Wales
country in north-west Europe; part of the United Kingdom / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wales (/ˈweɪlz/ (listen); Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəm.rɨ] (come-ree)) is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It is west of England, and east of the Irish Sea and Ireland.
Wales | |
---|---|
Motto: "Cymru am byth" (Welsh) "Wales Forever"[1] | |
Anthem: "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" "Land of My Fathers" | |
Status | Country |
Capital and largest city | Cardiff 51°29′N 3°11′W 52.3°N 3.6°W / 52.3; -3.6 |
Official languages | |
Demonym(s) | Welsh |
| |
Government | Devolved parliamentary legislature within parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Charles III |
Vaughan Gething | |
Parliament of the United Kingdom | |
• Secretary of State | David Davies |
• House of Commons | 40 MPs (of 650) |
Legislature | Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament |
Formation | |
• Unification by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn | 1057[2] |
• Statute of Rhuddlan[3] | 3 March 1284 |
• Laws in Wales Act[4] | 1543 |
31 July 1998 | |
Area | |
• Total | 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 2019 estimate | 3,153,000[6] |
• 2011 census | 3,063,456[7] |
• Density | 148/km2 (383.3/sq mi) |
GVA | 2018[8] estimate |
• Total | £75 billion ($96B) |
• Per capita | £23,900 ($31884) |
HDI (2018) | 0.883[9] very high |
Currency | Pound sterling (GBP; £) |
Time zone | UTC (Greenwich Mean Time) |
UTC+1 (British Summer Time) | |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AD) |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +44 |
ISO 3166 code | GB-WLS |
Internet TLD | .wales .cymru [f] |
Website wales |
Wales is one of the Celtic areas of Britain. The native people of Wales, the Welsh, have their own culture and traditions. They have their own Celtic language, Welsh. Not all Welsh people can speak Welsh, and it is primarily spoken in North Wales. It is mandatory for all children until the age of 16 to learn Welsh in schools. Virtually all Welsh people can speak English. Most speak only English. The Welsh language is an official language alongside English, and has equal official status.
Three million people live in Wales. Most of them live in the southern and southeastern parts of the country. In this area is the capital and largest city of Wales, Cardiff, and the next largest city, Swansea. Wales has an ageing population and falling birth rates. The economy is suffering because there are not enough people of working age. Gross value added per head in Wales — a measure of how much money is generated through goods produced and services delivered — is 74%[10] of the UK average.