2021 Census: first results

Correction 02/11/22: household figures were revised for North Wales when a pasting error was spotted. Figures for local authorities did not change.

This bulletin looks at the first results from the 2021 Census for England and Wales, which were published by the Office for National Statistics on 28 June 2022. These first results include population and household estimates at a Wales and local authority level.

Without an accurate Census count, North Wales could lose out, as information from the Census helps us:

• develop policies
• plan and run services, such as schools, health services, roads and libraries
• decide how to allocate funds to make sure public money gets to where it is needed most.

Headline results

• On Census Day, 21 March 2021, the size of the usual resident population in North Wales was 687,000.
• The population has decreased by -950 (-0.1%) since the last census in 2011, when it was 687,950. Wales saw an increase of 1.4%, and England and Wales an increase of 6.3%.
• There were more people than ever before in the older age groups; the proportion of the population who were aged 65 years and over was 23.5%, (up from 20.1% in 2011), a total of 161,200 people. The population aged 65+ in Wales as a whole = 21.3%; in England and Wales = 18.6% (up from 18.4% and 16.4% respectively).
• There were 20,600 residents in North Wales aged 85 and over in 2021, compared with 18,350 in 2011 and 15,600 in 2001. At 3.0% of the population this was higher than the Welsh average of 2.7% and the England and Wales average of 2.4%.
• The population aged 20-64 in Wales as a whole in 2021 = 56.5%; in England and Wales = 58.4%.
• The number of people aged under 15 was 111,000 or 16.2% of the total population (down from 115,100 or 16.7% in 2011). The population aged under 15 in Wales as a whole = 16.5%; in England and Wales = 17.4% (down from 16.9% and 17.6% respectively).
• There were 301,300 households with at least one usual resident in North Wales on Census Day; this is an increase of 5,700 (1.9%) since 2011, when there were 295,600 households. Wales saw an increase of 3.4%, and England and Wales an increase of 6.1%.
• Eight local authorities in Wales had lower populations in 2021 than in 2011 (including Gwynedd, Anglesey and Conwy County Borough), and a further five saw growth of less than the Welsh average 1.4% (including Wrexham). The greatest rates of population decline since 2011 were in Ceredigion (5.8%), Blaenau Gwent (4.2%) and Gwynedd (3.7%).
• The rate of population growth in Wales was considerably lower than in England, where the population grew by 6.6%. Population growth was also lower in Wales than in all English regions. The rate of growth in Wales was nearly six times lower than the East of England, the English region with the highest percentage change in the size of the population (8.3%). It was also lower than the English region with the lowest population growth, the North East (1.9%).

See also

• 2021 Census: demography and migration
• 2021 Census: UK armed forces veterans
• 2021 Census: ethnic group
• 2021 Census: religion
• 2021 Census: main language
• 2021 Census: education
• 2021 Census: sexual orientation and gender identity

Data can also be found on the Office for National Statistics Census website.