Dundee

Dundee
Dùn Dè (Scottish Gaelic)
Flag of Dundee
Coat of arms of Dundee
Etymology: Dùn Dè, originally meaning 'Daig's Fort'
Dundee shown within Scotland
Dundee shown within Scotland
Coordinates: 56°27′38″N 2°58′12″W / 56.46056°N 2.97000°W / 56.46056; -2.97000
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Council AreaDundee City
Lieutenancy AreaDundee
Foundedc. 11th century AD
Burgh charter1191
City status26 January 1889
Unitary authority1 April 1996
Administrative HQDundee City Chambers
Government
 • TypeCouncil
 • BodyDundee City Council
 • ControlScottish National Party
 • MPs
 • MSPs
Area
 • Total
23 sq mi (60 km2)
 • Rank32nd
Population
 (2024)
 • Total
149,880
 • Rank13th
 • Density6,490/sq mi (2,506/km2)
DemonymDundonian
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas
DD1–5
Dialling codes01382
ISO 3166 codeGB-DND
GSS codeS12000042
Websitewww.dundeecity.gov.uk
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Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland. The 2020 mid-year population estimate for the locality was 148,210. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea.

Under the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Angus, the city developed into a burgh in the late 12th century and established itself as an important east coast trading port. Rapid expansion was brought on by the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the 19th century when Dundee was the centre of the global jute industry. This, along with its other major industries, gave Dundee its epithet as the city of "jute, jam and journalism".

With the decline of traditional industry, the city has adopted a plan to regenerate and reinvent itself as a cultural centre. In pursuit of this, a £1 billion master plan to regenerate and to reconnect the Waterfront to the city centre started in 2001 and is expected to be completed within a 30-year period. The V&A Dundee – the first branch of the V&A to operate outside of London – is the main centrepiece of the waterfront project. Today, Dundee is promoted as "One City, Many Discoveries" in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities and of the RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed at Discovery Point.

Dundee is an international research and development hub in technology, medicine and life sciences, with technological industries having arrived since the 1980s. Dundee was named as a "City of the Future" by Cognizant in 2021, the only UK city to be featured. Dundee is also a leading city in AI, cybersecurity, fintech and electric vehicles where the city has one of the largest fleets of electric vehicles in the country. The city was named as the electric vehicle capital of Europe in 2018, and it has continuously been branded as the electric vehicle capital of Scotland and the United Kingdom.

In 2014, Dundee was recognised by the United Nations as the UK's first UNESCO City of Design for its diverse contributions to fields including medical research, comics and video games. Since 2015, Dundee's international profile has risen. GQ magazine named Dundee the "Coolest Little City in Britain" in 2015 and The Wall Street Journal ranked Dundee at number 5 on its "Worldwide Hot Destinations" list for 2018.