The Scout movement is a uniformed youth organisation, initially for boys but now largely co-educational, which exists in most countries in the world. Chances are, you'll probably know someone who's in it, or was at some point.
The movement was founded in Britain by Robert Baden-Powell; it has its origins in an experimental camp for boys that he held on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour (located within the English county of Dorset) in the summer of 1907 note . The publication of his book Scouting for Boys the following year led to the establishment of Scout troops across Britain and subsequently the British Empire; it reached the USA in 1910.
Scouts were initially known as Boy Scouts; although the (British) Scout Association dropped the 'boy' bit from the name in the 1960s note , that name has continued to be used in popular culture thanks largely to the Boy Scouts of America, which only changed its name to Scouting America in 2025 to reflect the fact that it, like most Scout associations in other countries, is now fully co-educational.
Its (literal) sister organisation is the Girl Guides (Girl Scouts in the USA), which was set up after girls started to express an interest in becoming Scouts. Baden-Powell was sympathetic (supportive, even) of girls wanting to be Scouts and originally envisaged separate Scout troops for girls within his own organisation, but in the event he bowed to contemporary public opinion and set up a separate organisation with the help of his sister Agnes and his wife Olave.
Such was the worldwide appeal of the movement that Baden-Powell was given the title Chief Scout of the World. His successors, though, have merely been the Chief Scout of the British Empire, then of the Commonwealth and finally (since1972) of the UK and its overseas territories. Bear Grylls held the position from 2009 to 2024.
Scout uniforms vary from country to country; common features are a shirt (usually but not always khaki or dark green) on which various badges (national and regional badges that identify where the individual Scout is from, in addition to merit/activity badges and awards that the Scout has earned) are sewn, a coloured neckerchief (particular to the group to which the Scout belongs, usually referred to as a necker or a scarf, depending on the country) and a woggle (also known as a neckerchief slide — a ring-shaped piece of material, usually leather or cord but sometimes metal or plastic, used to fasten the scarf/necker). As far as the badges are concerned, the one badge worn by every Scout in the world is the World Scout Badge note which consists of a white fleur-de-lys (sometimes known as an arrowhead) on a purple background, with the left and right branches each adorned by a five-point star and the whole thing surrounded by a rope tied with a reef knot. Every part of this is symbolic note .
In terms of awards, earning the highest possible one is considered to be a source of great prestige among other Scouts. In the USA, it's the rank of Eagle Scout, while in Britain and some Commonwealth countries, it's the rank of King's Scout (or Queen's Scout if the reigning monarch is a woman note ) — and someone who holds that rank will probably mention it on their CV/resume or university application. The obvious Royal connection in the British/Commonwealth title reflects the fact that the British monarch is usually the patron of the Scout movement in countries of which he or she is the head of state. This goes right back to the beginning of Scouting; Edward VII, who knighted Baden-Powell in 1909, was a keen early supporter of the movement and gladly approved Baden-Powell's request that boys who passed special tests for efficiency be ranked as King's Scouts.
There are also different sections for different age groups. Baden-Powell initially set up the Scouts for boys aged ten and over, but younger boys (mostly but not entirely younger brothers of Scouts) quickly became interested, and in 1916 the Wolf Cubs were launched; this section took inspiration from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (particularly the bit about Mowgli being raised by the wolf-pack), which is why the adult leader of a Cub pack is usually called Akela and other leaders are named after Bagheera, Shere Khan, etc. Sections for older Scouts (Rovers, Venturers, Explorers, etc) and even younger children (Beavers, Joeys, etc) followed over time; names and exact age ranges vary considerably from country to country, with the main constant being that Cubs is for 8-10 year-olds and Scouts is for 10-14 (or 15) year-olds. There are also specialist units such as Sea Scouts (who, as the name suggests, tend to put an emphasis on water-based activities) and Air Scouts (who emphasise aviation-based activities).
Trope Namer for Scout-Out, which is used a lot in fiction due to the name 'Scouts' being trademarked (by the aforementioned Boy Scouts of America) in the USA (in addition to which, there are various Real Life imitations). Also the inspiration for Merit Badges for Everything, which exaggerates the wide range of subjects for which Real Life Scouts can earn merit badges (also known as activity badges or proficiency badges, depending on the country).