Everything you need to know about Scotland's independence push

Scotland will soon vote on whether to become an independent country. Is Great Britain about to get smaller?

Scotland
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Jill Lawless))

What is this referendum about?

On Sept. 18, Scots will be asked to say yes or no to a simple question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" If a majority back independence, Scotland would exit its centuries-old political union with England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, taking with it nearly 10 percent of the United Kingdom's population and one third of its landmass. The pro-independence campaign, led by the left-leaning Scottish National Party, says the referendum offers a "once in a generation" opportunity for Scots to break free from the British Parliament, which the SNP contends is indifferent to Scotland. "[A yes vote is] a vote for a government in Scotland that the people of Scotland choose, pursuing policies the people of Scotland support," said SNP leader Alex Salmond, the first minister of Scotland's semiautonomous Parliament. But pro-union campaigners warn that a tiny, independent Scotland — there are 5.3 million Scots in a U.K. population of 63 million — would struggle in a global economy dominated by the U.S., China, and other populous nations. "The plain fact is," said British Prime Minister David Cameron, "we matter more in the world together."

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