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Settled by the Celts, invaded by the Romans and the Normans, and dominated by the English, Wales' population has regularly shifted and changed over the ages.

Following the industrial revolution, Welsh people emigrated all over the globe in search of better prospects and better lives. Wales - particularly south Wales - became a melting pot of European nationalities and cultures.

Initially workers from England, Ireland and the rural areas of Wales fed a growing demand for labour in the South Wales coalfields. By 1911, more workers from Ireland, Italy and Spain had joined the industrial workforce. Many were prepared to work for less pay.

But the rural population of Wales didn't decline during this period. Workers, fed up with regular pay cuts, poor safety, and the growing trend of employers paying workers with tokens which could only be spent in the company store, returned to the land.

The rural population of Wales - Dyfed, Gwynedd and Powys - in 1891 was about 616,000 people. By 1911, just over 649,000 people lived and worked in these areas and the population was increasing at four to five times the UK average.

The high point in industrial Wales - Clwyd, Gwent and Glamorgan - came in 1901, when population growth was 10 times the national average.

The rural population continues to grow slowly even today. People from richer parts of the UK, particularly southern England, are buying holiday or retirement homes in Wales. In some areas this has led to a shortage of affordable housing for local people.

This, combined with the lack of employment prospects in rural Welsh communities, has started a new movement of people in search of jobs and homes in the towns and cities of Wales and in other parts of the UK and Europe.

The towns and cities of Wales have seen the most significant changes in population over the past 150 years. Cardiff, the capital city, boasts a population with a cosmopolitan mix of cultures and nationalities.

Cardiff Bay has Somali, Bengali, Afro-Caribbean and Yemeni communities among others. All over the country the influx of people from other countries such as China, India and Pakistan, has helped to redefine what it means to be Welsh and enriched the culture and economy of Wales.

Wales is rapidly acquiring a growing itinerant population as well: tourists. It's estimated that between 1992 and 1999 the number of people from the UK taking trips to Wales rose from 8.3 million to 10.9 million. In 1999, they injected 1,137 million pounds into the Welsh economy.

Many are drawn to Wales by its scenery and its clean air. About 28% of visitors visit the countryside and nearly 50% visit the seaside. Over half the overseas visitors to Wales come on holiday.

Tourists made 403,000 trips and spent £67m in Wales in 1998. In the same year, there were 111,000 business trips made to Wales and business travellers spent £40m.

Because so many Welsh people have migrated to other countries over the last 200 years, it's no surprise that many visitors come to see friends and relatives - there were 229,000 trips in 1998.

These visitors with Welsh connections spent £44m in the country, strengthening both the links to their land of origin and continuing to support Wales by boosting the Welsh economy.