Wales: Geography, Culture, and Etymology

General Information

• Wales, known as Cymru in Welsh, is a country within the United Kingdom.
• It shares borders with the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the southwest.
• As of 2021, the population was approximately 3.2 million.
• The total area covers 21,218 square kilometers (8,192 sq mi) with a coastline stretching over 2,700 kilometers (1,680 mi).
• The landscape is largely mountainous, with the highest peaks located in the north and central regions, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa).
• The capital and largest city is Cardiff.
• Both Welsh and English are official languages.
• The de facto anthem is "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" ("Land of My Fathers").
• The currency is the Pound sterling (GBP).
• Internet TLDs include .wales and .cymru alongside the UK's .uk.
• The ISO 3166 code is GB-WLS

Etymology

• The name "Wales" and "Welsh" originate from the Old English word "Wealh," derived from Proto-Germanic "*Walhaz."
• This term was used by Anglo-Saxons to refer to Britons, specifically those in the Western Roman Empire.
• The Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales, both derived from the Brythonic word "combrogi," meaning "fellow-countrymen."

History

• The territory of Wales was settled after the last ice age.
• During the Bronze Age, the Great Orme in North Wales was a key copper producer.
• The Romans invaded, attracted by mineral resources, but faced a distinct Celtic culture of Britons.
• After Roman departure in 383, Britain fractured into various kingdoms.
• Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers gradually displaced the Britons, isolating a group in the western peninsula who became known as the Welsh.
• Medieval Wales was divided into separate kingdoms that frequently fought amongst themselves and their English neighbors.
• Coastal Viking/Norse settlements existed in areas like Swansea, Fishguard, and Anglesey, with Saxons settling inland in places such as Presteigne.
• Hywel ap Cadell (Hywel Dda) formed the kingdom of Deheubarth in the 10th century and codified Welsh law.
• In 1057, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn united all of Wales, but his kingdom was short-lived.
• The Normans followed their invasion of England with incursions into Wales, creating the Norman Welsh Marches.
• Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great) secured submission from other Welsh princes in 1216.
• Edward I of England conquered Wales in 1283, and the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 ended Welsh independence.
• Owain Glyndŵr led a Welsh rebellion from 1400–1415.
• The Laws in Wales Acts of Henry VIII in the 16th century integrated Wales into the English legal system.
• Act of Union in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• The Industrial Revolution transformed Wales from an agricultural to an industrial society.
• Religious revivals led to a tradition of non-conformism.
• Radical Welsh working class movements, such as the Merthyr Rising of 1831, emerged.
• Calls for devolution grew, leading to the creation of a devolved Welsh assembly in 1998, now known as the Senedd or Welsh Parliament.

Government and Politics

• Wales is a country within the United Kingdom.
• There are 32 Welsh Members of Parliament (MPs) in the 650-member UK House of Commons.
• The Wales Office is a UK government department responsible for Wales, headed by the Secretary of State for Wales.
• Wales has a devolved, unicameral legislature known as the Senedd (Welsh Parliament).
• For local government, Wales is divided into 22 council areas.

Devolved Government

• The Government of Wales Act 1998 created the National Assembly for Wales.
• The Government of Wales Act 2006 reformed the National Assembly for Wales.
• A referendum in 2011 empowered the National Assembly to make laws on devolved subject areas.
• In May 2020, the National Assembly was renamed "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament".
• Devolved responsibilities include agriculture, economic development, education, health, housing, local government, social services, tourism, transport, and the Welsh language.

Law

• Welsh Law, codified by Hywel Dda around 930, emphasized compensation to victims rather than punishment by the ruler.
• The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 replaced Welsh Law for criminal cases, while Marcher Law and Welsh Law remained for civil cases.
• The Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542 applied English law to the whole of Wales.
• Since 1536, English law has been the legal system of England and Wales.
• The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 provided that all laws applying to England would automatically apply to Wales unless stated otherwise; this was repealed in 1967.
• The Senedd can draft and approve laws outside the UK Parliamentary system to meet Wales's specific needs.

Policing and Prisons

• Wales is served by four regional police forces: Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police, North Wales Police, and South Wales Police.
• There are five prisons in Wales, with a new one in Wrexham.
• Wales does not have women's prisons; female inmates are imprisoned in England.

Geography and Natural History

• Wales is a mountainous country, about 170 miles (270 km) north to south.
• The "size of Wales" is about 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi).
• It is bordered by England to the east and by sea in all other directions.
• Wales has about 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline.
• Over 50 islands lie off the Welsh mainland, with the largest being Anglesey.
• Snowdonia (Eryri) has the highest mountains, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), at 1,085 m (3,560 ft).

National Parks and Beauty Areas

• Wales has three national parks: Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons, and Pembrokeshire Coast.
• It has five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Anglesey, Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, Gower Peninsula, Llŷn Peninsula, and Wye Valley.
• The Gower Peninsula was the first area in the UK designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956.
• As of 2019, the coastline of Wales had 40 Blue Flag beaches.

Geology

• The Cambrian geological period is named after the Cambrian Mountains.
• Roderick Murchison and Adam Sedgwick used Welsh geology studies to establish principles of stratigraphy and paleontology.
• The Ordovician and Silurian periods are named after ancient Celtic tribes from this area.

Climate

• Wales lies within the north temperate zone, with a changeable, maritime climate.
• It's one of the wettest countries in Europe with cloudy, wet, and windy conditions.
• The highest maximum temperature was 37.1 °C (99 °F) at Hawarden, Flintshire on 18 July 2022.
• The lowest minimum temperature was −23.3 °C (−10 °F) at Rhayader, Radnorshire on 21 January 1940.
• The wettest spot averages 4,473 millimeters (176 in) of rain per year at Crib Goch in Snowdonia, Gwynedd.

Flora and Fauna

• Wales's wildlife is typical of Britain with distinctions, hosting a variety of seabirds on its long coastline, including gannets, puffins, and razorbills.
• Upland habitats support birds like ravens.
• Birds of prey, such as the red kite, are a national symbol.
• Larger mammals like bears and wolves died out during the Norman period.
• The pine marten has been reintroduced in parts of Wales since 2015.
• Feral goats can be found in Snowdonia.
• The first official beaver release in Wales occurred in March 2021 in the Dyfi Valley.
• Waters attract marine animals, including basking sharks, dolphins, and jellyfish.

Economy

• Wales has transitioned from an agricultural to an industrial, and then to a post-industrial economy.
• In 2018, GDP in Wales was £75 billion, and GDP per head was £23,866.
• The Welsh fiscal deficit accounts for 19.4 percent of Wales's estimated GDP.
• In 2019, Wales was a net exporter of electricity with 27.9 TWh produced versus 14.7 TWh consumed.
• By 2021, over half of the country's energy needs were being met by renewable sources.
• From the mid-19th century until the post-war era, coal mining was dominant.
• Poor-quality soil leads to livestock farming as the focus of agriculture.
• Tourism boosts the economy of rural areas.
• The pound sterling is the currency used in Wales.
• Wales was the first nation to be awarded Fairtrade status in June 2008.

Transport

• The M4 motorway links South Wales to West London.
• The A55 expressway connects North Wales.
• The A470 is the main north-south Wales link.
• Rail transport is overseen by the Welsh Government and operated by Transport for Wales Rail.
• Cardiff Airport is the international airport of Wales.
• Regular ferry services to Ireland operate from Holyhead, Pembroke Dock, and Fishguard.

Education

• Formal education before the 18th century was for the elite.
• Griffith Jones introduced circulating schools in the 1730s, teaching many to read.
• The University College of Wales opened in Aberystwyth in 1872.
• The Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889 created 95 secondary schools.
• Welsh is a compulsory subject in all state schools for pupils aged 5–16 years old.

Healthcare

• Public healthcare in Wales is provided by NHS Wales (GIG Cymru).
• The National Health Service Act 1946 originally formed the structure for England and Wales.
• Historically, Wales had smaller 'cottage' hospitals that have been concentrated into larger district hospitals.
• NHS Wales directly employs over 90,000 staff.

Demography

• The population of Wales doubled from 587,000 in 1801 to 1,163,000 in 1851 and reached 2,421,000 by 1911.
• Large-scale migration occurred during the Industrial Revolution, including English, Irish, and Italian immigrants.
• The population in 2021 was 3,107,500.
• Wales has seven cities: Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bangor, St Asaph, and St Davids.

Language

• Welsh is an official language in Wales, legislated by the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
• The Welsh-speaking population in Wales aged three or older was 17.8 percent (538,300 people) in 2021.
• English is spoken by almost all people in Wales.
• Code-switching between Welsh and English is common.
• Polish has become a common language in Wales after English and Welsh due to immigration.

Religion

• Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in present day Wales for over 1,400 years.
• The 2021 census recorded that 46.5 percent had "No religion".
• Christianity is the largest religion in Wales, with 43.6 percent of the population identifying as Christian in the 2021 census.
• The patron saint of Wales is Saint David (Dewi Sant), celebrated annually on 1 March
• Islam is the largest non-Christian religion, with 24,000 Muslims in the 2011 census.

Ethnicity

• The 2021 census showed that 93.8 percent of the population of Wales identified as "White".
• 90.6 percent of the population identified as "White: Welsh, English, Scottish, Northern Irish or British" in 2021.
• The second-highest ethnicity in 2021 was "Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British" at 2.9 percent of the population.

National Identity

• The 2021 census showed that 55.2 percent identified as "Welsh only".
• 8.1 percent identified as "Welsh and British", giving the combined proportion of 63.3 percent for people identifying as Welsh.

Culture

• Wales has a distinctive culture, including its own language, customs, holidays, and music.
• There are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Wales.

Mythology

• Celtic mythology was passed down orally by the cynfeirdd (early poets).
• Medieval Welsh manuscripts like the Mabinogion contain stories and poems related to native mythology.

Literature

• Wales has one of the oldest unbroken literary traditions in Europe.
• Early Welsh verse by poets Taliesin and Aneirin survives in medieval versions.

Museums and Libraries

• Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales operates at seven sites with free entry to all.
• The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth houses collections of printed works, art, and maps.

Visual Arts

• Celtic art and illuminated manuscripts, such as the 8th-century Hereford Gospels, have been found in Wales.
• Richard Wilson (1714–1782) painted Welsh scenes and is considered a major British landscapist.

National Symbols and Identity

• Wales is regarded as a modern Celtic nation, and the red dragon is the principal symbol of national identity.
• The red dragon emblem has been used since the reign of Cadwaladr around 655 AD and is on the national flag of Wales.
• Saint David's Day is celebrated on 1 March, commemorating the death of the country's patron saint.
• "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Land of My Fathers) is the de facto national anthem of Wales.

Sport

• More than 50 national governing bodies regulate sports in Wales.
• Wales is represented at major sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Rugby World Cup.
• Rugby union symbolizes Welsh identity.
• The Wales national rugby union team participates in the Six Nations Championship.
• Wales has had its own football league, the Welsh Premier League, since 1992.

Media

• Wales became the UK's first digital television nation in 2010.
• BBC Cymru Wales is the national broadcaster, producing programs in Welsh and English.
• S4C broadcasts exclusively in Welsh since the digital switchover.
• The Western Mail is Wales's only print national daily newspaper.
• Y Cymro is a Welsh-language newspaper, published weekly.

Cuisine

• Traditional Welsh dishes include laverbread, bara brith, cawl, and Welsh cakes.
• Chicken tikka masala is a favorite dish, and fast food is popular.

Performing Arts

• Wales is known as "the land of song" for its solo artists, male voice choirs, and harpists.
• The annual National Eisteddfod is the country's main performance festival.
• Traditional instruments include the telyn deires (triple harp), fiddle, and pibgorn (hornpipe).
• Welsh National Opera is based at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay.
• Traditional dances include Welsh folk dancing and clog dancing.