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Y ddraig goch

Wales is one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (together with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and is located in the western part of Britain.

From its original Celtic origins, a distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century.

The country is bilingual, with both Welsh and English being official languages. However, English is the predominant language spoken, with approximately 20 percent of the population able to speak Welsh.^[1]

The population in Wales was estimated to be 3,006,400 from the 2011 census.

The city of Cardiff, on the south coast, is the country's capital, seat of government and chief commercial centre. It has a population of around 350,000.

Learn how to start your Welsh genealogy.

The historic counties

Click on the county name for further information on that county

Most researchers will be researching with the context of these historic counties. Wales, like many other countries, has seen much reorganisation over time and it may be necessary to search in several counties.

pre 1974	1974-1996	post 1996
Anglesey	Gwynedd	Anglesey
Breconshire	Powys Mid Glamorgan Gwent	Powys Rhondda Cynon Taf Monmouthshire
Caernarfonshire	Gwynedd	Gwynedd Conwy
Cardiganshire	Dyfed	Ceredigion
Carmarthenshire	Dyfed	Carmarthenshire Pembrokeshire
Denbighshire	Clwyd Powys	Denbighshire Flintshire Wrexham Conwy
Flintshire	Clwyd	Flintshire Denbighshire Wrexham
Glamorgan	Mid Glamorgan South Glamorgan West Glamorgan	Bridgend Merthyr Tydfil Rhondda Cynon Taf Caerphilly Cardiff Vale of Glamorgan Swansea Neath Port Talbot
Merionethshire	Gwynedd Clwyd	Gwynedd Denbighshire
Monmouthshire	Gwent Mid Glamorgan South Glamorgan	Monmouthshire Newport Blaenau Gwent Islwyn Torfaen Caerphilly
Montgomeryshire	Powys	Powys
Pembrokeshire	Dyfed	Pembrokeshire
Radnorshire	Powys	Powys

See the relevant county pages for further information.

Featured resources

Cardiff Bay WMC.jpg

Emigration: Record Selection Guide
Key Online Record Set: Welsh Probates
Browse by Topic: Pages for Wales
FamilySearch: Welsh Records
Article: Wales Missing Census Records
Research Places: Aberkenfig Resource Centre & Cefn Mawr Resource Centre
National Library of Wales: Manuscript Pedigrees

Wiki articles describing these collections are found at:

News and events

News:

Records recently deposited for Bethania Chapel, Maesteg 1861-2005 at the Glamorgan Record Office.
Pre 1858 Welsh Probate indexes and free document images are now online.
The 1911 census is now available online for all of Wales. About 13% of the schedules are printed and filled out in Welsh.
Ordnance Survey Maps with registration district boundaries free to search online
The National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth has begun a £20 million project to make large parts of its collection available on-line. The project will take 10 years to complete and will involve the digitising of millions of documents, newspapers and books.
The latest national Census in Wales took place on 27 March, 2011.
BBC Wales have relaunched their website on Welsh Family History
FamilySearch now has Welsh parish registers on microfilm.

Events:

Exodus Movement of the People The Halstead Trust is sponsoring a conference on the topic of migration to, from and within the British Isles on 6-8 September 2013.

More events & details ...

Things you can do

Join a Community of Wales researchers! Ask questions, help others, and share your research successes on Facebook and/or Skype. NEW!
Plan Your Research Trip to Wales
Take one of many Welsh Language Courses