A SENIOR politician has expressed concern that fewer people than ever can speak Welsh, according to census data. 

On census day, 21 March 2021, an estimated 538,300 Welsh citizens aged three and over were reported as being able to speak Welsh – about 17.8 per cent of the population.

This is a decrease of about 23,700 people since the 2011 census, a drop of 1.2 per cent. A century ago, 37 per cent of residents spoke Welsh.

The Welsh Government has a target of reaching 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. It has introduced a string of initiatives, including more investment in Welsh-medium schools, setting up a national centre for learning Welsh and appointing a language commissioner.

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The decrease is being driven by a fall among children and young people who can speak Welsh, according to the census. There were drops of about 6 per cent in the proportion of children aged three to 15 reported as speaking the language between 2011 and 2021.

The Welsh education and language minister, Jeremy Miles, said the figures were "disappointing" but the government remains determined to reach its 2050 target.

He said: "Census 2021 shows us one snapshot of what’s happened over the last ten years. We’ll look at those results in detail alongside all the other statistics and research that’s available to us.

"I’ve often said that Welsh isn’t just something I speak, it’s something I feel, and I feel more and more people feel that the language belongs to them. The key is changing those feelings into language use.

"We’ll take time to examine the data carefully, in particular the figures relating to 3-15-year-olds. Covid-19 meant that 2021 was an extremely uncertain time, with many people concerned about their children’s Welsh language abilities, children were out of school, and it may be that we are seeing this concern reflected in the way they reported their children’s use of Welsh."

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He added: "I’ve previously said that I’ll review our statistical trajectory in light of the census data to look at what more we can do to support people to speak more Welsh in their daily lives. As part of this, I’ll want to talk with people all over Wales in the New Year. But we remain absolutely committed to our aim of a million Welsh speakers and doubling the number of us who use Welsh every day by 2050.

"The census shows us what has happened over the last ten years up to 2021. Cymraeg 2050 has been in place for less than four years of that period, and much of that time was affected by Covid-19. We’ve got good reasons to be optimistic about the next decade. Cymraeg belongs to us all in Wales.

"Today, we see more children in Welsh-medium education, more opportunities to learn Welsh, and greater pride in our language and our identity than ever before."

The highest percentages of Welsh speakers were in north-west Wales, with 64.4 per cent in Gwynedd, and 55.8 per cent on Anglesey. In smaller areas, this was even greater with 86.3 per cent of people able to speak Welsh in some parts of Gwynedd.