Wales is called Cymru in Welsh.

The country of Wales is a part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain.

Wales has a population of 3.1 million people as of 2021.

English and Welsh are the two official languages of Wales. Welsh is a Celtic based language that has seen a resurgence in recent times and is now spoken by over 20% of the population.

Cardiff is the largest city and also the capital of Wales.

Other major cities in Wales include Swansea and Newport in the south and Wrexham to the north of the country.

Snowdon (or Yr Wyddfa), is the highest peak in Wales at 1085 m (3560 ft).

42% of the South and West Wales coastline is designated as 'Heritage Coast'.

Wales was ruled by England from the year 1284 and officially incorporated into England by the 'Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542' or 'Act of Union'. To symbolise this unification of the two countries since 1301, the Crown Prince of England has been referred to as the Prince of Wales.

The country of Wales is said to contain more castles per square mile than any other country in the world.

Wales is often termed "the land of song" the country is known for its harpists, male choirs, and solo artists.

Welsh drivers use the left-hand side of the road.

Lamb is the meat traditionally associated with Welsh cooking owing to the amount of sheep farming in the country. However, international cuisine is very popular with chicken tikka masala among the favourite dishes.

Well known Welsh people include author Roald Dahl, singer Tom Jones, naturalist Alfred Wallace, actor Anthony Hopkins, and actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Although football (soccer) is the more popular sport in Northern Wales, Rugby Union is seen as the national sport and is passionately played and followed by most of the country.

Cardiff's Millennium Stadium has the largest retractable roof of any sports stadium in the world.

Major Walter Clopton Wingfield is generally credited with inventing lawn tennis when in 1873 he designed and patented a similar game for his guests to play on his estate of Nantclwyd in Llanelidan Wales.

The original national emblem of Wales was the Leek (Cenhinen), over the years this was often confused with a very similar Welsh word Cehhinen Bedr which means daffodils and so the daffodil was adopted as a second emblem of Wales.

For more information, check out maps of Wales or take a closer look at the Welsh flag.