Wales, GB

Wales

 Wales is a country that lies to the west of England, and shares a border with it.

 It has a population of just under 3 million people.

 The offi cial languages are Welsh and English.

 About 20% of the population speak Welsh.

 The capital city is Cardiff.

 Much of Wales is mountainous. The highest mountain is Snowdon (1,085 m).

 The patron saint is St David. He is known as “David, the water drinker” since he drank only water and didn’t eat meat. He was a vegetarian for spiritual reasons. He lived for over a hundred years.

 The symbols of Wales are the red Welsh dragon, the leek and the daffodil.

 The most popular sport is rugby.

 Wales is known for its sheep farming.

 People call Wales “the land of song” probably because of their sing-song intonation and also because the Welsh are very musical.

 Singers Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones are Welsh and so is the pop group the Manic Street Preachers.

 One of the most popular children’s authors, Roald Dahl, was born in Wales (his parents were Norwegian) and Dylan Thomas was a famous Welsh writer poet.

 Here are some famous actors from Wales: Richard Burton, Timothy Dalton, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

 Mount Everest was named after the Welshman Sir George Everest.

Wales is a country with distinctive traditions, heritage and culture. It is known as a land of song and a country steeped in myth and legend, which, when you see the awe-inspiring landscape, is no surprise.

Key facts and figures

Population: 3.1m
Location: Part of Great Britain
Size: 20,800 square km
Time zone: GMT
Currency: Pound Sterling
National Day: St David’s Day, 1 March
National symbols: Dragon, daffodil and leek
Language: Welsh and English
Cities: Seven – Cardiff (capital), Newport, Swansea, Bangor, St Davids, St Asaph and Wrexham

Wales is made up of 22 local authority areas. For the purposes of Visit Wales, we 'split' these areas into larger regions: North Wales, Mid Wales, West Wales, and South Wales.