Orkney (sometimes known as the Orkney Islands or Orkneys) is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney consists of over 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island is known as the Mainland and 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.

Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.