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| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Wales 2 million[1] (identifying as Welsh only) | |
| Significant Welsh diaspora in | |
| United States | 2 million[2] |
| England | 610,000[3] |
| Canada | 475,000 (Includes those of mixed ancestry)[4] |
| Australia | 126,000[5] |
| Argentina | 50,000[6] |
| Scotland | 17,000[7] |
| New Zealand | 10,000[8] |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Non-religious (46.5%) and Christian (43.6%), traditionally Nonconformist[9] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bretons, Cornish, Manx, English, Scottish, Irish, Ulster-Scots | |
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Wales |
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| People |
| Art |
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of the United Kingdom |
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The Welsh (Welsh: Cymry) are an ethnic group and nation native to Wales who share a common ancestry, history and culture.[10] Wales is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. The majority of people living in Wales are British citizens.[11]
In Wales, the Welsh language (Welsh: Cymraeg) is protected by law.[12] Welsh remains the predominant language in many parts of Wales, particularly in North Wales and parts of West Wales, though English is the predominant language in South Wales. The Welsh language is also taught in schools in Wales; and, even in regions of Wales in which Welsh people predominantly speak English on a daily basis, the Welsh language is spoken at home among family or in informal settings, with Welsh speakers often engaging in code-switching and translanguaging. In the English-speaking areas of Wales, many Welsh people are bilingually fluent or semi-fluent in the Welsh language or, to varying degrees, capable of speaking or understanding the language at limited or conversational proficiency levels. The Welsh language is descended from Brythonic, spoken across Britain since before the Roman invasion.
In 2016, an analysis of the geography of Welsh surnames commissioned by the Welsh Government found that 718,000 people (nearly 35% of the Welsh population) have a family name of Welsh origin, compared with 5.3% in the rest of the United Kingdom, 4.7% in New Zealand, 4.1% in Australia, and 3.8% in the United States, with an estimated 16.3 million people in the countries studied having at least partial Welsh ancestry.[13] Over 300,000 Welsh people live in London.[14]
- ^ "2011 Census: Key Statistics for Wales, March 2011" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. 11 December 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Welsh people in England". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
- ^ Statistics Canada. "Census Profile, 2016 Census". Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ Australian Government – Department of Immigration and Border Protection. "Welsh Australians". Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ "Wales and Argentina". Wales.com website. Welsh Assembly Government. 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ^ "City of Aberdeen: Census Stats and Facts page 25, section 18, Country of birth" (PDF). City of Aberdeen. 2003. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ The 1996 census, which used a slightly different question, reported 9,966 people belonging to the Welsh ethnic group. Archived 8 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ Rhys, John; Brynmor Jones, David (1969). The Welsh People: Chapters On Their Origin, History, Laws, Language, Literature, And Characteristics (2019 ed.). Wentworth Press. ISBN 978-1-01-052046-7.
- ^ "The Countries of the UK". statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
- ^ The Welsh language has been protected gradually and most notably by the Welsh Language Act 1967, the Welsh Language Act 1993, and the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
- ^ Webber, Richard. "The Welsh diaspora : Analysis of the geography of Welsh names" (PDF). Welsh Assembly. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Canolfan i 300,000 o Gymry" [Centre for 300,000 Welsh]. BBC (in Welsh). 5 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.