Demographics of Wales
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The changing population structure of Wales - from a classic pyramidal shape in 1971, reflecting higher birth and death rates, to a more rectangular shape, with fewer children and more older people in 2005[1] reflects the later stages of the demographic transition. In 2005, the Welsh population stood at 2.96 million compared to 2.74 million in 1971. However, in the early 1980s the population fell due to net out-migration. Since then, net migration has generally been positive, and has contributed more to population growth than natural change, which has fluctuated around zero since the early 1970s.[1]
Wales accounted for 4.9% of the UK population in 2005, down from 5% in the period from the mid 1970s to the late 1990s.[1] Of the four countries of the United Kingdom, Wales had the highest percentage of births outside marriage (52.4%), and it was the only one where the majority of births were outside marriage in 2005. Wales (along with Scotland) also had the highest death rate in the same year (10.9 per thousand).[1]
Demographics of Wales as at the 2001 UK Census:
- Population: 2,903,085, Male: 1,403,782 Female: 1,499,303
- Percentage of the population born in:
- Wales: 75.39%
- England: 20.32%
- Scotland: 0.84%
- Northern Ireland: 0.27%
- Republic of Ireland: 0.44%
- Fertility Rate: 1.90 (2007)[2]
- Age distribution (2007 mid-year estimates)[3]
- Aged 0 to 4: 5%
- Aged 5 to 14: 12%
- Aged 15 to 29: 19%
- Aged 30 to 44: 19%
- Aged 45 to 59: 20%
- Aged 60 to 64: 6%
- Aged 65 to 74: 9%
- Aged 75 and over: 9%
- Population density (2006): 143 people per square kilometre[4]
- Ethnic groups:
- White: British: 95.99%
- White: Irish: 0.61%
- White: other: 1.28%
- Mixed: white and black: 0.29%
- Mixed: white and Asian: 0.17%
- Mixed: other: 0.15%
- Asian:
- Indian/British Indian: 0.28%
- Pakistani/British Pakistani: 0.29%
- Bangladeshi/British Bangladeshi: 0.19%
- Other Asian: 0.12%
- Black: 0.25%
- Chinese: 0.40%
- Percentage of the British population self-identifying as Welsh: 14.39% (controversially, there was no question on the Census form asking this—people had to write this in).
- Religion:
- Christian: 71.9%
- Buddhist: 0.19%
- Hindu: 0.19%
- Jewish: 0.08%
- Muslim: 0.75%
- Sikh: 0.07%
- Other religion: 0.24%
- No religion: 18.53%
- Not disclosed: 8.07%
- 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.
- Age structure of the population:
- 0–4: 167,903
- 5–7: 108,149
- 8–9: 77,176
- 10–14: 195,976
- 15: 37,951
- 16–17: 75,234
- 18–19: 71,519
- 20–24: 169,493
- 25–29: 166,348
- 30–44: 605,962
- 45–59: 569,676
- 60–64: 152,924
- 65–74: 264,191
- 75–84: 182,202
- 85–89: 38,977
- 90+: 19,404
- Knowledge of the Welsh language:
- Percentage of the population aged 3 or more knowing spoken Welsh only: 4.93%
- Percentage of the population aged 3 or more speaking Welsh but not reading or writing it: 2.83%
- Percentage of the population aged 3 or more speaking and reading Welsh but not writing it: 1.37%
- Percentage of the population aged 3 or more speaking, reading, and writing Welsh: 16.32%
- Percentage of the population aged 3 or more with some other skills combination: 2.98%
- Percentage of the population aged 3 or more with no knowledge of Welsh: 71.57%
- In Gwynedd, Anglesey, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, Welsh speakers are in the majority.
- Gwynedd has the highest proportion of Welsh speakers, but Carmarthenshire has the highest number of them in any one principal area.
[edit] Nationality
- noun: Welsh
- adjective: Welsh
