Spanish continues to gain ground in Galicia. Almost 30% of the population speaks exclusively in Spanish and 54% use it more than the Galician. This is established by the latest report published by the Galician Statistical Institute (IGE)where it can be seen that only 24% of the residents in the community use Galician as their main language. Despite these worrying figures, the regional language continues to prevail in some areas.
Only 33% of the people who live in the province of lugo They use Spanish more than Galician. For this reason, it remains for another year as the place in the community with the most Galician speakers. Something similar happens in the walled city: only 38% of people prefer to express themselves in Spanish, the lowest figure in Galician cities. It should be noted that the number of Spanish speakers has grown three points to 38% between 2018 and 2023.
Less than half in Santiago de Compostela
Lugo is the city in Galicia with the smallest number of people who prefer to express themselves in Spanish rather than Galician. However, it is not the only one. The regional capital follows, Santiago de Compostelawhere less than half of its inhabitants have Spanish as their main language. In addition, it is where the number of Spanish speakers has grown the least since 2018: from 44.61% to 45.89% in 2023.
This data is far from other urban centers in the province of To Coruñawhere Almost 55% opt for Spanish. In the city of Hercules, the number of Spanish speakers has increased since 2018, going from 66.45% to almost 75% in 2023. The figure is very similar in the Ferrol. Almost 72% of the inhabitants in the area that includes the regions of Ferrol, Eume and Ortegal prefer to use Spanish as their main language.
Fewer Spanish speakers in Ourense
The province of Ourense It is the one with the fewest Spanish speakers: Only 42% of the population prefers to express themselves in Spanish. However, this figure increases considerably in its capital, where 57% of its residents prefer the Spanish language in their daily lives. It should be noted that the city of As Burgas is the only one where the number of people who have Spanish as their main language has decreased since 2018, when it stood at just over 60%.
Just over 63% of the population in the province of Pontevedra uses Spanish more than Galician. These figures are even higher in their two cities. In Vigo, almost 80% of the population speaks Spanish, while in Pontevedra 67% do so.