Facts and Stats about Cornwall

30 September 2025

Ready to explore the magic of the Southwest? Dive into these fascinating facts about Cornwall, from its rugged coastline to its unique heritage.

• The Cornish for ‘Cornwall’ is ‘Kernow’.
• The name Cornwall originates from the words Cornovii and Waelas meaning hill dwellers and strangers.
• Cornwall is the most southwest county of Great Britain,
• Cornwall boasts the longest coastline in Great Britain extending 433 miles.
• Truro is the only city in Cornwall
• Compared to the rest of Britain, Cornwall has relatively warm and sunny weather, making it a perfect beach destination.
• Cornwall and its beaches attract more than 5 million visitors a year.
• There are more than 75,000 cows in Cornwall, making Cornwall famous for its ice cream.
• The population of the County is approx. 549,404 with only 188,269 living here in 1801
• In the 2011 census, people were also asked to choose their national identity. Almost one in ten (9.9%) people reported that their national identity was Cornish only.   Only Cornish = 9.9%     Part-Cornish = 3.9%    No Cornish identity reported = 86.2%
• English is the most commonly spoken language in Cornwall, followed by Polish.   There are also 464 people in Cornwall who speak Cornish as their first language.
• Cornish is a recognised minority language in the United Kingdom.   It is a Celtic language, descended from Common Britannic. Despite once being declared an extinct language (Dolly Pentreath, the last fluent, native speaker, died in 1777)    Cornish has undergone a revival in recent years.
• In the 1900’s, half of the world’s tin came from Cornwall.
• The current Duchess of Cornwall is Catherine, Princess of Wales and wife of Prince William, the Duke of Cornwall.   Both following the accession of his father, King Charles III, to the throne in September 2022.
• St Piran is the Patron Saint of Cornwall
• Poldark has led to more tourists visiting Cornish filming and set locations
• It is estimated there are 7,000,000,000,000,000 grains of sand on Perranporth Beach
• China clay was discovered in Cornwall in 1746 by William Cookworthy – it’s now the largest Cornish export