Wales is one of the countries in Britain and the United Kingdom. It's a small country in the southwest of the UK with England to the east. Wales has got a 1,680-kilometre long coast, which means there are a lot of beaches! It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the UK and is a popular place for holidaymakers and water sports fans. As well as beaches, there are a lot of mountains in Wales. Snowdonia National Park is one of the three national parks in Wales. It is in north Wales and its highest mountain, Snowdon, is about 1,085 metres.
The population of Wales is just over three million, around 5% of the total UK population. Most Welsh people live in south Wales in the capital city, Cardiff, and other big cities: Swansea and Newport. In Cardiff you can go shopping, visit the castle, go to the museum or go to a concert at the famous Millennium Stadium.
The Welsh language is an old Celtic language which is very different from English. For example, the Welsh name for “Wales" is“Cymru",“Good morning” Is “Bore da” and "How are you?" is“ Sut wyt ti?". It is one of the oldest languages in Europe and around 20% of people in Wales speak Welsh. The official languages of Wales are English and Welsh. Everyone speaks English, but if you go to school in Wales, you have to learn Welsh until you are 16. Street signs are written in Welsh and English, and villages, towns and cities have an English name and a Welsh name, for example, the capital city is Cardiff or Caerdydd.
