According to data in the annual document, which analyzes fifty reference indicators, only 19.7% of the population chooses Catalan when addressing a stranger perceived as being from another country. Conversely, 71.1% use Spanish, while 8.4% turn to English or other languages.
The study, based on data from the Omnibus Survey by the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió, highlights a trend of abandoning one's own language. Even among native Catalan speakers, less than half maintain the use of Catalan in these situations, a figure that drops sharply among native Spanish speakers.
Despite this decline in usage, the report highlights a social paradox: the prestige of the language remains high. Nearly 89% of residents believe that knowing the language offers better professional and personal opportunities, a consensus shared by both Catalan and Spanish speakers.
The organization notes that, in addition to social habits, factors such as the state legal framework, demographic shifts, and the dominance of audiovisual content in other languages hinder normalization. However, resilience is observed in sectors such as culture, sports, and the digital ecosystem.
