Total population | |
---|---|
c. 28 – c. 40 millionA | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Scotland 4,446,000 (2011) | |
United StatesB |
20–25 million (Scottish descent) 3,075,137 Scotch-Irish descent) |
CanadaC | 4,719,850 |
Australia | 2,023,474 |
EnglandD | 795,000 |
Northern Ireland E | 760,620 |
Argentina | 100,000 |
Chile | 80,000 |
Brazil | 45,000 |
France | 45,000 |
Poland | 15,000 |
New Zealand | 14,412 |
South Africa | 11,160 (estimate) |
Isle of Man | 2,403 |
Hong KongG | 1,459 |
Languages | |
English (Scottish English) Scottish Gaelic Scots | |
Religion | |
Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism, Episcopalianism; other minority groups | |
A These figures are estimates based on census data of populations and official surveys of identity.
|
Scotland 4,446,000 (2011)
The Scottish people (Scots: Scots Fowk, Scottish Gaelic: Albannaich), or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or Alba) in the 9th century. Later, the neighbouring Celtic-speaking Cumbrians, as well as Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons and Norse, were incorporated into the Scottish nation.
In modern usage, "Scottish people" or "Scots" is used to refer to anyone whose linguistic, cultural, family ancestral or genetic origins are from Scotland. The Latin word Scoti originally referred to the Gaels, but came to describe all inhabitants of Scotland. Considered archaic or pejorative, the term Scotch has also been used for Scottish people, primarily outside Scotland.John Kenneth Galbraith in his book The Scotch (Toronto: MacMillan, 1964) documents the descendants of 19th-century Scottish pioneers who settled in Southwestern Ontario and affectionately referred to themselves as 'Scotch'. He states the book was meant to give a true picture of life in the community in the early decades of the 20th century.