Wales

C

Language

Both English and Welsh are official languages. English is spoken by most of the population, but according to the 2001 census more than 30 per cent of the population has one or more skill in Welsh. This is defined as either understanding spoken Welsh, speaking Welsh, reading Welsh, or writing in Welsh. This makes a total population figure of nearly 240,000 with at least one skill in the Welsh language. There is much regional variation, however, with more than 76 per cent of the population being qualified in the Welsh language in the north-west of the country in Gwynedd and less than 13 per cent in Monmouthshire on the English borders in the south-east. This language revival is in part due to the inclusion of Welsh in the school curriculum since 1970 (see Education below), to the establishment of a Welsh language television station in 1982, and to a general resurgence of interest in Welsh culture. Official support for the language after many years of agitation by Welsh nationalists and proponents of the Welsh language has also increased. There are now many more bilingual publications, and most road signs are now in English and Welsh. In 1993 the Welsh Language Act gave parity to English and Welsh in government business and the courts. See Celtic Languages.

D

Education

The educational system of Wales is the same as that of England except with respect to the Welsh language. (For the history of Welsh education and modern structure, see United Kingdom: Education.) In 1970 provisions were made for bilingual education, and in many rural areas instruction is given in Welsh, with English taught as a second language. Under the National Curriculum, Welsh constitutes a core subject in Welsh-speaking schools and a foundation subject elsewhere in Wales. Statutory provision has also been made for all pupils in non-Welsh-speaking schools to be taught Welsh.

The principal institution of higher education is the University of Wales (founded 1893). It has a confederal relationship with accredited institutions in Wales for which it is the degree-awarding body. These institutions are Aberystwyth University; Bangor University; The University of Wales, Lampeter; The University of Wales, Newport; Swansea University; The University of Wales Institute, Cardiff; the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education; and Swansea Metropolitan University. In 2004 the University of Wales, Cardiff and the University of Wales College of Medicine merged and became the independent Cardiff University. The University of Glamorgan can trace its origins to 1913 and is based in Pontypridd.

E

Culture

The Welsh have retained more of the culture of their Celtic forebears than the English. A strong feeling of national solidarity exists in Wales, and a revival of Welsh nationalism has received political support; representatives of Plaid Cymru (the Welsh Nationalist Party) serve in the House of Commons in London.

The Welsh are best known outside the country for their bardic and choral traditions exemplified in the eisteddfod, and in the male-voice choirs that have their roots in the chapel tradition. The eisteddfod is a celebration of Welsh music, poetry, and culture. Eisteddfodau are held throughout the country each year, culminating in the annual Royal National Eisteddfod, attended by Welsh natives and those of Welsh descent from all over the world. The International Musical Eisteddfod is also held annually in Llangollen, in Denbighshire, north Wales.

The Welsh literary tradition is one of the oldest and richest in Europe, dating back more than 1,000 years to the bardic poets. The most notable of the early Welsh bardic poets were Taliesin and Aneirin; the latter wrote the long poem Y Gododdin in about ad 600, describing the ill-fated efforts of a group of British warriors to recapture a fortress from the Saxons. The Mabinogion, composed between the mid-11th and late 13th centuries, is a collection of 11 prose stories and is one of the most important works of early medieval European literature. The best known of the 20th-century Welsh-born poets are Dylan Thomas and R. S. Thomas, though both wrote in English. Dannie Abse, Roald Dahl, and Andrew Davies are other famous Welsh-born writers. See Welsh Writing in English; English Literature; Welsh Literature.

Principal libraries include the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, one of Britain’s copyright libraries, and the Library of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. Some major museums are the National Museum & Gallery in Cardiff; the Museum of Welsh Antiquities of the University College of North Wales in Bangor; the Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans; the Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry at Dre-fach Felindre; the Roman Legionary Museum at Caerleon; Welsh Slate Museum at Llanberis; the Segontium Roman Museum at Caernarfon; and the Big Pit—National Mining Museum of Wales at Blaenafon. A £100 million new arts centre in Cardiff, the Wales Millennium Centre, opened in 2004.

Wales has had few famous painters, but Richard Wilson, Augustus John, and Gwen John are renowned Welsh artists. Until recently, conditions and opportunities for musical composition, in the modern sense, were rare in Wales. The long and rich folk tradition, however, has been maintained throughout the rural districts especially, and since 1906 the Welsh Folk Song Society has done valuable work in collecting and publishing this material. Choral singing, stemming from the religious revival of the late 18th century, is an extremely popular and characteristic part of Welsh musical life. Traditional instruments, especially the harp, are still played. The Welsh National Opera company and the Welsh Theatre Company are among the nation’s notable contemporary arts companies. Famous popular singers and groups include Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones, the Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, John Cale, Charlotte Church, and Bryn Terfel.

IV

Economy

Recent decades have seen fundamental changes in the basis of the Welsh economy. Coal mining and traditional heavy industries like shipbuilding, which were the backbone of the economy from the 19th century, have almost died out. In contrast, the service sector, notably tourism and financial services, has expanded hugely, and there has been an influx of new, generally light, industries, such as electronics, which have diversified the manufacturing base.

Government support to help in the rebuilding of the most depressed of the old industrial areas was formerly channelled through the Welsh Development Agency, whose work has now been superseded by the Department of Enterprise, Innovation, and Networks, a department of the Welsh Assembly Government. The main programme for economic and urban regeneration has focused on the former mining villages and towns of the South Wales valleys. Helped by improvements to road and rail links, such government initiatives, combined with active local efforts to bring in new jobs, have made Wales particularly successful in attracting investment from overseas, especially from Japanese and other East Asian companies. In recent years, the country has received about 20 per cent of all overseas inward investment in the United Kingdom. Together with domestic private investment, this has led to the creation of thousands of new jobs with many more in the pipeline. Unemployment remains just below the UK average (about 4.7 per cent in the mid-2000s). However, long-term male unemployment is a particular problem in the former mining valleys, where a large number of the new jobs created have gone to women.

A

Agriculture and Forestry

Agriculture occupies about 80 per cent of the land area of Wales, and is dominated by sheep- and cattle-rearing in the uplands, and dairy-farming in the lowlands. The main crops grown are fodder crops, apart from the potato crop. Market gardening and pig- and chicken-farming are also of growing importance.

Reforestation programmes mean that about 12 per cent of Wales is now covered by woodlands. Most of the new plantings are of fast-growing commercial softwoods, and the forestry industry is an important source of employment in rural areas of central, western, and northern Wales, where the new woodlands are concentrated.