Cities of Scotland in the context of "Scotland, United Kingdom"

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjacent islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. In 2022, the country's population was about 5.4 million. Its capital city is Edinburgh, whilst Glasgow is the largest city and the most populous of the cities of Scotland. To the south-east, Scotland has its only land border, which is 96 miles (154 km) long and shared with England; the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the north-east and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. The legislature, the Scottish Parliament, elects 129 members to represent 73 constituencies across the country. The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government, headed by the first minister, who chairs the cabinet and is responsible for government policy and international engagement.

The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the 9th century. In 1603, James VI succeeded to the thrones of England and Ireland, forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. On 1 May 1707, Scotland and England combined to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain, with the Parliament of Scotland subsumed into the Parliament of Great Britain. In 1999, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, and has devolved authority over many areas of domestic policy. The country has its own distinct legal system, education system and religious history, which have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity. Scottish English and Scots are the most widely spoken languages in the country, existing on a dialect continuum with each other. Scottish Gaelic speakers can be found all over Scotland, but the language is largely spoken natively by communities within the Hebrides; Gaelic speakers now constitute less than 2% of the total population, although state-sponsored revitalisation attempts have led to a growing community of second language speakers.

Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in west central Scotland. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom and the 27th-most populous city in Europe, and comprises 23 wards which represent the areas of the city within Glasgow City Council. Glasgow is a leading city in Scotland for finance, shopping, industry, culture and fashion, and was commonly referred to as the "second city of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

In 2020, it had an estimated population as a defined locality of 632,350. More than 1,000,000 people live in the Greater Glasgow contiguous urban area, while the wider Glasgow City Region is home to more than 1,800,000 people (its defined functional urban area total was almost the same in 2020), around a third of Scotland's population. The city has a population density of 3,562 people per km, much higher than the average of 70/km for Scotland as a whole. Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement close to Glasgow Cathedral and descending to the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Scotland, and the tenth-largest by tonnage in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and episcopal burgh (subsequently royal burgh), and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century.

This list of towns and cities in Scotland with a population of more than 15,000 is ordered by population, as defined and compiled by the National Records of Scotland organisation. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland by population, whilst the capital city, Edinburgh, is the second largest by population and largest by area (although the Aberdeen and Edinburgh local authority areas contain far more undeveloped land and have a lower population density than the council areas of Dundee and Glasgow; these are the only four city-districts in the country). The city of Stirling has the smallest population amongst Scotland's cities, with an estimated population of just over 37,000 inhabitants. In total, Scotland consists of eight cities, with multiple larger towns, the largest town being Paisley.

The section "Localities" contains a list of basic populated areas ordered by population. The section "Settlements" is a list of populated urban areas, some of which are composed of more than one locality, and which may span across the boundaries of more than one council area.

Perth (/ˈpɛrθ/ ; Scottish Gaelic: Peairt [pʰɛrˠʃtʲ]) is a centrally located Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about 47,350 in 2020.

There has been a settlement at Perth since prehistoric times. It is a natural mound raised slightly above the flood plain of the Tay. The area surrounding the modern city is known to have been occupied ever since the arrival of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Nearby Neolithic standing stones and circles date from about 4000 BC, a period that followed the introduction of farming into the area. Close to Perth is Scone Abbey, which formerly housed the Stone of Scone (also known as the Stone of Destiny), on which the King of Scots were traditionally crowned. This enhanced the early importance of the city, and Perth became known as a "capital" of Scotland due to the frequent residence there of the royal court. Royal burgh status was given to the city by King William the Lion in the early 12th century. The city became one of the richest burghs in the country, engaging in trade with France, the Low Countries, and the Baltic countries, and importing goods such as Spanish silk and French wine.

Aberdeen (/ˌæbərˈdiːn/ AB-ər-DEEN; locally [ˌeːbərˈdin] or [ˈeːbərdin] ; Scottish Gaelic: Obar Dheathain [ˈopəɾ ˈʝɛ.ɪɲ]) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberdeen City Council is one of Scotland's 32 local authorities (commonly referred to as councils). Aberdeen has a population of 198,590 (2020) for the main urban area and 220,690 (2020) for the wider settlement including outlying localities, making it the United Kingdom's 39th most populous built-up area. Aberdeen has a long, sandy coastline and features an oceanic climate, with cool summers and mild, rainy winters.

Aberdeen received royal burgh status from David I of Scotland (1124–1153), which transformed the city economically. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeen's seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world, and the seaport is the largest in the north-east part of Scotland. A university town, the city is known for the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495 as the fifth oldest university in the English-speaking world and located in Old Aberdeen.