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History and factfile

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Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2011

This is the official measure of relative deprivation at the small area level for Wales.

Wales: Some International Comparisons

This publication sets indicators of health, education and other aspects of life alongside figures for other countries.

Statistics

Statistics
A wealth of statistical information about Wales.
Llansteffan
Find out more about the people, culture, language and landscape of Wales.

Geography

  • The total land surface of Wales is 20,779 km² (8,023 sq miles), of which roughly 80% is devoted to agriculture.
  • The country measures 274km (170 miles) from north to south, and 96km (60miles) from east to west at its shortest points, with a 1200km (750 mile) coastline.
  • It has 3 National Parks, 3 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 41 Blue Flag beaches and 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Population

  • Just over 3.1 million people live in Wales, with a population density of 150 people per km². About 1 in 20 of the UK population lives in Wales, which has 1.3 million households. 
  • Life expectancy in Wales is 77.6 years for males and 81.8 years for females.

Language

  • Welsh and English are our official languages, with 19% of the population speaking Welsh, one of Europe's oldest living languages.
  • Welsh is spoken widely throughout the country and is the first language in many areas - particularly in the north and west. National TV and radio stations broadcast in Welsh; road signs are bilingual; all school children study Welsh up to age 16 and there are Welsh language medium schools, books, newspapers and websites.

Cities

  • Wales has 6 cities: Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bangor, St. David's and St. Asaph.  The biggest of which are Cardiff with a population of 346,100; Swansea has 239,000 whilst Newport has 145,700 

Economy

  • The total GVA (Gross Value Added) in Wales in 2011 was £47.3 billion. GVA per head in Wales in 2011 was £15,696.
  • Exports in the four quarters up to and including 2012 quarter 3 amounted to £13.0 billion, with the top 3 being: Petroleum, Petroleum Products and Related Materials (£4.2b), Power Generating Machinery and Equipment (£2.9b) and Iron and Steel (£1.2b)

Education

  • There are now 10 universities in Wales and in 2011/12 there were 131,185  students enrolled in Higher Education institutions. There are 18 Further Education colleges and institutions catering for almost 180,000 learners.
  • In January 2012 there were 1,753 maintained schools in Wales, with more than 467,000 pupils. Over 500 schools teach through the medium of Welsh and as of January 2011 there were 56 Welsh medium secondary schools, with 41,252 pupils.

Education statistics on StatsWales site

Economy and Labour Market Summary for Wales on StatsWales site