Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands, Isles of Orkney, or the Orkneys is an island group in northern Scotland situated approx 10 miles north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney is made up of over 70 islands; around 20 of which are inhabited. The largest island known as the Mainland has an area of 202 square miles making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the ninth-largest island surrounding the island of Great Britain. The largest place and administrative centre is Kirkwall.

The Orkney islands are one of 32 council areas in Scotland and a constituency of the Scottish Parliament.

Orkney has been inhabited for at least 5,500 years. Originally inhabited by neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and finally annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry agreement.

Orkney contains some of the oldest and best preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.