Wales is the third-largest of the four constituent countries that comprise the United Kingdom, with a
of approximately 3.1 million in 2021. Many people in Wales live on the country's south coast, especially in the large cities of Cardiff and Swansea, which had
of approximately 359,500 and 237,800, respectively. Since 1971, the country's population has increased by around 365,000, with the Welsh population passing the three million mark for the first time in 2007. As of 2021, just over 222,900 people in Wales were aged between 55 and 59, the most of any
quintile in that year.
The Welsh economy
In 2021,
gross domestic product in Wales amounted to 75.6 billion British pounds, which in terms of
GDP per capita was around 24,339 pounds. Compared with the
rest of the UK, Wales' GDP per capita was one of the lowest among among regions and countries of the UK, with only North East England having a lower figure. Like many other countries, the Welsh economy suffered a sudden shock in 2020 due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The
Welsh unemployment rate, for example, increased from 2.7 percent in June 2020 to 4.6 percent just three months later in September. There was also a dramatic decline in the
average working hours worked by full-time workers in Wales, falling from 36.8 hours a week in late 2019 to 32.7 hours a year later in the fourth quarter of 2020. More recently, Wales, like the rest of the UK, has had to contend with soaring
inflation, which has resulted in the worst
cost of living crisis in a generation.
Welsh politics and support for independence
Since 1999, a devolved government in Wales has governed via the
Welsh Parliament (Senedd Cymru). As of the 2021 election, the largest party in the Welsh Parliament is the Welsh Labour party, which holds 30 of the 60 seats in the Senedd. Plaid Cymru, the party that supports Welsh independence, currently has 13 seats in the Senedd and was the third-largest party after the most recent election. According to
recent polls, around 22 percent of people in Wales would vote to leave the United Kingdom in a potential independence referendum. Although support for Welsh independence has been growing in recent years, it is currently not as widespread as the independence movement in Scotland. Additionally, Wales supported leaving the European Union during the
Brexit referendum, unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted to remain.
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