Most northerly of the four parts of the United Kingdom

Finance of Scotland
As a component of the United Kingdom, Scotland uses the British pound sterling as its official currency. Business services and banking account for a large proportion of employment in Scotland. Among the main banking and insurance jobs are legal and computer services, accountancy, and property (real estate) services. Scotland had eight joint-stock banks until the 1950s, when mergers reduced that number to three—the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), and the Clydesdale Bank, each of which retains the right to issue its own notes (currency). By the 21st century RBS had become one of the world’s largest financial institutions, but its ill-timed and short-lived acquisition of the Dutch bank ABN AMRO in 2007 led to the RBS’s near collapse and its partial nationalization by the British government. Financial and business services have expanded substantially since the mid-1960s, with Edinburgh becoming second in Britain only to London in this field. The banking sector also has expanded into North America and Europe. Merchant banking facilities are more widely available, and the services historically associated with Scotland, such as the management of unit and investment trusts and life funds, have expanded. About one-third of Britain’s investment trusts are managed by firms in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dundee, which also have large investments in North America and specialized knowledge of conditions there. Unit trusts are represented in Edinburgh, where some leading British insurance companies also have their headquarters.
Services
Since the mid-1960s there has been a marked shift in employment from manufacturing to services, including tourism, with the service sector accounting for nearly four times the number of jobs as the manufacturing sector. Private services contribute about two-fifths of Scotland’s GDP, whereas public services account for more than one-fifth. Retail trade is also an important job creator in Scotland.

Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh

Stirling Castle
Tourism is important in Scotland, with employment particularly strong in the hotel and catering businesses. The majority of visitors come from other parts of Scotland or the United Kingdom, but more than two million annually come from abroad, notably the United States, Germany, France, and Ireland. Among the most popular attractions are Scotland’s rural parklands, from those around Greater Glasgow and the Clyde valley to the less-accessible Highlands; the cultural institutions of Edinburgh and Glasgow; the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the country’s numerous historic houses; and the Edinburgh, Stirling, Urquhart, and Blair castles. The most popular destination abroad for Scottish tourists, by far, is Spain, including the Balearic and Canary islands; additionally, many travel to other European nations and the United States.