A standard unit for the measurement of land mass.

The United Kingdom used to be a super-power. Hard as it may be to believe this small island used to control half the world through the British Empire, and later a Commonwealth of Nations.

Living on this small island meant that the inhabitants had a distorted sense of scale, believing the world to be much smaller than it actually was. A scale of measurement was needed; a way of comparing the world to something recognisable. Choice by committee decided the Wales was the standard to use.

The Wales

"The Americans have invaded Vietnam. This country in south east Asia is fourteen times the size of Wales."

"The Falklands have been invaded! These disputed islands, half the size of Wales, have been sought after by the Argentine government for decades."

Meteorologists have also used the Wales.

"Today the islands of Hawaii have received more rain than falls on Wales in a year. Local streets became rivers, residents evacuated from their homes by boat.

Wales measures roughly 225 km from north to south and between 60 and 160 km from west to its east, where it has a border with England, making it the perfect size for comparing it to other nations. It is approximately 15,000 km².

The Wales has also been used to measure much larger objects like near earth asteroids.

The Belgium

After entering the European Union, all British standards of measurement have changed;

• Pounds -> Kilos


• Ounces -> Grams


• Feet -> Metres


• Inches -> Centimetres


• Wales ->
  Belgium.

The Belgium is the European standard of measurement now. It has almost completely eliminated the Wales in this respect. Belgium is about twice the size of Wales, approximately 30,000 km².

The Belgium first started to be used in the early 1990s, as the British public realised there was a whole European market available to them, with the UK taking its place in the newly renamed EU.

Since introduction the Belgium has expanded into other areas of comparison, such as comparing;

• The Gross Domestic Product or GDP
• The Gross National Product (GNP)
• Population
• CO₂ emissions
• Cars per capita
• Land use
• and, oddly enough, public transport budget of Belgium with other countries.

Wales vs. Belgium

An odd fact about these two units of measurement is that they have never been used to compare each other. This is because the Wales is the imperial standard of measurement, the Belgium is the metric. Any comparison would be meaningless.

Other Countries

The American version of the Wales is usually the Rhode Island, although, being a diverse people, they also use;

• the California,
• the Florida,
• the Long Island,
• the New York,
• the Contiguous United States (the lower 48 states ie all except Alaska and Hawaii),
• the Manhattan Island (usually only to describe asteroids),
• and the Texas.

Some people say there's a fine line between being diverse and being greedy.

To a lesser degree the 3-Mile Island is also used, but usually to compare radioactive fallout. The 1979 meltdown at the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear plant was the closest the US has come to a nuclear disaster.

The Canadians naturally have Canada itself as a measurement, as in "Iraq is the same size as Canada" and also use parts of the USA (see USA list). Canadians are sufficiently familiar with the geography of the world that they don't need units such as 'the Wales' and 'the Belgium. However when pushed, comparisons are made by employing;

• The Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) (a province)
• New Brunswick (a province)
• Nova Scotia (a province)
• Baffin Island (an island, part of Nunavut, a territory)
• Manitoulin Island (the largest freshwater island in the world, part of the province of Ontario)
• The Queen Charlottes Islands (an archipelago, part of the Province of British Columbia) &
• Newfoundland (a major island portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador a former independant British Colony).

The Australians use the New South Wales (NSW) and the Victoria. However, the comparison is reversed. The comparison is how many times a country will fit into the NSW or the Victoria. For smaller descriptions, the Tasmania is used. They also like to remind the UK that Australia is 52 times the size of England. The English like to respond by reminding them that it's also 52 times drier.

Conclusion

Every country has it's own version of the Wales or the Belgium. It is needed to help explain the size of "Johnny foreigner's" country. It's a useful technique, as most people in the UK know, in their heads, how big Wales is, or can at least guess.

It's not clear how the French or the Americans deal with using their entire country for comparison. It's unlikely that the majority of the population have driven or travelled across the width or length of the country. Perhaps they are just taught geography better.