This dataset can be found in:

Higher Education enrolments and the number of credits studied in the Welsh language

Standard shorthand is used in this table: [t] = total.

Data values	Data description	Academic year	Number of Welsh medium credits	Provider	Mode of study	Level of study	Domicile	Welsh speaking ability	Sex	Entrant marker
129,395 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	All abilities	All	All enrolments
59,895 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	All abilities	All	Entrants only
70,975 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	All abilities	Female	All enrolments
33,855 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	All abilities	Female	Entrants only
58,335 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	All abilities	Male	All enrolments
25,990 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	All abilities	Male	Entrants only
9,985 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	All enrolments
4,615 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	Entrants only
6,295 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	All enrolments
2,965 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	Entrants only
3,685 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Male	All enrolments
1,645 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Male	Entrants only
10,235 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	All	All enrolments
4,725 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	All	Entrants only
6,495 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Female	All enrolments
3,045 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Female	Entrants only
3,735 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Male	All enrolments
1,675 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Male	Entrants only
67,640 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Not a Welsh speaker	All	All enrolments
30,885 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Not a Welsh speaker	All	Entrants only
37,465 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Female	All enrolments
17,830 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Female	Entrants only
30,120 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Male	All enrolments
13,015 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Male	Entrants only
41,535 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Unknown	All	All enrolments
19,670 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Unknown	All	Entrants only
20,720 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Unknown	Female	All enrolments
10,010 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Unknown	Female	Entrants only
20,790 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Unknown	Male	All enrolments
9,650 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	All	Unknown	Male	Entrants only
67,925 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	All abilities	All	All enrolments
32,510 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	All abilities	All	Entrants only
41,080 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	All abilities	Female	All enrolments
20,235 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	All abilities	Female	Entrants only
26,810 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	All abilities	Male	All enrolments
12,245 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	All abilities	Male	Entrants only
9,905 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	All enrolments
4,580 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	Entrants only
6,255 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	All enrolments
2,950 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	Entrants only
3,650 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Male	All enrolments
1,630 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Male	Entrants only
10,070 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	All	All enrolments
4,660 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	All	Entrants only
6,400 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Female	All enrolments
3,010 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Female	Entrants only
3,665 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Male	All enrolments
1,650 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Male	Entrants only
43,505 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Not a Welsh speaker	All	All enrolments
20,725 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Not a Welsh speaker	All	Entrants only
25,850 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Not a Welsh speaker	Female	All enrolments
12,755 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Not a Welsh speaker	Female	Entrants only
17,630 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Not a Welsh speaker	Male	All enrolments
7,945 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Not a Welsh speaker	Male	Entrants only
4,445 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Unknown	All	All enrolments
2,545 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Unknown	All	Entrants only
2,575 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Unknown	Female	All enrolments
1,525 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Unknown	Female	Entrants only
1,865 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Unknown	Male	All enrolments
1,020 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	All levels	Wales only	Unknown	Male	Entrants only
24,365 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	All abilities	All	All enrolments
14,410 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	All abilities	All	Entrants only
13,785 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	All abilities	Female	All enrolments
8,270 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	All abilities	Female	Entrants only
10,560 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	All abilities	Male	All enrolments
6,125 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	All abilities	Male	Entrants only
1,600 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	All enrolments
925 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	Entrants only
1,065 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	All enrolments
615 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	Entrants only
535 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Male	All enrolments
310 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Male	Entrants only
1,565 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	All	All enrolments
855 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	All	Entrants only
1,025 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Female	All enrolments
565 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Female	Entrants only
540 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Male	All enrolments
290 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Welsh speaker: Non-fluent	Male	Entrants only
12,420 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Not a Welsh speaker	All	All enrolments
7,010 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Not a Welsh speaker	All	Entrants only
6,995 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Female	All enrolments
4,030 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Female	Entrants only
5,415 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Male	All enrolments
2,970 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Not a Welsh speaker	Male	Entrants only
8,775 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Unknown	All	All enrolments
5,620 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Unknown	All	Entrants only
4,705 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Unknown	Female	All enrolments
3,060 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Unknown	Female	Entrants only
4,070 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Unknown	Male	All enrolments
2,555 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	All	Unknown	Male	Entrants only
10,305 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	All abilities	All	All enrolments
5,755 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	All abilities	All	Entrants only
6,565 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	All abilities	Female	All enrolments
3,750 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	All abilities	Female	Entrants only
3,735 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	All abilities	Male	All enrolments
2,000 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	All abilities	Male	Entrants only
1,575 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	All enrolments
910 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	All	Entrants only
1,050 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	All enrolments
610 [t]	Number of enrolments	2016/17	All enrolments	All providers	All modes	Postgraduate	Wales only	Welsh speaker: Fluent	Female	Entrants only

Showing 1 to 100 of 992,160 rows

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Next update expected:July 2026

Updates

• 27th November 2025: Dataset first published.

Main information

• Designation: Official statistics
• Data provider: Higher Education Statistics Agency
• Data source: Student record

Overview

• Summary of dataset and variables:

  The data shows the number of enrolments at Welsh higher education providers by the number of credits that are studied through the medium of Welsh.

  The data can be broken down by:

  • Academic year - 1 August to 31 July, e.g. 2023/24 is 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024.

  • Domicile - whether a students permanent address prior to starting their course was in Wales or not in Wales.

  • Entrant marker - all enrolments or those in the first year of their studies.

  • Level of study

  • Mode of study - full-time or part-time

  • Number of Welsh medium credits - the number of credits being studied through Welsh on an enrolment.

  • Provider

  • Sex - the sex of the student as opposed to the gender with which they identify. Students where this has been returned as 'Other', 'Not available' or 'Information refused' are included in the figures for all enrolments.

  • Welsh speaking ability - self-reported ability by the student.

• Data collection or calculation:

  The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data from higher education providers about students enrolled at their institution. For Welsh higher education providers, this includes collecting data about the percentage of each module that is delivered through the medium of Welsh for each enrolment.

  Population included

  The enrolments included are those in the HESA standard registration population at Welsh HE providers. A student may have more than one enrolment in an academic year, if this is a case then each enrolment is counted separately.

  To be included in the HESA standard population, an enrolment needs to be active in study at least two weeks after their engagement start date or subsequent anniversaries of. Students who are writing-up (and have no active study) after this anniversary date are excluded from the population, as are students expected to study for two weeks or less and who don’t complete their studies or gain a qualification. Dormant students, incoming visiting and exchange students from overseas and students studying for the whole of their programme of study outside of the UK are also excluded.

  All modules that have some activity in the relevant academic year are included.

  Calculation of number of credits studied in Welsh by subject

  The number of credits taught in Welsh is calculated by multiplying the total number of credits in a module by the percentage delivered in Welsh. For each enrolment the total number of Welsh credits is the sum of the credits for all modules in the enrolment that have had some activity in the relevant academic year.

  Module information for postgraduate research enrolments is optional. For enrolments where module information is not returned then the equivalent information at an enrolment level is used instead.

  Welsh speaking ability A student's Welsh language ability is self-reported.

  Up to 2021/22, the categories that could be used were: fluent Welsh speaker, non-fluent Welsh speaker and not a Welsh speaker. There is also an unknown category for where this information is refused or could not be collected.

  From 2022/23, additional categories replaced the non-fluent Welsh speaker category. These were 'can speak a fair amount', 'can only speak a little' or 'can just say a few words' and have been grouped to create a non-fluent category. Therefore students are counted in both the non-fluent and more detailed categories when these are provided.

• Statistical quality:

  Codes Data values with a [t] code are either totals or sub-totals.

  Number of credits studied in Welsh

  Determining the percentage of a module that is studied through Welsh for each student is not easy to estimate, and can result in inconsistency between providers and across years. This is particularly the case for modules that are delivered bilingually, and largely affects the numbers of enrolments with lower numbers of credits, such as the 'at least 1 credit' and 'at least 5 credits' categories. For example, University of Wales Trinity Saint David have reviewed how they calculate these percentages, including modules where students may have a 'passive' bilingual experience with materials being provided in Welsh and English, and this was a large factor in the decrease in enrolments with at least 1 credit in Welsh between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

  Medr and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol have been working with providers to improve the consistency of how this percentage is calculated, and will continue to do so.

  Welsh speaking ability

  A change in how Welsh language ability was collected in 2022/23 resulted in some data quality issues.

  One issue is that the change may affect the consistency in how data was recorded. For example, before 2022/23 a student who knows limited Welsh may have felt their ability wasn't good enough to be a non-fluent Welsh speaker, while in 2022/23 onwards the Welsh speaker: just knows a few words, category may be more appropriate. It doesn't appear that this has had a considerable impact but is something that will be monitored in upcoming years.

  There were also a couple of provider specific issues:

  Open University has had an increased proportion of students of unknown Welsh language ability since 2022/23, with no distinction between unknowns and not being a Welsh speaker as had been the case in 2021/22 and earlier.

  University of South Wales had issues implementing the new data structure, resulting in the following issues:

  • In 2022/23, a larger than expected number of students were returned as being non-fluent speakers, or Welsh speakers of unknown proficiency. This doesn't appear to reflect reality as the numbers fell to more usual levels in 2023/24.
  • In 2023/24, the number of students with an unknown Welsh speaking ability increased due to software issues.

  These provider quality issues also affect sector wide figures, resulting in increased levels of unknowns in both years, and a higher than usual number of non-fluent students in 2022/23.

• Related reports:
  • HESA Student record: definitions
  • Welsh language in higher education, 2023/24 (Welsh)
  • Welsh language in higher education, 2023/24 (English)

Published by

• Organisation: Medr
• Contact email: HEStats@medr.cymru

Metadata

The metadata for this dataset is not included when you download the data. You can download this separately. This contains all the information from the 'About this dataset' tab.