Getty ImagesThe number of Welsh speakers has fallen in the past decade, with fewer children speaking the language.
In 2021, an estimated 538,000 people in Wales aged three years and over (17.8% of the population) reported being able to speak Welsh, data from the Office for National Statistics said.
That is a decrease since 2011 when 562,000 or 19% spoke the language.
One of the main factors contributing to the overall decrease is fewer Welsh speakers aged three to 15 years old.
The percentage of usual residents aged three years and over able to speak Welsh decreased between 2011 and 2021 in all local authorities except Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Merthyr Tydfil.
Among children and young people aged three to 15 years old, the percentage who could speak Welsh decreased in all local authorities between 2011 and 2021.
- ‘Welsh speakers can do more to welcome incomers’
- ‘Boring’ poems and books put students off Welsh
- Welsh language school targets missed for some
The Welsh government set a target to have one million speakers in Wales by 2050 six years ago.
-
‘Welsh speakers can do more to welcome incomers’
-
22 August
-
-
‘Boring’ poems and books put students off Welsh
-
5 May
-
-
Welsh language school targets missed for some
-
13 July 2021
-
-
Basic Welsh to be required for government jobs
-
12 July 2021
-
-
Welsh ‘fastest growing language in UK’
-
17 December 2020
-
-
Whole nation ‘could speak Welsh’ within 300 years
-
8 January 2020
-
-
Perfect Welsh ‘not needed’, says minister
-
26 January 2020
-
-
‘Use Welsh’ drive to help patient care
-
2 February 2018
-
-
School plan for 1m Welsh speakers target
-
11 July 2017
-
Related Internet Links
-
Welsh government annual report on 2017 to 2018 on Welsh speakers
