Wales

Wales

The Welsh Dragon - the red dragon was used as a supporter in the English Crown's coat of arms (one of two supporters, along with the traditional English lion).

• Motto: "Cymru am byth" "Wales for ever"• Anthem: ”Hen Wlad

Fy Nhadau” ”Land of My Fathers”• Capital: Cardiff • Official Language:

English• Population: 3,063,456• Currency: Pound sterling

Government and politics

•House of Commons – the lower house of the UK government – Wales is represented by 40 MPs (of 650) from Welsh constituencies.

•First Minister of Wales – is the leader of the Welsh Government. Carwyn Jones since 2009 December 9th.

RegionsWales is geographically and culturally divided into three regions:

North WalesSeveral holiday resorts located along the coast, but primarily a rural area with the highest mountains in the United Kingdom south of Scotland.

Mid WalesA sparsely populated region of mountains, moorlands, forests, wide river valleys and a coastline facing the Irish Sea.

South WalesThe South is by far the most urbanised area. Two-thirds of the population can be found here, especially in the eastern half. The western half is rural and includes some stunning coastal scenery.

Religion•The largest religion in Wales is Christianity, with 57.6% of the population describing themselves as Christian.

•The second largest attending faith in Wales is Roman Catholic, with an estimated 43,000 adherents.

•Non-Christian religions are small in Wales, making up approximately 2.7% of the population.

•Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Wales, with more than 24,000 (0.8%) reported Muslims.

• 32.1% of people declaring no religion.

Cuisine•About 78% of the land surface of Wales is given over to agricultural use.

•Traditional dishes include: laverbread (made from laver, an edible seaweed), bara brith (fruit bread), cawl (a lamb stew), cawl cennin (leek soup); Welsh cakes and Welsh lamb. 

•Cockles are sometimes served as a traditional breakfast with bacon and laverbread.

Geography and Natural History

•Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales.

•Mountain Range: Snowdon Massif

•At an altitude of 1,085 metres above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland.

Snowdonia National Park

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Largest Cities of WalesCardiff

Swansea

Newport

Museums and libraries

 National Museum Cardiff

 Big Pit National Coal Museum

 National Library of Wales