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Release: 2011 Census, Population and Household Estimates for Wales

Released: 16 July 2012
This product is designated as National Statistics All editions of this release

Contact

Denise McGregor

2011 Census

denise.mcgregor@ons.gsi.gov.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1329 444972

Categories: Population, Population Estimates, Population Estimates by Age and Sex, People and Places, Households, Number of Households, International Migration

Frequency of release: Decennial

Language: English

Geographical coverage: Wales

Geographical breakdown: Local Authority and County

Survey name(s): Census

  • On census night the population in Wales was 3.06 million. This was the largest the population had ever been.
  • The population grew by 153,300 in the 10 years since the last census, rising from 2.9 million in 2001, an increase of 5.3 per cent. This was the largest growth in the population, between censuses, since 1921.
  • The median age of the population in Wales was 41. For men, the median age was 40 and for women it was 42. This was two years greater than the median age of 39 across England and Wales in 2011. In 1911, the median age across England and Wales was 25.
  • The percentage of the population in Wales aged 65 and over was the highest seen in any census at over 18 per cent, a total of 563,000 people.
  • There were 25,000 residents in Wales aged 90 and over in 2011, compared with 19,000 in 2001 and 700 in 1911.
  • In 2011, there were 178,000 children under five in Wales, 11,000 more than in 2001. 

In this release

This publication, the 2011 Census Population and Household Estimates for Wales, is the first release of statistics from the census taken as at 27 March 2011, and is published alongside the 2011 Census Population and Household Estimates for England and Wales.

The release describes the usually resident population of Wales by age and sex, and also provides information on topics such as the number of households and population density on census night.

Results are presented for Wales and constituent unitary authorities.

The statistics in this release will be used as a base for the 2011 mid-year population estimates scheduled for release in September 2012. In due course the mid-year population estimates from 2002 to 2010 will be re-based using what we now know from the 2011 Census.

Further results from the census will be released later in the year, and statistics for the whole of the UK will be compiled and published by ONS after each of the three census offices in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland publishes the relevant data.

Information about the terms used in this release can be found in the definitions and supporting information.

Interactive data visualisations developed by ONS are also available to aid interpretation of the results.

Further information on the fitness for purpose of the statistics in this release can be found in the Quality and Methodology Information paper (152.8 Kb Pdf) .

Other useful information

These National Statistics are produced to high professional standards and released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

Content from the Office for National Statistics.
© Crown Copyright applies unless otherwise stated.

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