Edinburgh is a city in the south-east of Scotland, on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth with a population of 495,360 in 2011 (up 1.9% from 2010). It is the capital of Scotland and seat of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government.While the city originally formed on and around the famous castle rock, on what is now known as Castle Hill, the modern city is often said to be built on 7 hills, namely Castle Hill, Calton Hill, Corstorphine Hill, Craiglockhart Hill, Braid Hill, Blackford Hill andArthur's Seat.With highly-rated schools (many of them independent), 4 successful universities, including the University of Edinburgh, #21 in world rankings, and now one college (an amalgamation of three in 2012), the city promotes educational excellence and commercial innovation, supports diverse business sectors and a vibrant arts scene and provides a consistently high quality of life.Edinburgh was named European Best Large City of the Future for Foreign Direct Investment and Best Large City for Foreign Direct Investment Strategy in the Financial Times fDi magazine awards 2012/13, the city is the UK’s strongest city economy outside London and winner of more than 12 UK Best City Awards in 8 years to 2013, and residents’ satisfaction with the city is 92%, the highest of any city surveyed by MORI. Indeed satisfaction levels have consistently exceeded 90% since 2004
