Back Central Belt AST Central Belt BAR Central Belt German Central Belt Spanish کمربند مرکزی (اسکاتلند) Persian Central Belt French החגורה המרכזית (סקוטלנד) HE Cintura centrale Italian セントラル・ベルト Japanese Central Belt Dutch
55°57′04″N 3°51′47″W / 55.951°N 3.863°W
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The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including multiple Scottish cities; Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Lothian and Fife.
Despite the name, it is not geographically central[a] but is nevertheless at the "waist" of Scotland on a conventional map and the term "central" is used in many local government, police and NGO designations.
It was formerly known as the Midlands or Scottish Midlands but this term has fallen out of fashion.
The Central Belt lies between the Highlands to the north and the Southern Uplands to the south.
In the early 21st century, predictions were made that due to economic migration indicators, the urban areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh, whose centres are approximately 41 miles (66 km) apart, could merge to create a megalopolis over the coming decades.[3][4]
- ^ "Where is the centre of mainland Scotland?" Ordnance Survey Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ See "The 'Where Are We' page" Archived 2005-12-01 at the Wayback Machine highlandhostel.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
- ^ Central belt 'to meld as megacity', The Sunday Times, 9 November 2014
- ^ Leader comment: Central belt megacity?, The Scotsman, 28 December 2017
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