English is widely used throughout the country and is the native language of most people in the South and the North East of the country; in the West and North, Welsh is the dominant native language. Nevertheless, there are a number of communities throughout the country to which these generalizations do not apply. For example, despite being located in the overwhelmingly English-speaking city of Swansea, 45% of Mawr's residents speak Welsh as their native language.
According to the 2011 census, Welsh is spoken by 19% of the population and English is spoken by 99% of the population