• Vulnerable

  60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

• 562,016 in Wales

  Native speakers worldwide
• Ethnic population

  2,955,841 residents of Wales

• CHILDREN

  153,888

• YOUNG ADULTS

  180,226

• OLDER ADULTS

  136,970

• ELDERS

  90,932

DATE OF INFO

2011

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

Scripts (Writing system)

Roman

PLACES

Wales, UK; Argentina

LOCATION DESCRIPTION

Editors' note: While Welsh speakers are found in many places in Wales, the broader UK, and parts of Argentina, we have chosen to place three map points near the main centers for the three areas in Wales with the largest numbers of Welsh speakers: Caernarfon, Gwynedd; Llangefni, Anglesey; and Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.

• Vulnerable

  60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

• 317,000

  Native speakers worldwide
• MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS

  "According to the Welsh Language Use Surveys of 2004–06, 58% (317 thousand) of those who could speak Welsh considered themselves fluent."

DATE OF INFO

2001-2006

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

MORE ON VITALITY

"The trends from 1891 to 1971 can be described fairly simply: with a few exceptions, the percentage of Welsh speakers in every age group declined from one census to the next."

Scripts (Writing system)

Roman

More on Orthography

"At a national level, 20.8% could speak Welsh [to some degree], 20.2% could read the language, and 17.7% could write it."