A county council strategy to raise the number of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion by 2029 is targeted to achieve only an extra 267 Welsh speakers over the next five years, a report has outlined.

Ceredigion’s Draft Welsh Language Promotion Strategy 2024-2029 was discussed by Language Committee members earlier this month, who heard that the plan is aiming to lift the amount of Welsh speakers in the county by one per cent in five years.

The strategy, which aims to “promote the Welsh language and facilitate the use of Welsh within the wider area,” follows census data from 2021 which saw the number of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion drop by more than 3,000 people from 2011.

The 2021 census shows that 45.3 per cent of Ceredigion residents consider themselves Welsh speakers, compared to 47.3 per cent in 2011.

The drop is despite efforts at council and Welsh Government level to boost the language, with the overarching aim of increasing the number of Welsh speakers to reach one million in the country by 2050.

Ceredigion remains the third highest authority in Wales for the percentage of Welsh speakers, behind Gwynedd and Anglesey – the only two areas where more than 50 per cent of residents speak Welsh.

The fresh strategy, which runs until 2029, aims to only boost Ceredigion numbers by one per cent, and despite the drop in the census numbers a report said that there are “still reasons to be optimistic” as “Cymraeg 2050 was relatively new when the Census 2021 took place.”

A report into the strategy said: “Although the assumed 267 (one per cent) increase in the number of Welsh speakers between 2021 and 2029 was low, it was based on Census data.

“Setting a target was key, to ensure there was something to work towards.

“There were concerns with the accuracy of the 2021 Census results and whether it provided a true account of the county’s population.”

The goal for the new strategy, the report said, is to “increase the use of the language in all aspects of county life.”

“Our vision is that the Welsh language and Welshness will belong to everyone in Ceredigion and will be a source of pride among all residents of the county,” the council report added.

The Draft Welsh Language Promotion Strategy will be presented to Cabinet before a public consultation during July and August.

The final strategy is due to be published in December.