand of Scots crossed over to Atlantic in America for starting a new life. While they sought their fortune in Gold, cattle and farming, this strong workforce braved all the hassles, for this purpose, which included harsh living conditions, hostile environments and other such things. The book, named as “Frontier Scotts”, written by Jennie Calder has detailed the historical facts that provide the information on Scots’ hand in shaping the American history. While facing diseases, conflict, desperation and political pressure, these brave Scots were able to make out fortunes for themselves in the strange lands………..(Calder, Frontier Scots) Scottish art While the art and culture is thriving in Scotland, artists like Gerald Burns, Elaine Woo, Peter Howson, Lois Carson, John Bellany, Alison Watt, Jack Vettriano and Alex Cooper are recognized world over, as their works find significant places in the important art galleries of the world, which have been sold for hefty sums to celebrities and art collectors, including Jack Nicholson, Madonna, Terence Conran and Tim Rice. Similarly, alumni of the ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY of MUSIC and DRAMA include world famous artists like, Robert Carlyle, Sir Ian Richardson, Alan Cumming, James McAvoy and Tom Conti, who have attended their respective courses in Glasgow…..(arts and Culture) In addition, Scotland has produced several famous personalities, which are related to the creative writing. A few among the well-known names in literature include James Kelman, A L Kennedy, Janice Galloway, Liz Lockhead, Alisdair Gray, Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin, Andrew OHagan and many others……..…..(arts and Culture) Business facts of Scotland Most of the business outsource processing jobs have gone to the country as it has around 60,000 employees in almost 300 call centers that cater to businesses of companies like Dell, Direct Line, among others. The oil and gas industry of Scotland supports nearly hundred thousand jobs, spread around 40 countries worldwide, as there are around 2000 service and supply companies related to this trade, internationally. In a report by Financial Times FDI magazine, Scotland was named as the “UK region of future-2006/7”, while it was listed on the top in human resources, IT and telecom. Life Science industry is a thriving business in Scotland as it employs about 29,000 people in around 590 Life Sciences Organizations. While four international clearing banks have headquarters in Scotland, the country is ranked as fifth largest financial center for Europe. Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland, headquartered here, has operations worldwide, as they have the reputation of efficient performance, internationally . The aerospace industry in Scotland has almost 10% share of the UK’s aerospace industry, as per the Scottish Survey Report. The aerospace industry in Scotland had a turnover of Pound Sterling 2.1 billion; while Prestwick has a reputation of being the excellent center for maintenance, repairs and overhaul, as it caters to companies like GE, Goodrich, to name a few…..(Business facts, Scotland, 2010) BIBLIOGRAPHY In-text citation references and list of sources used—(all accessed from 26th April to 29th April 2010) Arts and Culture, available at: http://www.scotland.org/about/innovation-and-creativity/arts-and-culture/index.html Business facts, Scotland, 2010, available at: http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/Scotland/en-GB-list.html Calder Jenni, Frontier Scots, Book, available at: http://www.visitdunkeld.com/frontier-scots.html Economic Performance Indicators (March 2010 update), available at: http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/economicresearch.htm#scottish_economy Facts on the economy of Scotland, available at: http://www.scotland.org/about/fact-file/economic/index.html Scottish economy http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/economicresearch.htm#scottish_economy Murphy Allan & Wilson Neil, Scotland (book) , page 37, available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=s8r-3qjDwoMC&dq=books+on+Scotland&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=28bWS5IozbesB-HvkawH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=13&ved=0CDgQ6AEwDA#v=onepage&q&f=false Scotland Fact file, business and economy, 2003, available at: http://www.scotland.org/about/entertainment-and-sport/features/business/tourism.html Read More