List_of_Welsh_areas_by_percentage_of_Welsh-speakers
List of Welsh areas by percentage of Welsh-speakers
Overview of Welsh-speaking areas in Wales
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 census did not record Welsh-speakers living outside Wales.
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: 2021 census. (July 2023) |
The census determined that 18.56% of the population could speak Welsh and 14.57% could speak, read and write in the language.[1] In the most recent census in 2021, 17.8% reported being able to speak Welsh.[2]
The Census produced a detailed breakdown of skills as:[3]
- Understands spoken Welsh (no other skills)
- Speaks but does not read or write Welsh
- Speaks and reads but does not write Welsh
- Speaks, reads and writes Welsh
- Other combination of skills; e.g. Can read but not speak.
- No knowledge of Welsh.
The second table includes only those people who stated in the 2011 Census that they are able to speak the Welsh language. It was these statistics that were reported by the press when the first data samples were released in 2012.[4]
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For the purpose of the first table, all combinations other than "no knowledge of Welsh" have been combined, giving a percentage of people that state they have some communication skills in the Welsh language rather than an ability to speak Welsh. The totals include children whose parents have filled in the Census details on this behalf.
| Area | Can communicate in Welsh | No knowledge of Welsh | Population total | % of those who have some knowledge of Welsh | % of those who have no knowledge of Welsh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | 7,808 | 62,006 | 69,814 | 11.18% | 88.82% |
| Bridgend | 23,532 | 115,646 | 139,178 | 16.91% | 83.09% |
| Caerphilly | 28,059 | 150,747 | 178,806 | 15.69% | 84.31% |
| Cardiff | 54,504 | 291,586 | 346,090 | 15.74% | 84.25% |
| Carmarthenshire | 105,032 | 78,745 | 183,777 | 57.15% | 42.85% |
| Ceredigion | 43,366 | 32,556 | 75,922 | 57.12% | 42.88% |
| Conwy | 44,614 | 70,614 | 115,228 | 38.72% | 61.28% |
| Denbighshire | 32,528 | 61,206 | 93,734 | 34.70% | 65.30% |
| Flintshire | 30,455 | 122,051 | 152,506 | 19.97% | 80.03% |
| Gwynedd | 88,853 | 33,021 | 121,874 | 72.91% | 27.09% |
| Isle of Anglesey | 47,821 | 21,930 | 69,751 | 68.56% | 31.44% |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 8,640 | 50,162 | 58,802 | 14.69% | 85.31% |
| Monmouthshire | 12,500 | 78,823 | 91,323 | 13.69% | 86.31% |
| Neath Port Talbot | 33,896 | 105,916 | 139,812 | 24.24% | 75.76% |
| Newport | 18,490 | 127,246 | 145,736 | 12.69% | 87.31% |
| Pembrokeshire | 32,930 | 89,509 | 122,439 | 26.90% | 73.10% |
| Powys | 36,602 | 96,374 | 132,976 | 27.53% | 72.47% |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 44,911 | 189,499 | 234,410 | 19.16% | 80.84% |
| Swansea | 45,085 | 193,938 | 239,023 | 18.86% | 81.14% |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 20,093 | 106,243 | 126,336 | 15.90% | 84.10% |
| Torfaen | 11,950 | 79,125 | 91,075 | 13.12% | 86.88% |
| Wrexham | 27,812 | 107,032 | 134,844 | 20.63% | 79.37% |
| Totals | 799,481 | 2,263,975 | 3,063,456 | 26.10% | 73.90% |
| This section needs to be updated. (October 2020) |
In addition to official Census data, the Annual Population Survey publishes sample-based estimates on the number of self-proclaimed Welsh speakers several times a year based on estimates for the previous year. The third table displays uses this data to show estimates for the percentage of people who say they can speak Welsh at the time of each survey, from June 2016 onwards.[5] The 2020 survey reported that 28.6% of people in Wales aged three and over were able to speak Welsh.[6]
| Area | % Jun 2016 | % Sep 2016 | % Dec 2016 | % Mar 2017 | % Jun 2017 | % July 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | 17.4 | 17.3 | 16.6 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 19.7 |
| Bridgend | 16.4 | 16.9 | 17.6 | 18.4 | 17.9 | 15.6 |
| Caerphilly | 24.1 | 23.2 | 22.2 | 20.9 | 21.2 | 23.7 |
| Cardiff | 15.5 | 16.5 | 17.9 | 18.9 | 19.5 | 23.7 |
| Carmarthenshire | 46.9 | 48.8 | 50.0 | 50.8 | 50.5 | 53.3 |
| Ceredigion | 53.8 | 55.3 | 55.8 | 56.1 | 56.6 | 59.6 |
| Conwy | 35.1 | 35.7 | 37.9 | 39.6 | 39.5 | 41.6 |
| Denbighshire | 35.0 | 36.2 | 36.7 | 35.4 | 39.5 | 37.3 |
| Flintshire | 21.1 | 20.2 | 19.6 | 19.2 | 19.7 | 23.1 |
| Gwynedd | 71.1 | 71.3 | 71.1 | 71.8 | 71.1 | 76.4 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 63.3 | 61.9 | 61.9 | 61.6 | 60.8 | 67.5 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 20.8 | 19.4 | 19.5 | 20.5 | 22.0 | 18.5 |
| Monmouthshire | 15.7 | 15.6 | 16.4 | 16.3 | 16.9 | 17.6 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 21.7 | 22.4 | 21.9 | 21.2 | 21.7 | 25.3 |
| Newport | 18.9 | 18.4 | 18.7 | 19.0 | 19.6 | 20.9 |
| Pembrokeshire | 27.1 | 27.9 | 28.0 | 29.2 | 29.7 | 29.6 |
| Powys | 25.9 | 26.8 | 26.3 | 27.3 | 26.7 | 29.9 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 20.8 | 21.3 | 22.8 | 23.6 | 23.2 | 22.3 |
| Swansea | 21.4 | 22.1 | 21.4 | 22.1 | 22.5 | 23.1 |
| Torfaen | 18.2 | 15.6 | 16.9 | 17.7 | 18.8 | 17.7 |
| The Vale of Glamorgan | 18.2 | 19.2 | 18.4 | 19.3 | 19.2 | 20.9 |
| Wrexham | 27.7 | 27.5 | 27.2 | 26.0 | 25.0 | 25.8 |
| Wales | 26.7 | 27.1 | 27.4 | 27.8 | 27.9 | 29.8 |
- "2011 Census - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- "2011 Census: Datacube - Welsh language skills by age and sex , unitary authorities in Wales" (Microsoft Excel). Office for National Statistics. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- "Census 2011: Number of Welsh speakers falling". bbc.co.uk. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- "Annual Population Survey estimates of persons aged 3 and over who say they can speak Welsh by local authority and measure". StatsWales. Annual Population Survey. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- "Welsh language data from the Annual Population Survey: July 2019 to June 2020". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Welsh language". StatsWales. Welsh Government.