Scotland is richer, per capita, than the UK, a fact the independence campaigners love to champion. Its access to oil pushes its GDP per person to 115% of the UK's, according to the Scottish government, making it the world's 14th richest country.
Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, official figures today showed. It ranks 14th in world league tables, four places higher than the UK as a whole, prompting the SNP Government to declare Scotland “can more than afford to be an independent country.”
Scotland is a country but is ruled directly by the United Kingdom parliament (Westminster) based in London, England. Because England has a much bigger population than Scotland, it's assumed that Scots are a drain on the union and, therefore, on England as they are the biggest contributor to UK funds.
There are significant regional variations in prosperity, with South East England and North East Scotland being the richest areas per capita. The size of London's economy makes it the wealthiest city by GDP per capita in Europe. In the 18th century, Britain was the first nation to industrialise.
Scotland is one of the world's most naturally wealthy countries. The value of Scotland's natural environment to the economy is huge and lays the foundation for Scotland's continued prosperity as well as a sustainable economy that respects the planet and future generations.
Scotland is a wealthy nation with a big economy
Scotland's national income in 2019 was a huge £177 billion. On a per head basis, that makes us wealthier than rich countries such as New Zealand, Japan and Italy.
Scotland has a large abundance of natural resources from fertile land suitable for agriculture, to oil and gas. In terms of mineral resources, Scotland produces coal, zinc, iron and oil shale.
Australia's average wealth is just 1.8 times our median wealth; by contrast the UK's is 2.2 times greater, while the US is second worst out of the top 50, at 6.7 times.
The UK has been crowned the world's fifth richest country in the world in a new report that measures the total wealth amassed by each country's individuals. Britain's population holds $9.24 trillion (£6.01 trillion) in private wealth, surpassing France, Italy, Canada and Australia.
Scotland is cheaper to live in than England
One of the delights that moving to Scotland will bring is a much cheaper standard of living. The living costs in most Scottish cities are around 10% cheaper than those in popular UK cities. In fact, living in Scotland is supposedly 30% cheaper than setting up shop in London!
The Office for National Statistics data also provides evidence on the differences across the UK countries. However, that tends to show that average wellbeing scores in Scotland are similar to the UK as a whole. For example, in 2020-21 the average life satisfaction score for both England and Scotland was 7.38.
England arguably beats Scotland when it comes to visiting historical sites (you just can't top Stonehenge) but Scotland has extraordinary landscapes you could easily spend months wandering around. England has the cities, but Scotland has the cuisine.
Is Scotland cheaper to live than England? Most Scottish cities have cost of living differences between them and popular UK cities of about 10%. In fact, establishing a business in London is said to cost 30% more than living in Scotland!
Manufacturing. Manufacturing and the construction industry contribute more than one-fourth of Scotland's annual GDP.
The poverty rate for social renters is lower in Scotland (40%) than in England (44%), and only a fifth of these (22%) are pulled into poverty by their housing costs compared to over a third (36%) of social renters in poverty in England.
Australia has a much more laid-back culture than England. Australians are known for their mate ship and easy-going attitudes. There is a strong focus on enjoying life and having a good time. This doesn't mean that Australians don't work hard, but they definitely know how to enjoy their leisure time.
Australia has plentiful supplies of natural resources, including the second largest accessible reserves of iron ore in the world, the fifth largest reserves of coal and significant gas resources. For a long time, commodities have made up a sizeable share of our exports.
The median Australian adult finished 2021 with a net worth of $US273,900, making them richer than the comparable resident of any other country, according to Credit Suisse's annual global wealth report.
Housing Costs In Australia
Housing in Australia is much more expensive than the UK. Gathering sufficient funds for a deposit before securing an Australian salary can challenging.
Australia and Canada have similar levels of GDP per capita (based on purchasing power parity, nominal GDP per capita was around US$ 7 000 for Australia and US$ 9 000 for Canada in 008). Since 1990, Australia's growth in real GDP per capita has been a little higher than Canada's.
Global Wealth Report 2022: Average Australian three times richer than America | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site.
The UK's largest private landowner is Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who owns the global clothing chain Bestseller – and 221,000 acres of Scotland.
Bank of Scotland has revealed Scotland's most expensive streets, with prestigious Ann Street in central Edinburgh taking the top spot. The street, known for its stunning aesthetics and classic Georgian architecture, will now set wealthy buyers back an average £1.7 million (£1,685,000).
The claim that an independent Scotland would be one of the world's richest countries is based on a league table which places Scotland 14th in the world in terms of GDP per person, ahead of France, China, and the UK.