We’ve recently learned a lot about Wales that we didn’t know before!
In carrying out a project commissioned by the Welsh Government to survey the Digital Maturity of Welsh SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), we built up a rich picture of the diversity that exists within the Welsh business population. This included tracing the differing impacts of Brexit and Covid-19 across rural and urban areas; the varying use of Welsh language across the country; a generational gap opening up in the new hybrid working economy; and the impacts of the growing app economy.
In this post, I lay out the high level facts and figures we’ve uncovered – in some cases documented for the first time – derived from publicly available information. (For full results, visit the project website in Welsh or English, where you can compare between Unitary Authorities by selecting from the regional dropdown menus, read the full report, the summary with recommendations for businesses, policymakers and business support agencies, or watch the explainer videos.)
Amongst many other things, our study recorded:
- the number of Welsh SMEs registered at Companies House;
- the number of Welsh SMEs by sector;
- the rural-urban proportions of Welsh business population;
- the human population of Welsh Unitary Authorities (UAs), and the number of businesses in those UAs;
- the use of Welsh language across Wales and by Welsh businesses.
All of these statistics are summarised below.
Total Number of Welsh SMEs found Registered at Companies House, at time of writing:
124,705
The Rural-Urban Business Division of Welsh Businesses
Rural: 14%
Urban: 86%
*based on Companies House data.
Welsh Human and Business Populations by Unitary Authority
The population of Welsh SMEs is based on the number registered at Companies House, by Unitary Authority, derived from postcode data.
| Unitary Authority | Human Population | Business Population |
| Blaenau Gwent | 69,862 | 1,422 |
| Bridgend County Borough Council | 147,049 | 5,331 |
| Caerphilly County Borough Council | 181,075 | 4,857 |
| Cardiff Council | 366,903 | 23,259 |
| Carmarthenshire County Council | 188,771 | 6,611 |
| Ceredigion County Council | 72,695 | 2,424 |
| Conwy County Borough Council | 117,203 | 4,470 |
| Denbighshire County Council | 95,696 | 4,363 |
| Flintshire County Council | 156,100 | 6,219 |
| Gwynedd Council | 124,560 | 4,011 |
| Isle of Anglesey County Council | 70,043 | 1,884 |
| Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council | 60,326 | 1,602 |
| Monmouthshire County Council | 94,590 | 4,584 |
| Neath Port Talbot County Borough | 143,315 | 3,788 |
| Newport City Council | 154,676 | 7,801 |
| Pembrokeshire County Council | 125,818 | 5,397 |
| Powys County Council | 132,435 | 5,073 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough | 241,264 | 7,700 |
| Swansea Council | 246,993 | 11,134 |
| Torfaen County Borough Council | 93,961 | 2,644 |
| Vale of Glamorgan Council | 133,587 | 6,091 |
| Wrexham County Borough Council | 135,957 | 5,040 |
Use of Welsh Language
We found that Welsh businesses mostly do not use Welsh language on their websites. The distribution of Welsh language on Welsh businesses’ websites on the whole reflects the findings of 2019-2020 Welsh language use survey by unitary authority. However, provision of Welsh language on Welsh businesses’ websites is lower than the proportion of people in those unitary authorities who are Welsh speakers.
That is to say, the small number of companies that do use Welsh tend to be in areas which contain the highest proportion of Welsh speakers, with the exception of Cardiff which has a relatively higher proportion of Welsh language on businesses’ websites than local Welsh speakers compared with other UA proportions.
Welsh language statistics are here taken from the Annual Population Survey 2022, Office for National Statistics.
| Unitary Authority | %of Businesses in that UA with Welsh Language on their website | % population in that UA that are Welsh Speaking |
| Blaenau Gwent | 0 | 14.5 |
| Bridgend County Borough Council | 0.4 | 22.8 |
| Caerphilly County Borough Council | 1.23 | 24.6 |
| Cardiff Council | 3.1 | 25.9 |
| Carmarthenshire County Council | 3.2 | 51.0 |
| Ceredigion County Council | 11.88 | 57.7 |
| Conwy County Borough Council | 2.64 | 39.7 |
| Denbighshire County Council | 2.71 | 37.8 |
| Flintshire County Council | 1.02 | 23.9 |
| Gwynedd Council | 14.01 | 74.2 |
| Isle of Anglesey County Council | 12.39 | 62.8 |
| Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council | 0.87 | 21.8 |
| Monmouthshire County Council | 0.58 | 17.3 |
| Neath Port Talbot County Borough | 0.84 | 22.6 |
| Newport City Council | 1.86 | 22.4 |
| Pembrokeshire County Council | 1.59 | 27.4 |
| Powys County Council | 1.69 | 30.7 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough | 0.23 | 19.8 |
| Swansea Council | 0 | 19.2 |
| Torfaen County Borough Council | 2.05 | 17.6 |
| Vale of Glamorgan Council | 2.06 | 23.9 |
| Wrexham County Borough Council | 1.37 | 26.6 |
Percentage of Welsh SMEs per Unitary Authority
| Unitary Authority | % of Welsh SMEs located here |
| Blaenau Gwent | 1.14% |
| Bridgend County Borough Council | 4.28% |
| Caerphilly County Borough Council | 3.90% |
| Cardiff Council | 17.85% |
| Carmarthenshire County Council | 5.30% |
| Ceredigion County Council | 1.94% |
| Conwy County Borough Council | 3.58% |
| Denbighshire County Council | 3.50% |
| Flintshire County Council | 4.99% |
| Gwynedd Council | 3.22% |
| Isle of Anglesey County Council | 1.51% |
| Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council | 1.29% |
| Monmouthshire County Council | 3.68% |
| Neath Port Talbot County Borough | 3.04% |
| Newport City Council | 6.26% |
| Pembrokeshire County Council | 4.33% |
| Powys County Council | 4.07% |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough | 6.18% |
| Swansea Council | 8.93% |
| Torfaen County Borough Council | 2.12% |
| Vale of Glamorgan Council | 4.88% |
| Wrexham County Borough Council | 4.04% |
Percentage / Number of Welsh SMEs by Sector Covered in the Report
| Industry Classification | Count of Businesses classified in Wales | % of all classified businesses in Wales |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 1173 | 4.90 |
| Business and Other Services | 10648 | 44.44 |
| Construction | 2233 | 9.32 |
| Information and Communication | 2365 | 9.87 |
| Manufacturing | 2068 | 8.63 |
| Transportation and Storage | 706 | 2.95 |
| Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles | 3270 | 13.65 |
