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Number of Welsh-speakers lowest in eight years

Alun Jones
BBC News
Getty Images The Welsh-language word for Welsh, Cymraeg, with the letters on a clothes lineGetty Images

The percentage of people able to speak Welsh is the lowest recorded in over eight years at 27.7%, government statistics indicate.

There were around 851,700 Welsh speakers in Wales in the year ending 30 September 2024, according to the annual population survey - around 1.6% lower than the previous year.

The Welsh government said it was "absolutely committed to our goal of having one million Welsh speakers and doubling the daily use of Welsh."

The target of achieving a million Welsh speakers by 2050 is measured using census data rather than this yearly survey.

'Warning to Labour'

Plaid Cymru spokesperson Heledd Fychan said "these are really disheartening numbers from the government's own data".

She added: "Today's news should serve as a warning to Labour that something needs to change if we are to see the drastic turn around needed to reach Cymraeg 2050."

"The government say that Cymraeg is for everybody, but these numbers show that under Welsh Labour, this isn't the case."

Getty Images Mark Drakeford at a Welsh government podium Getty Images
Ex-first minister Mark Drakeford is now responsible for the Welsh language as well as finance minister in the Welsh government

The 2021 census had shown a reduction in the percentage of Welsh speakers to 17.8%, which was approximately 538,000 residents aged three or older in Wales saying they can speak Welsh.

The annual survey also indicates:

  • Children and young people aged 3 to 15 years were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh (48.6%, 237,600) than any other age group. This is consistent over time, but the percentage of children and young people aged 3 to 15 years who can speak Welsh has been decreasing in general since the beginning of 2019.
  • The highest estimated numbers of Welsh speakers are found in Gwynedd (93,600), Carmarthenshire (93,300) and Cardiff (83,300).
  • The lowest estimated numbers of Welsh speakers are in Blaenau Gwent (9,500) and Merthyr Tydfil (10,600).
  • The highest estimated percentages of Welsh speakers can be found in Gwynedd (77.9%) and the Isle of Anglesey (63.6%).
  • The lowest estimated percentages of Welsh speakers are in Rhondda Cynon Taf (13.9%) and Blaenau Gwent (14.0%).
  • 13.9% (428,800) of people aged three years and over reported that they spoke Welsh daily, 5.6% (171,300) weekly and 6.7% (204,700) less often. Around 1.5% (46,500) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak it, with the remaining 72.3% not able to speak Welsh.
  • 32.2% (989,300) reported that they could understand spoken Welsh, 24.4% (751,600) could read and 22.1% (680,100) could write in Welsh.

The annual population survey is a UK-wide survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The annual survey has seen a fall in sample sizes over recent years, but the ONS told the BBC the relevant sample for the Welsh language questions is 14,881.