A new ADR Wales statistical analysis explores how people report their Welsh language abilities across different data sources, providing valuable insight into the progress of the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 strategy.
Census 2021 plays an important role in monitoring the policy’s objectives, while comparisons with household surveys help provide a broader understanding of trends in the use and knowledge of the Welsh language across Wales.
The analysis, carried out by member of the ADR Wales in Welsh Government, compares responses from Census 2021 with those collected through the National Survey for Wales in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Using individual-level linked data from the SAIL Databank, researchers examined how consistently people reported their ability to speak, understand, read and write Welsh across the two sources.
The analysis also investigates whether agreement between reported Welsh language abilities varies according to demographic and household characteristics. This could help provide a clearer picture of how different groups report their Welsh language skills and highlight important considerations when interpreting statistics used to assess progress towards national language policy targets.
The research forms part of the joint Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Welsh Government work plan to improve the coherence of Welsh language statistics. It builds on previous research comparing Welsh language responses in the Labour Force Survey and Census, contributing to a wider effort to improve understanding of the different ways Welsh language ability is measured and reported.