Flag of Scotland
Locally Alba
What the flag looks like
A blue field with a white diagonal cross (saltire) running from corner to corner.
What it means
The saltire is the cross of St Andrew, Scotland's patron saint, who is said to have been crucified on an X-shaped cross.
How to remember it
Scotland
is the white X on blue that the Union Jack is built on: strip away all the red and this is what is left.
Fun facts
- Legend says the saltire first appeared as white clouds in a blue sky before a battle in 832, and it is often claimed as one of the oldest national flags still in use.
- The Scottish saltire supplies the white diagonal cross on the Union Jack.
Scotland at a glance
- Status
- Country of the United Kingdom
- Part of
- United Kingdom
- Legislature
- Scottish Parliament
- Capital
- Edinburgh
- Region
- Country of the United Kingdom
- Population
- 5.4 million
- Area
- 80,231 km²
- Languages
- English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic
- Currency
- British pound (£)
- Flag adopted
- 1542
Flags often confused with Scotland
- United Kingdom: The United Kingdom and Scotland both have a white diagonal cross on blue. Scotland's flag is just the white saltire; the Union Jack adds the red crosses of St George and St Patrick on top.