Scottish national identity

Scottish national identity, including Scottish nationalism, are terms referring to the sense of national identity as embodied in the shared and characteristic culture, languages, and traditions^[1] of the Scottish people. It includes the civic, ethnic, cultural, or economic influences found in Scotland.

Although the various languages of Gaelic, Scots, and Scottish English are distinctive, people associate them all together as Scottish with a shared identity, as well as a regional or local identity. Parts of Scotland, like Glasgow, the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland, the northeast of Scotland, and the Scottish Borders, retain a strong sense of regional identity, alongside the Scottish national identity.^[2]

In 2022 the Scottish Government defined "national identity" as "a feeling of attachment to a nation". At the 2011 census 82.7 per cent of the Scottish population said that they had "some Scottish national identity", amount to roughly 4.4 million people. Scottish national identity was the most common response in the 2011 census in North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, East Ayrshire, and West Dumbartonshire. 62.4 per cent of the population described themselves as "Scottish only" in the 2011 census, roughly 3.3 million people of the population.^[3]