Edinburgh is a city located in southeastern Scotland along the waters of the Firth of Forth. It is the capital and second largest city of the Scotland and the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of over 450,000.

Edinburgh is a major centre of Scottish business, commerce, culture, education, entertainment, sports, tourism and transportation.

Edinburgh along with Glasgow comprise a large portion of Scotland’s Economy. Outside of London, Edinburgh is known to have the strongest economy in the United Kingdom.

Edinburgh has a large financial industry, one of the strongest in the UK and Europe. Major bank and financial companies such as The Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Standard Life and Scottish Widows, are based in Edinburgh. Other large financial companies include HSBC Holdings and JP Morgan. Additional businesses include beverage company Diageo, telecommunications companies Telewest and BT Group, and computer company Fujitsu. Many of these companies operate from Edinburgh Park, a business park located in the western part of the city.

One of the largest employers in Edinburgh is the NHS Sctoland, a publicly funded healthcare system.

Retail is one of Edinburgh’s smaller industries, nevertheless, it has plenty of shopping areas. Major shopping centres include St. James Centre, Princes Mall Shopping Centre. Princess Street is a main street shopping area in central Edinburgh.

Being the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh has developed an advanced interconnected transportation system. The Edinburgh Airport is the seventh busiest airport in the United Kingdom handling more than 9 million passengers annually. The Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the second busiest in Scotland, serving more than 14 million passengers a year. The rail station is located along major branches of East Coast Main Line and West Coast Main Line, which run through the United Kingdom from north to south. Major bus operators in Edinburgh are othian Buses and First Edinburgh, serving the city and surrounding communities. There are also inter-city bus services between Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland, as well as to London. There are current plans and constructions of a new tram network in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh has a large educational system, with over 100 total primary and secondary schools. Major higher education institutions include University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Napier University, each serving more than 10,000 students. Scottish Agricultural College and Edinburgh's Telford College are further education colleges in Edinburgh. The smaller Queen Margaret University has about 5,000 students.

Major hospitals serving Edinburgh are The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Western General Hospital.

Edinburgh is home to two professional football clubs competing in the Scottish Premier League. The Heart of Midlothian F.C. home ground is the 17,500 capacity Tynecastle Stadium. Hibernian Football Club home ground is Easter Road, also a 17,500 capacity stadium.