Glasgow

Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in west central Scotland. It is the third-most populous city in the United Kingdom and the 27th-most populous city in Europe, and comprises 23 wards which represent the areas within the city boundaries. Glasgow is a leading city in Scotland for university education and research, finance, industry, commerce, shopping, culture and fashion, and was commonly referred to as the "second city of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

In 2020, it had an estimated population of 632,350. More than 1,000,000 people live in the Greater Glasgow urban area, while the wider Glasgow City Region is home to more than 1,800,000 people around a third of Scotland's population. The city has a population density of 3,562 people per km², much higher than the average of 70/km² for Scotland as a whole. Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement close to Glasgow Cathedral and descending to the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Scotland, and the tenth-largest by tonnage in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and episcopal burgh (subsequently royal burgh), and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century.

Glasgow became a county in 1893, the city having previously been in the historic county of Lanarkshire, and later growing to also include settlements that were once part of Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire. It is now one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, and is administered by Glasgow City Council. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Glasgow's population grew rapidly, reaching 1,034,174 people in the census of 1921. The population continued to be over 1 million from then until 1965 (the peak being 1,127,825 in 1938). Up until 1911 the historic area of the city was 12,975 acres. In the major boundary extensions of 1912, 1926, 1931 and 1936 the city has trebled in size to 39,725 acres. The population was greatly reduced following comprehensive urban renewal projects in the 1960s which resulted in large-scale relocation of people to designated new towns, such as Cumbernauld, Livingston, East Kilbride and peripheral suburbs.

Glasgow's major cultural institutions enjoy international reputations. They include the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, the Burrell Collection, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Ballet, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Citizens Theatre and Scottish Opera. The city was the European Capital of Culture in 1990 and is notable for its architecture, culture, media, music scene, sports clubs and transport connections. It is the fifth-most-visited city in the United Kingdom. The city is also well known in the sporting world for association football, particularly for the Old Firm rivalry.