Welsh Language Speakers, The percentage of people able to speak Welsh is the lowest recorded in over eight years at 27.

Welsh Language Speakers, The number of Welsh speakers recorded in the 2001, 2011 and 2021 List of Welsh areas by percentage of Welsh-speakers This is a list of subdivisions of Wales by the percentage of those professing some skills in the Welsh language in the 2011 UK census. The report looks at people’s Welsh speaking ability and frequency of use between April 2022 to March 2023. Data on people’s ability in Welsh and how often they speak the language for October 2023 to September 2024. 5% of the population. Total Welsh Speakers Start by clarifying terms to get accurate how many native Welsh The APS results should not be compared with census results, nor used to measure progress towards the Welsh Government target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050. The language is used as a first language by some people in every The Welsh government aims to have a million Welsh speakers by 2050 A bill aiming to put into law the Welsh government's target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050 has been published. However, as the Annual Population Survey (APS) provides quarterly results, it is Data on people’s ability in Welsh and how often they speak the language for April 2024 to March 2025. 8%could speak Welsh which is a reduction of 1. In Welsh, it is known as Cymraeg, or yr iaith Gymraeg, which means "the Welsh Wales is a country blessed with two languages, but how many of us actually speak them both? View the map below showing how Welsh language use has changed by region and age group. Cabinet Secretary's Foreword We present our annual report on our Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers, for the 2023-24 financial year. Welsh language activists are The analysis reports how often Welsh speakers speak the language, how fluent they are and when they started learning to speak the language. As of 2025, there were estimated to be 828,600 people in Wales who could speak Welsh, or approximately 26. The article explores issues of concern arising from the two main data sources that calculate the number of Welsh language speakers in Wales: the The Welsh government has a target of achieving one million Welsh speakers by 2050 Welsh-speaking communities will receive more support after calls for a "radical shift" to stop the The number of Welsh speakers has fallen in the past decade, with fewer children speaking the language. We consider the census of population to be the key source of information to measure the number of Welsh speakers in Wales. The analysis reports on the use of Welsh in the home and the relationship between the ability of Welsh speakers and the ability of their parents. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has the highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO. Number of students taught using the Welsh language Wales 2020-2025 Percentage of people in Wales who say they can speak Welsh 2025, by age and gender Data on people’s ability in Welsh and how often they speak the language for October 2024 to September 2025. A drive to almost double the number of Welsh speakers to one million by 2050 is unveiled by the first minister at the National Eisteddfod. The Reference Level Descriptions (RLD) for national and regional languages, which provide detailed content specifications for different CEFR levels, have been developed to address this issue. Every child in Is the Welsh language currently growing or declining in speaker numbers? The Welsh language, known as Cymraeg, has a rich history and cultural significance in Wales and beyond. Warning getting a million Welsh speakers by 2050 requires many more teachers speaking the language. There are also Welsh speakers in England (Lloegr), Welsh people and Welsh speakers have relocated all over the world, and in North America there is a very strong interest in Welsh life by those with ancestry. In Wales as a whole 17. 7%, government statistics indicate. The Census of Population is the key source used to measure the number of Welsh speakers in Wales. However, as the Annual Population Survey (APS) provides quarterly results, it is News Latest Wales News Welsh language Are fewer people really speaking Welsh? We look beyond the numbers at the future of the language Data on people’s ability in Welsh and how often they speak the language for October 2022 to September 2023. As more people The Welsh government has set itself a target of achieving a million Welsh speakers by 2050 but census data showed a decrease of 24,000 speakers in the last 10 years. It also includes data for the national indicator (The number of Welsh speakers aged 3+ in 2011 was 77,000). Step 1: Define “Native” vs. Image: Welsh Welsh (Cymraeg) Welsh is a Celtic language spoken mainly in Wales (Cymru), and in the Welsh colony (y Wladfa) in Patagonia, Argentina (yr Ariannin). This report looks back at our According to the APS, there were an estimated 828,600 Welsh speakers living in Wales in the year ending 31 March 2025. The Government's Cymraeg 2050 strategy The number of Welsh speakers has fallen in the past decade, with fewer children speaking the language. According to the APS, there were an estimated 836,800 Welsh speakers living in Wales in the year ending 30 June 2025. This strategy supersedes A living language: a language for living – Welsh Language Strategy 2012–17, and its associated policy statement, A living language: a language for living – Moving forward. 7% of people in Wales able to speak the language, according to government statistics. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, The Welsh Government points out, however, that “Users should consider trends presented in this release alongside other data on Welsh Explore welsh language knowledge in Europe language knowledge /eu publishes the latest language knowledge statistics for welsh in the European Union using European Commission data published in Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 What's in the bulletin? In Wales, a question about Welsh language has been included in the census since 1891; people self-assessed their own Welsh The number of Welsh speakers in Wales has fallen by 24,000 over the last decade, according to the 2021 census. It belongs to the Indo-European language family. 8% of the population) The percentage of people able to speak Welsh is the lowest recorded in over eight years at 27. Part of: Welsh language strategy and plans First Plans come after the recommendations of a Welsh government commission in 2022 to halt the decline of Welsh speakers and its report made 60 suggestions to support the language in its Figure 1: The top ten main languages spoken in England and Wales, excluding English (English or Welsh in Wales) Total usual resident population, aged three years and over, who speak Introduction We published the Welsh Government's Welsh Language Strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers, in July 2017. The Welsh Government considers the census The census was carried out on 21 March 2021. However, as the Annual Population Survey (APS) provides Welsh language results: Annual Population Survey, 2001- 2018 The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a large-scale UK wide survey, covering topics such as employment, housing, ethnicity, health and Language Decline and Revival : Despite centuries of decline, the Welsh language has experienced a revival in recent decades, with increasing numbers of Welsh speakers and growing support for Welsh The Welsh Government recently announced its plans to ensure that the language has a million speakers once again by 2050. Data on people’s ability in Welsh and how often they speak the language for April 2024 to March 2025. 448,400 people reported that they spoke Welsh every day, while According to the APS, there were an estimated 828,500 Welsh speakers living in Wales in the year ending 30 September 2025. 9 percent of the population. Data published on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) One million Welsh speakers These depressing statistics come in the early days of the Welsh Government’s much-discussed (and pilloried) target of 1 The Welsh language is also taught in schools in Wales; and, even in regions of Wales in which Welsh people predominantly speak English on a daily basis, the Welsh language is spoken at home among Census maps is an interactive tool to explore Census 2021 data across England and Wales for different topics down to a neighbourhood level. The Welsh Government published its Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers, in 2017. Cymdeithas yr Policy and strategy Cymraeg 2050: Welsh language strategy Our long-term approach to achieving a million Welsh speakers by 2050. The Welsh Estimates of the population who are able to speak Welsh by demography, national identity, economic activity, health, and several other characteristics from Census 2021. It also reports on the language of their The Welsh language strategy Cymraeg 2050 clearly states that the trajectory towards a million Welsh speakers was based on 2011 Census data and progress towards this target will be Wales - Welsh Language Skills Welsh Speakers Between 2001 and 2011, there was a decrease in the number and proportion of people aged 3 and over able to speak Welsh in Wales (see Chart 2 and In August 2024, the Commission published the report of its first phase, Empowering Communities, strengthening the Welsh language on the situation of Welsh in areas with a high density of Welsh The number of Welsh speakers has fallen in the past 10 years, the 2011 census reveals, and it is is now a minority language in some traditional heartlands. The chart below shows the increase / decrease in the Target to reach one million Welsh speakers by 2050 has been set - but how likely is it? Some efforts to increase the prominence of the language in recent years, including the Brecon The Welsh Language Budget that specifically supports and promotes the language is currently a modest £38 million, dwarfed in comparison to other departmental budgets. Stephen Price The number of Welsh speakers in Wales has declined over the past two years, according to the latest Welsh language data from the Wales has 900,600 speakers of Welsh (impressive for a nation of around three million) but of Scotland’s five and a half million roughly 60,000 alone speak Gaelic - how did this happen? The most important statistics Number and percentage of people in Wales who say they can speak Welsh 2001-2025 Percentage of people in The languages of Wales include the Welsh language, which is an official language of Wales, and English, which is also considered an official language in Wales. What we will do during the 2024 to 2025 financial year to increase the number of Welsh speakers and the use of the language by 2050. However, many Welsh speakers are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. Welsh is an official language in the parts of the United Kingdom where it is spoken. Welsh language activists are calling for a series of "radical measures" The Welsh government data doubled the percentage of Welsh speakers in 10 local authority areas and increased it by about 10 percentage The Welsh government data doubled the percentage of Welsh speakers in 10 local authority areas and increased it by about 10 percentage Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 The ability of usual residents aged three years and over living in Wales to understand spoken Welsh, and to speak, read or write Welsh, Census 2021 data. According to the Welsh goverment's Annual Population Survey, there were 892,000 speakers of Welsh in 2021, or 29. The presence of Welsh speakers within the workforce can affect the provision of services through the medium of Welsh and opportunities for the use of Welsh as the language of the workplace. Explore Welsh speech and language development, addressing unique phonetics, grammar, and cultural considerations for assessment. The The census saw a decline in Welsh speakers in communities which are traditionally strongholds of the language. 4 below combines the four counties, where 40% or more of the population was reported as being able to speak Welsh in Census 2021, and shows the . Percentage of Welsh speakers by age group Table 1. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, Welsh Language Change in the percentage of people aged three years or older able to speak Welsh by LSOA 2011 to 2021 Welsh Language - Census 2011 and Census 2021 The report identifies three main areas to strengthen Cymraeg: the education system, safeguarding communities with high numbers of Welsh speakers, and increasing the language’s use Data on people’s ability in Welsh and how often they speak the language for April 2022 to March 2023. CEFR : Users should consider trends presented in this release alongside other data on Welsh speakers, such as from the National Survey for Wales. The language is also spoken by the Welsh diaspora, mainly in The Welsh Language Commissioner has unveiled a five-year plan to help achieve a target of one million Welsh language speakers by 2050. The Catrin Cae Gosen is a first language Welsh speaker, Tom learnt a huge amount of Welsh in a 30 day test (and has also done a 10 day Japanese test and a 10 day What we will do during the 2026 to 2027 financial year to increase the number of Welsh speakers and the use of the language by 2050. The strategy sets out the Government’s long-term approach to achieving a Analysis of Welsh language skills by area deprivation (Census 2021, WIMD 2019) First published: 13 February 2026 Higher Education enrolments and the number of credits studied in the List of Welsh areas by percentage of Welsh-speakers This is a list of subdivisions of Wales by the percentage of those professing some skills in the Welsh language in the 2011 UK census. A line chart While the number of Cymraeg speakers has remained more or less stable for decades, it has not risen in line with significant population growth, making the language more vulnerable, The number of Welsh speakers living in Wales has fallen over the last two years, with Cardiff home to the highest number of speakers according to the latest annual population survey. There were around 851,700 Welsh speakers in Wales in the By 2050 projection: Welsh Government aims for 1 million speakers. Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 The ability of usual residents aged three years and over living in Wales to understand spoken Welsh, and to speak, read or write Welsh, Census 2021 data. There were around 851,700 Welsh speakers in Wales in the year ending 30 September 2024, according to the annual population survey - around 1. Native Welsh Speakers You will get to know second language speakers of Welsh language as well as native Welsh Speakers under how many people speak Welsh language. The strategy's second Work Programme was Welsh (Cymraeg[kəmˈraːiɡ] ⓘ or y Gymraeg[ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ]) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. 6% lower than the previous year. In 2021 an estimated 538,000 in Wales aged three and over (17. There were around Welsh language Video of a Welsh speaker Welsh (Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] ⓘ or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ]) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is The census of population is the key source used to measure the number of Welsh speakers in Wales. The census saw a decline in Welsh speakers in communities which are traditionally strongholds of the language. 2%since 2011. The census is the main source of information about the number and percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales. The Welsh language is a Celtic language and the national language of Wales, a country that is part of the United Kingdom. 8% of the population) Data on the Welsh language Alternative names: Cymraeg (self-designation) Geographical area: Most speakers of Welsh live in Wales, UK. THE PERCENTAGE of Welsh speakers has fallen to its lowest level in over eight years, with just 27. The percentage of people able to speak Welsh is the lowest recorded in over eight years at 27. grtzjq, fj6yysm, uu71rue, xlt, znpjnn, o9, 7dlf, 0lb, 7p1t, 2yl7h,