Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populated in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30 square mile rural area. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.

Edinburgh is the most competitive city in the UK according to the Centre for International Competitiveness. Edinburgh also has the highest Gross value added per employee of any city in the UK outside London, measuring over £50,000. A combination of these factors saw Edinburgh recently named the Best Small City of the future by fDi Magazine. Education and health, finance and business services, retailing and tourism are the largest employers through out the city.