Country Profile Part Four: Scotland Internationally

International Trade
EXPORTS: The five sectors that account for almost two thirds of Scotland's total exports include food and beverages, chemicals, business services, Electronics and instrument engineering, and mechanical engineering. As far as food and beverages are concerned, Scotland exports 36 bottles of whiskey every second, salmon to 60 countries every year, and beef and lamb to chefs all over the world. Other important exports include textiles, oil, gas and fuel-based equipment and renewable energy equipment and technology. Scotland's top export markets are the U.S., Netherlands, France and Germany. Growing export markets include Australia, China, India, Japan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
IMPORTS: It was more difficult to find information on Scotland's imports. It seems the country's major imports include polyester, cows, electronics, paper, and cars. Cows may be imported into the country to produce beef, which is a major export of Scotland.

Exchange Rate
Scotland's currency is the British Pound Sterling, used by all of the U.K., British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories. Currently 1 Pound Sterling is equal to 1.55 USD. The pound sterling has hover around 1.60 USD for the last couple years after it reached almost 2 USD in 2008.

Immigration and Emigration
After the destruction of the clan system in 1746, there was a lot of emigration from Scotland in the 18th century. In the 19th century many Scots immigrated to Canada and the United States. Since the early 2000 more people from the elsewhere in the U.K. have moved to Scotland than Scots moving to elsewhere in the U.K. Scotland also recently switched from having a negative net migration to a positive net migration as indicated by the graph below.

Relations with Other Countries
Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. The U.K. is part of the European Union, the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are allied with many European nations, like France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Also, other English speaking countries, like Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. The U.K. is involved in many peace-keeping operations around the world, as well as combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.