Dementia Support in Wales: Welsh-Language Help and the Latest Data

What do the latest dementia figures for Wales show?

The latest StatsWales dataset currently available covers people aged 65 or over from 2020 to 2025. For 2025, it gives an estimated 44,006 people aged 65 or over living with dementia in Wales. Of those, 25,176 were recorded on GP dementia registers. The published diagnosed proportion was 57.2%, leaving an estimated gap of 18,830 people.

These are not six exact annual headcounts. The estimated total combines published prevalence rates with population estimates, while the register count comes from GP records. StatsWales also says the same population estimate was used for 2021 and 2022, and again for 2023 and 2024. It therefore recommends reading the estimates as an overall trend rather than making simple year-to-year comparisons. Data collection and practice coverage also changed during the series.

Why does Welsh-language dementia support matter?

Language is part of safe and person-centred care. Welsh Government research published in 2025 says that receiving support in a person's first or preferred language can be a clinical need for Welsh speakers living with dementia. It notes that, as dementia progresses, a bilingual person may understand or communicate in only one language.

The Welsh Government's Mwy na geiriau, or More than just words, approach includes the Active Offer. This means Welsh-language health and care services should be offered without the person having to ask. Current healthcare communication standards also say language preferences should be recorded and passed on when a person is referred between services.

The 2025 study of cognitive assessment tools translated into Welsh was a first-stage project. It examined which tools are used and what evidence would be needed so Welsh versions can be reliably interpreted in clinical settings. It should not be read as proof that every translated assessment tool has already completed validation.

How can you find dementia support in Wales?

1. Start with the right kind of help. Contact a GP about persistent memory problems. Use a support line when you need information, someone to talk to, or help locating services.
2. Ask for your language preference to be recorded. If the person prefers Cymraeg, tell the GP practice, memory service, hospital or care provider and check that this follows any referral.
3. Use Welsh resources at your own pace. Alzheimer's Society Cymru publishes Welsh factsheets and a bilingual Dyma fi, or This is me, leaflet for people receiving professional care who may have communication difficulties.
4. Look locally as well as nationally. The Wales Dementia Helpline says it can search its database of statutory and voluntary services. Social Care Wales also directs carers to Dewis Cymru for local groups.

If you are supporting somebody else, NHS 111 Wales suggests offering to attend the GP appointment. Taking brief notes about what has changed, when it happens and how it affects daily life can also make the conversation easier. The GP can consider other possible causes and decide whether a specialist assessment is appropriate.

For more general confidence using Welsh in formal settings, see our guides to using Welsh at work and building Welsh into everyday life.

What is World Alzheimer's Day for?

Alzheimer's Disease International runs World Alzheimer's Month each September, with World Alzheimer's Day on 21 September. Its 2026 campaign focuses on diagnosis and the access it can open to treatment, care and support. The date creates a useful prompt to save a helpline number, check on a carer or begin a conversation with a GP, but it is not a deadline and nobody has to handle everything at once.

A manageable first step is enough: choose the route that fits the need now, ask for Welsh if it is the person's preferred language, and keep the service details somewhere easy to find.