Next in my look a the key results from the 2021 census is language – always one of the more popular topics.
A reminder of the ground rules:
- The figures will be counted at council level (the 22 unitary authorities). There are probably more interesting results at a local level/ward level, but that’s not for me to do. You can look these up yourselves using the ONS’s interactive map.
- Percentages are rounded to the nearest decimal place and changes are percentage point increases or decreases (unless stated otherwise).
- 2021 will be compared to both the 2011 and 2001 censuses unless comparable figures are unavailable (i.e. things were counted differently in 2021 compared to previous years) or I couldn’t find the data for whatever reason. In some instances, there won’t be a comparison because it’s a new category.
- Any conclusions are educated guesses rather than hard/academically rigorous conclusions.
An additional note: usually only those aged 3+ are counted, but the figures below include the entire population. That means the figures presented here will be different to those that have been officially published – though not by much.
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What’s the overall national picture?
The proportion of people who can read Welsh fell a bit further than those who consider themselves to be Welsh speakers (-1.4%).
Around 16.8% of the population said they could read in Welsh in 2021, which means ~94% of Welsh speakers can probably read Welsh – which is good news, though likely to be a lower literacy rate than English.
The ability to write in Welsh is markedly lower than both speaking and reading. So taking it together, the bad news is that the full literacy rate in the Welsh language – speak, read and write – is likely to be only around 85-86%.
What are the standout findings for individual councils?
It largely ties in with the figures for Welsh-speaking ability, just with slightly different percentages. On the whole, the numbers are down but not to the same extent as Welsh-speaking ability.
Gwynedd is the only local authority where a majority of residents can speak, read and write Welsh. Anglesey just misses out but isn’t far off – though the gap between the two is widening.
What may be the reasons behind the changes (if applicable)?
There may be a cultural theme where people brought up in Welsh-speaking households or communities never actually have to read or write Welsh and use English instead, meaning their Welsh language reading and writing skills fade a bit or were never that strong.
You would expect the only people to be able to read, write and speak Welsh fluently to have gone through Welsh-medium education system (both primary and secondary). It should be to nobody’s surprise that Welsh “full literacy” rates are higher in local authorities where there are few options other than Welsh-medium or bilingual education, such as Gwynedd.
Are there any public policy implications?
“Welsh-speaker” is poorly defined. Even I can follow the gist of a conversation in Welsh but I would never consider myself to be a Welsh speaker.
In the race to boost the number of “Welsh speakers” – particularly adult learners – reading and writing skills may be neglected for the sake of being able to hold or follow a conversation and tick a box: the same mistake that’s been made with GCSE Welsh second language.
Boosting the number of people who speak a language will ensure its survival. Making sure it thrives and remains a living language means being able to speak, read and write in it.
The only way you can guarantee that is through full Welsh-medium education from 3-18 – but I honestly doubt you would find majority support for that anywhere outside Y Fro.
