威尔斯(Wales)
威尔斯语作Cymru
大不列颠和北爱尔兰联合王国的组成国。位不列颠岛的西部。面积20,758平方公里（8,015平方哩）。首府加地夫（Cardiff）。人口约2,933,500（1998）。人口有塞尔特人、盎格鲁－撒克逊和盎格鲁－诺曼人血统。语言：英语、威尔斯语。宗教：现实主义教派、循道宗。威尔斯几乎完全是一个高地区，一般称为寒武山脉。斯诺登山是英格兰和威尔斯的最高点。最长的河流有塞义河、瓦伊河和迪河。重要的资源有煤、板岩和铅。有石油输入和炼制，制造消费性电子产品。旅游业是重要的工业。史前史时期即有讲塞尔特语的民族大批涌入威尔斯。自西元1世纪至4、5世纪被罗马统治。罗马统治结束後，许多小王国纷纷建立，在以後的数百年中许多统治者试图将它们统一成一个王国。约西元1093年，南威尔斯作为威尔斯接界地区称为英格兰的属地，并效忠英格兰国王，但仍保持自治。後并入英格兰版图。19世纪成为国际采煤中心的先驱。1925年威尔斯民族党成立，直到1960年代取得一定程度的势力。1997年公民投票赞成权力下放，成立威尔斯议会，1999年议会第一次开议。
English version：
Wales
Principality, constituting an integral part of the United Kingdom. It occupies a peninsula on the western side of the island of Great Britain. Area: 8,015 sq mi (20,758 sq km). Population (1998 est.): 2,933,500. Capital: Cardiff. The population is of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Anglo-Norman ancestry. Languages: English, Welsh. Religions: Secularism; Methodism. Wales is almost entirely an upland area generally known as the Cambrian Mountains. The highest peak in England and Wales, Mount Snowden, is found in Snowdonia National Park. The Severn, Wye, and Dee are the longest rivers. The country mines coal, slate, and lead; imports and refines petroleum; and manufactures consumer electronics. Tourism is an important industry. In prehistoric times, tribal divisions of the British Celtic speakers who dominated all of Britain south of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde inhabited the region. The Romans ruled from the 1st century AD until the 4th-5th century. Welsh Celts fought off incursions from the Anglo-Saxons. A number of kingdoms arose there, but none was successful in uniting the area. The Norman conquerors of England brought all of southern Wales under their rule in 1093. English King Edward I conquered northern Wales and made it a principality in 1284. Since 1301 the heir to the English throne has carried the title Prince of Wales. It was incorporated with England in the reign of Henry VIII. It became a leading international coal-mining center during the 19th century. The Welsh Nationalist Party was founded in 1925, but its influence did not gather force until the 1960s, when Welsh nationalist aspirations rose. In 1997 a referendum approved the devolution of power to an elected assembly, which first convened in 1999.