Demography of Wales

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Map of population density in Wales at the 2011 census.

Demographics of Wales include the numbers in population, place of birth, age, ethnicity, religion, and number of marriages.

Population

The resident population of Wales in 2011 increased by 5% since 2001 to 3,063,456, of whom 1,504,228 are men and 1,559,228 women, according to the 2011 census results. Wales accounted for 4.8% of the UK population in 2011.

The population in 1972 stood at 2.74 million and remained broadly static for the rest of the decade. However, in the early 1980s, the population fell due to net migration out of Wales. Since the 1980s, net migration has generally been positive, and has contributed more to population growth than natural change.

Place of birth

According to the 2011 census 2.2 million (73%) of the usual residents were born in Wales, a reduction of two percent since 2001. In 2001, 590,000 (20%) of the population of Wales was born in England. By 2011, the proportion of English-born citizens of Wales had increased by one percent to 21%. In 2011, 27% (837,000) of the total population of Wales were born outside of Wales, and of these immigrants 636,000 (76%) were born in England.

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Map showing the percentage of the population born in England according to the 2011 census.

Country of birth	2001		2011
	Number	%	Number	%
Wales	2,188,754	75.39%	2,226,005	72.66%
England	589,828	20.32%	636,266	20.77%
Scotland	24,389	0.84%	24,346	0.79%
Northern Ireland	7,851	0.27%	8,253	0.27%
UK not otherwise specified			715	0.02%
Republic of Ireland	12,718	0.44%	12,175	0.40%
Other EU Member Countries	23,694	0.82%
Other EU Member Countries (joined pre 2001)			26,343	0.86%
Other EU Member Countries (joined post 2001)			29,017	0.95%
Other countries	55,851	1.92%	100,336	3.28%
Total	2,903,085	100.00%	3,063,456	100.00%

Age

According to the 2011 census, some 563,000 of the population were aged 65 and over, an increase of 56,700 or one percent since 2001. As in 2001, six per cent (178,000) of the population in Wales were children under five, an increase of 11,300.

File:Population pyramid for Wales using 2011 census data.png

Population pyramid for Wales as at the 2011 census.

Ages attained (years)	Population	% of total
0–4	178,301	5.82
5–9	163,079	5.32
10–14	177,748	5.80
15–19	199,120	6.50
20–24	211,924	6.92
25–29	185,728	6.06
30–34	174,694	5.70
35–39	183,045	5.98
40–44	213,155	6.96
45–49	213,155	7.20
50–54	201,599	6.58
55–59	186,923	6.10
60–64	204,885	6.69
65–69	166,007	5.42
70–74	134,543	4.39
75–79	108,202	3.53
80–84	79,232	2.59
85–89	49,360	1.61
90+	25,200	0.82

Source: 2011 Census: Usual resident population by five-year age group and sex, local authorities in the United Kingdom, Accessed 23 December 2012

Ethnicity

According to the 2011 census, 2.2 million (73%) of usual residents of Wales were born there, two percent less than in 2001. The change can be attributed to both international and internal migration. In 2001, 590,000 (20%) of the population of Wales was born in England. In 2011, this had increased by one percent. Nearly 418,000 people identified themselves as Welsh in 2001.

The 2001 and 2011 census estimated the following ethnic groups:

Ethnic group	2001 population	2001 percentage	2011 population	2011 percentage
White: British	2,786,605	96.0	2,855,450	93.2
White: Irish	17,689	0.6	14,086	0.5
White: Irish Traveller/White Gypsy			2,785	0.1
White: Other	37,211	1.3	55,932	1.8
White: Total	2,841,505	97.9	2,928,253	95.6
Asian or Asian British: Indian	8,261	0.3	17,256	0.6
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani	8,287	0.3	12,229	0.4
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi	5,436	0.2	10,687	0.3
Asian or Asian British: Chinese	6,267	0.2	13,638	0.4
Asian or Asian British: Asian Other	3,464	0.1	16,318	0.5
Asian or Asian British: Total	31,715	1.1	70,128	2.3
Black or Black British: Caribbean	2,597	0.1	11,887	0.4
Black or Black British: African	3,727	0.1	3,809	0.1
Black or Black British: Other	745	<0.1	2,580	0.1
Black or Black British: Total	7,069	0.2	18,276	0.6
Mixed: White and Caribbean	5,996	0.2	11,099	0.4
Mixed: White and African	2,413	0.1	4,424	0.1
Mixed: White and Asian	5,001	0.2	9,019	0.3
Mixed: Other Mixed	4,251	0.2	6,979	0.2
British Mixed: Total	17,661	0.7	31,521	1.0
Other: Arab			9,615	0.3
Other: Any other ethnic group	5,135	0.2	5,663	0.2
Other: Total	5,135	0.2	15,278	0.5
Total	2,903,085	100	3,063,456	100

Notes for table above

Source: Census 2001 Key Statistics - Urban area summary results for local authorities KS06 Ethnic group, Retrieved 18 June 2013

Source: Census 2011: Ethnic group, unitary authorities in Wales, Accessed 23 December 2012

Religion

According to the 2011 census, there has been a 14 percent decrease since 2001, when 2.1 million (72% of usual residents) stated their religion as Christian. It is the only group to have experienced a decrease in numbers between 2001 and 2011 despite population growth. The second largest response group for this question in 2011 was no religion. This increased from 538,000 (19%) of residents in 2001 to 983,000 (32%) in 2011, a larger rise than in any region of England.

Religion	2001		2011
	Number	%	Number	%
Christianity	2,087,242	71.9	1,763,299	57.6
Islam	21,739	0.7	45,950	1.5
Hinduism	5,439	0.2	10,434	0.3
Buddhism	5,407	0.2	9,117	0.3
Sikhism	2,015	0.1	2,962	0.1
Judaism	2,256	0.1	2,064	0.1
Other religion	6,909	0.2	12,705	0.4
No religion	537,935	18.5	982,997	32.1
Religion not stated	234,143	8.1	233,928	7.6
Total population	2,903,085	100.0	3,063,456	100.0

• • Based on pre-census 2011 sources. The largest single denomination of Wales is Calvinist Methodism (Presbyterian Church of Wales), followed by the (Anglican) Church in Wales with 30% of the population, the Roman Catholic Church with 3% and the Congregationalist Union of Welsh Independents with 1% of the population.

Language

The 2011 census collected information about English and Welsh language proficiency. In 2011, 2.9 million (97%) of residents, age three and over, spoke English or Welsh. In a further 18,000 households, at least one adult spoke English or Welsh. In 22,000 households, no resident spoke either language. There were 562,000 (19%) residents, over age three, proficient in at least speaking the Welsh language. This was a reduction of approximately 2 per cent compared to 2001, though the method of analysis differed between the two censuses. There was also a 2% increase in those, over three years of age, who had no Welsh language skills.

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The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census who said they could speak Welsh.

Welsh language skills	2001 number (,000)	2001%	2011 number (,000)	2011%	change (,000)	change %
No skills in Welsh	2,008	71.6	2,168	73.3	160	1.7
Can speak, read and write Welsh	458	16.3	431	14.6	-27	-1.7
Can understand spoken Welsh only	138	4.9	158	5.3	19	0.4
Can speak but cannot read or write Welsh	79	2.8	80	2.7	1	-0.1
Other combination of skills in Welsh	84	3.0	73	2.5	-10	-0.5
Can speak and read but cannot write Welsh	38	1.4	46	1.5	7	0.1

Source: 2011 Census: KS207WA Welsh language skills, unitary authorities in Wales, Accessed 23 December 2012

The most common main languages spoken in Wales according to the 2011 census are shown below.

Language	Usual residents aged 3+	Proportion
English or Welsh	2,871,405	97.14%
Polish	17,001	0.58%
Arabic	6,800	0.23%
Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya)	5,207	0.18%
Tagalog/Filipino	2,749	0.09%
Portuguese	2,451	0.08%
Urdu	2,350	0.08%
French	2,073	0.07%
German	2,050	0.07%
Italian	1,694	0.06%
Other	42,061	1.42%

Marriage and civil partnership

In 2011 those who were married were still the largest marriage / civil partnership status group in Wales for residents aged 16 and over though since 2001 this group has decreased by 37,000 (over 5%). In contrast, single people (i.e. those who have never married or been part of a same sex partnership), have increased by 190,000 (6%) in the ten-year period. Civil partnerships, which were given legal status in 2005, appear for the first time in the census results. The number of widows, widowers and surviving partners is 20,000 lower than in 2001. The final groups, relating to separation and divorce / legal dissolution of civil partnerships, have both seen an increase in both numerical and relative terms since 2001.

Status	2001 number (,000)	2001%	2011 number (,000)	2011%
Married	1,204	52.0	1,167	46.6
Single	650	28.1	840	33.5
Divorced / legally dissolved	201	8.7	242	9.7
Widowed or surviving partner	218	9.4	198	7.9
Separated	44	1.9	55	2.2
Civil partnership	n/a	n/a	5	0.2

Table key

• Single = Single never married or registered a same-sex civil partnership)
• Divorced / legally dissolved = divorced or formerly in a same-sex civil partnership which is now legally dissolved
• Widowed or surviving partner = Widowed or surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership
• Separated = Separated (but still legally married or still legally in a same-sex civil partnership)
• Civil partnership = In a registered same-sex civil partnership

Source: 2011 Census: KS103EW Marital and civil partnership status, unitary authorities in Wales, Accessed 23 December 2012

Miscellaneous data

• Population density (2006): 143 people per square kilometre

• Fertility rate: 1.90 (2007)

• In 2010, 58% of births were outside marriage in Wales. Currently, Wales and Scotland are the only countries of the United Kingdom where the majority of births are outside of marriage (51.3% of births in Scotland in 2012 were outside of marriage ). Wales (along with Scotland) also had the highest death rate (10.9 per thousand) in 2005.

See also

• Demography of the United Kingdom
• Demography of England
• Demography of Scotland
• Demography of Northern Ireland