Scots pine is the most widely distributed conifer in the world, with a natural range that stretches from beyond the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia, to southern Spain and from western Scotland to Okhotsk Sea in eastern Siberia.

Within this range it grows at elevations from sea level to 2,400 metres (8,000 feet), with the elevation generally increasing from north to south.

Despite this wide distribution, the Scots pine forests in Scotland are unique and distinct from those elsewhere because of the absence of any other native conifers.