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SCOTLAND
GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY
Scotland comprises approximately one-third of the total UK land area. It is divided into four sub-regions: the Highlands and Islands to the north and west, North Eastern Scotland, Eastern Scotland and South Western Scotland. Scotland covers an area of 78.722 square km, a population of 5.062.011 persons and a density of 65 inhabitants per square km.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Scotland is in general well served by road and by direct rail and air links. Within the region there are several motorways, including a motorway link with England. Glasgow/Edinburgh-London rail links are extensive. There are four big airports: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Prestwick. In the Highlands and Islands, transport and communication links are less extensive.
ECONOMY
The regional GDP is 99.282.639 euros, with a per capita GDP of 20.717 euros. The services sector has been important for the economic growth in Scotland, for example, tourism, but even financial sector and commercial one. Industry too is well developed (manufacturing, electronic, to give an example) with a large number of registered enterprises.

Hydroelectric power stations, gas and coal-fired stations and nuclear plants combined have considerably more capacity than is needed domestically, allowing supply to the rest of the UK. Moreover, activities based on Scotland 's natural resources - fishing, agriculture, forestry and tourism - are very important for Scottish economy.

LABOUR MARKET
The total number of employees is 2.500.000 people, the employment rate is 74% of the workforce; the female employment rate is 71%, and the male one is 77%. On the other side, the current unemployment rate is around 6%. Regarding the sectoral employment data, there are 21.000 persons employed in the agricultural sector, 250.000 in the industrial sector and 1.800.000 in the services sector.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Scotland spends 3,2% of its GDP in research and development, and a good part goes to university sector which is key sector of region's development.
DATA RELATED TO REGIONAL STRUCTURAL FUNDS MECHANISMS
The region belongs to EU objective 2 for the period 2000-2006. Total amount of ERDF funding for the current programme period (2000- 2006) is € 504,465,700.
REGIONAL PROGRAMME OF INNOVATIVE ACTIONS (RPIA)
The European Commission provided Euro 3 million for the regional programme of innovative actions “Innovation Works Scotland” for Scotland. During the period 2004-2005, the European funding attracted Euro 2.7 million in further investment from the public sector and Euro 0.3 million from the private sector, creating total resources of Euro 6 million. This Innovative Actions Programme engaged the public and private sectors in Scotland in a new Scotland-wide partnership with the aim of creating an innovative and competitive Scotland. The IWS programme piloted new approaches and mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of the Scottish Innovation system. In line with the overall objective, there were three main programme objectives for IWS:
  • Improve the innovative capacity and performance of Scottish SMEs
  • Enhance the effectiveness of the Scottish innovation system
  • Increase and improve the quality of spending on projects that impact on regional innovation and competitiveness, through the Transitional Objective 1 and 2 Programmes in Scotland.