Use of Welsh Language Survey Results Published

The Welsh language use survey is funded jointly by Welsh Government and the Welsh Language Commissioner. It will provide information about Welsh speakers' use of the Welsh language.

Click here to access the Reports

Respondents to the National Survey for Wales are asked to identify all members in their household who can speak Welsh. A self-completion Welsh Language Use questionnaire is subsequently left for each Welsh speaker to complete and return by post.

This survey enables comparisons to be made with the previous Welsh language use surveys that were conducted in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Key points

• The survey showed that 11 per cent (310,600) of all people aged 3 and over living in Wales could speak Welsh fluently compared with 12 per cent (317,300) in 2004-06.
• 353,000 (13 per cent) of all people aged 3 and over spoke Welsh daily, compared with 342,000 (again 13 per cent) in the 2004-06 surveys.
• Close to half (46 per cent) of all Welsh speakers (310,600) considered themselves fluent in Welsh, and 22 per cent (148,900) could speak a fair amount of Welsh. In 2004-06 the corresponding figures were 58 per cent (317,300) fluent and 21 per cent (115,300) could speak a fair amount.
• Just over half of people who could speak Welsh spoke it daily; 1 in 5 spoke it weekly; fewer than 1 in 4 spoke it less often than weekly, and 1 in 20 people who could speak Welsh never speak it.
• At home 20 per cent of Welsh speakers always (or almost always) spoke Welsh. This proportion increased steadily with age.
• 31 per cent of Welsh speakers said their most recent conversation with someone who was not a member of their family was in Welsh. Over half (56 per cent) of fluent Welsh speakers said that their most recent conversation was in Welsh.
• 1 in 8 of Welsh speakers always or mainly used Welsh when sending a text message to a friend, and 1 in 10 an email. 9 per cent of adults always or mainly wrote in Welsh on Facebook and 6 per cent on Twitter.  
• There has been an increase in the number of Welsh speakers who reported that their employers were supportive of the use of the language and also in those who had been offered something like a badge to indicate they speak Welsh.

Contact

Tel: 029 2082 6685
Email: surveys@wales.gsi.gov.uk