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During the 16th century, Scotland became embroiled in the throes of the Protestant Reformation. John Knox stood out as the primary figure in this battle. A disciple of John Calvin, Knox, waged fierce battles with the forces of Catholic orthodoxy and eventually converted the country to Presbyterianism. Only the most distant parts of the Highlands retained a taste for older forms. Presbyterianism first gained a foothold in 1556 but it didn't really get going until John Knox's firebrand oratory started stirring people up, most notably in Perth, when he roused the townsfolk so much that a mob scoured the countryside for Catholics after one of his sermons, destroying the old abbey at Scone in the process. Within a few years Parliament had legislated for a National Presbyterian church, the Catholic Queen had fled, Scotland had Protestant England rather than Catholic France as its main ally, and firm Presbyterian tutors were in charge of the upbringing of the infant King.

Scotland's territorial extent is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Exceptions include the Isle of Mann, which is now a crown dependency outside the United Kingdom, Orkney and Shetland, which are Scottish rather than Danish, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was defined as subject to the laws of England by the 1746 Wales and Berwick Act.

After World War II Scotland's economic situation became progressively worse until the 1970s, and only began to turn around after the discovery and development of North Sea oil and gas. During this period the Scottish National Party refocused their arguments for Scottish independence around their "It's Scotland's Oil" campaign.

Scotland comprises the northern part of the island of Great Britain; it is bordered on the south by England. The country consists of a mainland area plus several island groups, including Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. Three main geographical and geological areas make up the mainland: from north to south, the generally mountainous Highlands, the low-lying Central Belt, and the hilly Southern Uplands. The majority of the Scottish population resides in the Central Belt, which contains three of the country's six largest cities, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, and many large towns. Most of the remaining population lives in the North-East Lowlands where two of the remaining three cities, Aberdeen and Dundee, are situated. The final city, Inverness, is situated where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth, on the fault between the North-West Highlands and the Cairngorms.

Scotland's location on the north-western periphery of Europe did not mean the country had a small part in the Second World War. October 1939 saw naval bases in Scotland taking the first German attacks on Britain, both submarine and bomber attacks on Scapa Flow and raids on Rosyth which met with RAF fighters getting their first successes over Britain downing bombers into the Firth of Forth and onto East Lothian. The shipyards and heavy engineering factories in Glasgow and Clydeside played a key role in the war effort, and soon became targets for the Luftwaffe. The town of Clydebank in particular suffered great destruction and loss of life during the blitz. The Highlands again provided a disproportionate number of troops for the war effort. Many thousands of Commandos and resistance fighters received training in the harsh conditions of the Lochaber mountains.

In 1547, after the death of Henry VIII, forces under the English regent Thomas Somerset were victorious at the battle of Pinkie Cleugh, the climax of the Rough Wooing and followed up by occupying Edinburgh. However it was to no avail since Queen Mary was in France and Marie de Guise called on French reinforcements who helped stiffen resistance to the English occupation. By 1550, after a change of regent in England, the English withdrew from Scotland completely.

Scotland has a high proportion of irreligious / atheists, the second highest type of (un)belief in the population.