Survey on Language Uses of the Population. 2023. Territorial results
Idescat publishes information by territories from the Survey on Language Uses of the Population 2023. These results indicate a notable diversity of situations regarding the Catalan language in Catalonia.
More than half of the population of Catalonia aged 15 and over say that Catalan is their only habitual language in the following territorial areas: Les Terres de l’Ebre (66.8%), the Central Counties (59.6%), Ponent (51.1%) and L’Alt Pirineu and Aran (50.5%). Below 50% are the Girona Counties (45.0%), El Camp de Tarragona (37.9%), El Penedès (34.6%) and the Metropolitan (24.7%) areas.
As for the first language, more than 50% of the population aged 15 and over in the area of Les Terres de l’Ebre (57.7%) say that Catalan is their only first language. This figure is less than 50% in the other areas.
Regarding the language of identification, more than 50% of the population aged 15 and over in Les Terres de l’Ebre and the Central Counties say they identify exclusively with Catalan (56.3% and 52.4%, respectively). In the other areas, this figure ranges between 30% and 50% except in the case of the Metropolitan Area (22.9%).
As for the self-assessment made by the population aged 15 and over concerning their knowledge of Catalan (understanding, speaking, reading and writing), the highest percentages are in the Central Counties (75.0%) and L’Alt Pirineu and Aran (73.1%). In terms of skills, the areas where people say they understand Catalan most are the Central Counties (96.3%), El Penedès and Les Terres de l’Ebre (both 95.6%) and L’Alt Pirineu and Aran (95.5%). The areas where they say they can speak it most are the Central Counties (89.3%), L’Alt Pirineu and Aran (87.9%), Les Terres de l’Ebre (87.6%) and El Penedès (85.6%). Meanwhile, the areas where people say they can read it most are Les Terres de l’Ebre and the Central Counties (both 88.5%) and El Penedès (87.4%). Last, in terms of the skill of being able to write it, the Central Counties are the area with the highest percentage (75.6%) while the Metropolitan Area has the lowest (62.8%).
The domains of use include the use of Catalan in various interpersonal spheres (household, social settings, consumer settings, etc.). For example, in the Central Counties, 63.2% say they use Catalan exclusively with the local administration and 51.3% with the members of their household. In Les Terres de l’Ebre, 63.5% say they use Catalan exclusively with the local administrations, 57.8% with the members of their household, 55.8% with the local police and 55.7% with the Administration of the Generalitat. In contrast, some of the lowest percentages for exclusive use of Catalan are found in the Metropolitan Area, particularly in relations with customers, students, patients, etc. (8.9%) and when writing text messages (7.5%).
In the municipality of Barcelona, 25.1% of the population aged 15 and over say that Catalan is their only first language, 26.9% that it is their habitual language and 24.8% that it is their language of identification. In relation to the knowledge of Catalan, 91.9% of the population aged 15 and over in the city of Barcelona say that they understand Catalan, 82.9% can read it, 77.7% can speak it and 62.4% can write it.
As for Aranese in Aran, in 2023, 79.7% of the population aged 15 and over living in Aran said they understood Aranese; 63.7% could read it; 53.6% could speak it and 39.4% could write it. The population aged 15 and over in Aran who reported having Aranese exclusively as their first language was 18.5%; as their habitual language, 16.3%; and as their language of identification, 22.8%.