Languages spoken in Wales
Cardiff
2000000
The main languages spoken in Wales are:
English - spoken by the vast majority of the population.
Welsh (Cymraeg) - an official language of Wales, spoken by approximately 26.9-27.2% of people aged 3+ (roughly 828,000-836,000 people) as of 2025, based on the Annual Population Survey; the 2021 census recorded a lower figure of 17.8% (538,300 people), the lowest ever recorded.
Welsh belongs to the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages and has several regional dialects, including Gwyndodeg (north), Powyseg, Dyfedeg, and Gwenhwyseg (south).
The Welsh Government has set a national goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050, backed by the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025.
Welsh is an official language of Wales, alongside English.
| Geography |
Location: on the island of Great Britain, west of England; borders the Irish Sea to the north and west and the Bristol Channel to the south
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 20,779-21,218 sq km
Land boundaries:
border countries: England
| People |
Population: 3.1-3.19 million (2021-2024 est.); about 4.6% of the UK population
Nationality:
noun/adjective: Welshman/Welshwoman/Welsh
Languages: Welsh and English; Wales is officially bilingual (see DESCRIPT field for detailed language statistics)
Population distribution: Cardiff (Caerdydd), the capital, is located on the southeast coast and has a population of approximately 363,000; six other cities are recognized across the country
| Government |
Country name:
English: Wales
Welsh: Cymru
Data code: GB-WLS
Government type: constituent country of the United Kingdom with a devolved government; a parliamentary constitutional monarchy at the UK level
National capital: Cardiff
Executive branch:
head of the Welsh Government: First Minister of Wales, supported by a Cabinet, accountable to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) in Cardiff Bay
Background: Wales was briefly unified under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1057; English conquest was formalized by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and the Laws in Wales Acts of 1535-1542 fully incorporated Wales into the English legal and administrative system; the Welsh Language Act of 1967 gave Welsh equal validity with English in public life; a 1997 referendum led to the creation of the National Assembly for Wales (renamed the Senedd/Welsh Parliament in 2020), which gained devolved legislative powers over areas including health, education, and the Welsh language starting in 1999; devolution has since expanded through subsequent Wales Acts
| Economy |
Economy - overview: historically transformed by the Industrial Revolution from a farming economy into a center of coal mining and metallurgy; today relies primarily on services, tourism, and the public sector, alongside manufacturing and a growing renewable energy and technology sector; GDP per head has historically trailed the UK average
GDP (nominal, 2023 est.): £92.8 billion
GDP - per capita (nominal, 2023 est.): £29,316
Currency: Pound sterling (GBP)