The South of Scotland is one of the most rural regions in the UK. It covers an area of over 4,300 square miles and stretches the breadth of Scotland from the North Sea in the east to the Irish Sea in the west. It is covered by two local enterprise companies and two local authorities, covering the Dumfries & Galloway and Scottish Borders local areas.

The total population of the region is 255,000, with 107,00 residents in the Scottish Borders area and 148,000 in the Dumfries & Galloway area. The region is one of the most sparsely populated in the country, with a population density of only 23 people per square kilometre – around a third of the Scottish average, a tenth of the UK figure and a fifth of the average for the 25 countries of the European Union.

The upland rural landscape is home to market towns which act as service centres not only for their local communities but also their rural hinterlands. Only four towns in the area (Dumfries, Hawick, Galashiels and Stranraer) have a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants. The economy is more reliant than nationally on traditional manufacturing and land-based industries, but is also home to a growing number of entrepreneurs who recognise the value of the local workforce and the potential for a pleasant living and working environment.