Key results for North Wales from the most recent Censuses are available in this section of our website.
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.
2021 Census bulletins for North Wales
Download the 2021 Census first release bulletin for North Wales
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.
Main points
- 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%).
Download the 2021 Census first release bulletin for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published First results from Census 2021 in England and Wales.
Download the 2021 Census demography & migration topic summary for North Wales
This bulletin looks at the demography and migration topic summary data from the 2021 Census for England and Wales that was published on 2 November 2022 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides unrounded population and household estimates at North Wales and unitary authority level, including characteristics of households and residents, and an overview of the non-UK born population.
Main points
- The population structure in North Wales is significantly older than the national average, with a median age of 46 in 2021 (Wales = 42; England and Wales = 40). Conwy County Borough has the oldest median age (49) and Wrexham the youngest (42).
- Average household size as decreased since 2011. About two thirds of all households contain only one or two people. The proportion of households containing five or more people has decreased.
- The proportion of households made up of only pensioners increased to 27.1%, which is high compared to national figures (Wales in 2021 = 24.8% and England and Wales = 22.1%). Pensioners living alone made up the majority of these households (47,676 or 15.8% of all households). Conwy County Borough had the second highest percentage of pensioner-only households in Wales in 2021.
- The proportion of households containing dependent children in 2021 was lower in North Wales than the national average (North Wales = 24.0%; Wales = 26.5%; England and Wales = 28.4%). The number and proportion of households containing dependent children has decreased since 2011 for all North Wales unitary authority areas. However, the number and proportion of lone parent families has increased.
- The proportion of usual residents born outside the UK increased between 2011 and 2021 from 4.5 to 5.8%. This proportion is low when compared to national figures (England and Wales = 16.8%). The proportion was highest in Wrexham at 7.9% and lowest in Anglesey at 3.3%.
- For North Wales as a whole, Poland remained the most common country of birth outside the UK in 2021 (7,423 people, 1.1% of all usual residents). Poland was also the most common result for Wrexham, Flintshire and Gwynedd. In Conwy County Borough and Anglesey it was Ireland, and for Denbighshire it was the Philippines.
Download the 2021 Census demography & migration topic summary for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published Demography and migration: Census 2021 in England and Wales which includes some data down to output area.
Download the 2021 Census UK armed forces veterans topic summary for North Wales
This bulletin looks at the UK armed forces veterans topic summary data from the 2021 Census for England and Wales that was published on 10 November 2022 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides unrounded population and household estimates at North Wales and unitary authority level.
Census 2021 in Wales and England was the first to ask people if they had previously served in the UK armed forces. People aged 16 years or older were asked whether they had previously served in the regular or reserve UK armed forces, or both. People currently serving in the UK armed forces and those who had never served were both advised to tick “no”.
Main points
- In 2021, 29,194 people in North Wales reported that they had previously served in the UK armed forces. This is around 5.1% of usual residents aged 16 years or older.
- The percentage of UK armed forces veterans was higher than it was in Wales (4.5%) or in England (3.8%).
- Of the UK armed forces veteran population in North Wales, 78.1% (22,802 people) previously served in the regular forces, 17.6% (5,152 people) previously served in the reserve forces, and 4.2% (1,240 people) served in both the regular and reserve forces.
- 613 UK armed forces veterans (2.1%) lived in communal establishments and the remainder (28,581, 97.9%) lived in households. Veterans are very slightly more likely to live in communal establishments than the population in general.
- The percentage of households with one or more persons who had served in the UK armed forces was 9.1% (27,424 households). This was higher than it was in Wales (8.1%) or in England (7.0%).
- Across Wales, the local authorities with the highest proportion of veterans include Conwy County Borough (5.9%, 5,649 people), and the Isle of Anglesey (5.6%, 3,221 people).
Download the 2021 Census UK armed forces veterans topic summary for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published UK armed forces veterans, England and Wales: Census 2021.
Download the 2021 Census ethnic group topic summary for North Wales
This bulletin looks at the topic summary data from the 2021 Census for England and Wales for the ethnic groups of usual residents and household ethnic composition. The data was published on 29 November 2022 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides unrounded population and household estimates at North Wales and unitary authority level.
Since 1991, the census for England and Wales has included a question about ethnic group.
Main points
- The population of North Wales is much less ethnically diverse than across England and Wales as a whole. There has been little change in the last decade in the overall proportions within each high-level ethnic group.
- 96.8% of the population (665,147 people) identified as “White” in the 2021 Census. This proportion is high when compared to national figures (England and Wales = 81.7% and Wales = 93.8%). The proportion was highest in Anglesey at 98.1% and lowest in Wrexham at 96.0%.
- Within the “White” category 93.3% of the total population identified as “Welsh, English, Scottish, Northern Irish or British”. (Wales = 90.6% and England and Wales = 74.4%). In North Wales the proportion was highest in Anglesey at 96.3% and lowest in Wrexham at 90.7%.
- Though the overall proportion of people in North Wales who identified as White decreased slightly between 2011 (97.5%) and 2021 (96.8%) the proportion of people who identified with the sub category “Any other White background” increased from 1.9% in 2011 to 2.9% or 19,802 people in 2021. This is likely to be a reflection of the increase in the last decade of people in North Wales who were born in the countries that joined the EU between April 2001 and March 2011 (especially Poland and Romania). We reported on this in our 2021 Census topic report on demography and migration.
- In North Wales, the highest proportions of people from “Any other White background” in 2021 were in Wrexham (4.8%) and Flintshire (3.9%).
- For North Wales as a whole, “Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British” remained the second largest high-level ethnic group category in 2021 (9,400 people, 1.4% of all usual residents). This was also the second most common high-level category for all North Wales unitary authority areas except Anglesey, where it was “Mixed or multiple ethnic groups”. North Wales’ 1.4% of the population in this group compares to 2.9% for Wales and 9.3% for England and Wales as a whole.
- Though the number and proportion of people in all high-level ethnic group categories except “White” saw an increase in North Wales between 2011 and 2021, the increases were very small, (all between 0.1% and 0.3%). Some groups saw slight decreases for some unitary authority areas, but the rate of change at this more local level was also very low, ranging from a minimum -0.2% to a maximum +0.4% over the decade.
Download the 2021 Census ethnic group topic summary for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published Ethnic group: Census 2021 in England and Wales which includes some data down to output area.
Download the 2021 Census religion topic summary for North Wales
This bulletin looks at the topic summary data from the 2021 Census for England and Wales about the religion of usual residents and household religious composition. The data was published on 29 November 2022 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides unrounded population and household estimates at North Wales and unitary authority level.
The census introduced a voluntary question on religion in 2001. In the census data, religion refers to a person’s religious affiliation. This is the religion with which they connect or identify, rather than their beliefs or active religious practice.
Main points
- In North Wales there was a significant increase between 2011 and 2021 in the number and proportion of people who said they had no religion. This was balanced by a significant decrease in those who identified as Christian.
- In 2021, 286,722 usual residents reported that they had no religion. This was 41.7% of the population and was a significant increase from 26.9% in 2011. The proportion was highest in Gwynedd at 44.2% and lowest in Flintshire and Anglesey at 40.7%.
- Across Wales as a whole more people reported they had no religion (46.5%) than any single religious affiliation. For England and Wales the percentage was 37.2%.
- The proportion of people who identified as Christian was 49.8% or 341,972 people. This was a significant decrease since 2011 (63.9%). The proportion was highest in Flintshire and Anglesey at 51.5% and lowest in Gwynedd at 46.2%. Denbighshire and Wrexham also had less than half of the population identifying as Christian. (Wales in 2021 = 43.6% and England and Wales = 46.2%).
- The population of North Wales is less religiously diverse than national averages. A total of 12,353 people or 1.8% of the population identified with a religion other than Christian. This compares to 3.6% for Wales and 10.6% for England and Wales as a whole.
- In 2021 this included 0.8% of the population who identified as Muslim (5,326 usual residents) which was the second largest religion. The proportion was highest in Wrexham at 1.1% and lowest in Flintshire and Anglesey at 0.5%. (Wales in 2021 = 2.2% and England and Wales = 6.5%).
- There was little change from 2011 in the proportions of the population identifying with religious groups other than Christian for North Wales as a whole or for individual unitary authority areas.
Download the 2021 Census religion topic summary for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021 in England and Wales which includes some data down to output area.
Download the 2021 Census main language topic summary for North Wales
This bulletin looks at the topic summary data from the 2021 Census for England and Wales for main language, English or Welsh language proficiency, and household language. The data was published on 29 November 2022 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides unrounded population and household estimates at North Wales and unitary authority level.
Figures for language are for people aged three years old and over.
In Wales, people were asked if their main language was anything other than English or Welsh. Therefore, it is not possible to determine from this question how many people in Wales considered Welsh to be their main language. There was a separate question for people in Wales asking them about their Welsh language ability.
Main points
- The proportion of North Wales residents aged three and over who have English or Welsh as their main language is higher than the average for England and Wales as a whole.
- 97.1% of usual residents aged three years and over (648,555 people) had English or Welsh as a main language. This is a decrease compared with 2011, when 97.7% had English or Welsh as a main language. (Wales in 2021 = 96.7% and England and Wales = 91.1%).
- In North Wales in 2021 the proportion who had English or Welsh as a main language was highest in Anglesey at 99.1% and lowest in Wrexham at 94.9%. Compared to 2011, only Wrexham and Flintshire saw a decrease of more than 0.1%. The decrease in Flintshire (1.6 percentage points) was the highest seen across Wales.
- A further 2.2% (14,894) of the overall population of North Wales could speak English or Welsh either “well” or “very well”, but did not speak it as their main language. This takes the figure for those who have a good level of proficiency in English or Welsh to 99.3%.
- 0.6% of teh population (3,746 people) could not speak English or Welsh well, and a small percentage (0.1% or 709 people) could not speak English or Welsh at all – a total of 0.7% of the population aged three and over. The proportion was highest in Wrexham at 1.3% and lowest in Anglesey at 0.2%. (Wales = 0.7% and England and Wales = 1.8%).
- As in 2011, Polish was the most common main language after English or Welsh for North Wales as a whole (1.0%), and for each of the unitary authority areas in the region (highest in Wrexham at 2.5% and lowest in Anglesey at 0.1%).
- In addition to spoken languages, British Sign Language (BSL) was the preferred language of 169 (0.03%) usual residents aged three years and over across North Wales. A further 83 usual residents who selected a non-spoken language as their main language reported a sign language or communication system other than BSL.
Download the 2021 Census main language topic summary for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published Language: Census 2021 in England and Wales which includes some data down to output area.
Download the 2021 Census education topic summary for North Wales
This bulletin looks at the topic summary data from the 2021 Census for England and Wales for education. The data was published on 10 January 2023 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides unrounded population estimates at North Wales and unitary authority level.
It covers estimates of the percentage of the population aged 16 or over who have obtained academic, vocational, or professional qualifications, as well as the number of schoolchildren and full-time students.
Main points
- Between 2011 and 2021 all unitary authority areas in North Wales saw a significant improvement in qualification levels, and a corresponding decrease in the number and percentage of people with no qualifications. This is mirrored in other data sets which monitor qualification levels (for example the Annual Population Survey).
- Across North Wales as a whole the proportion of people who reported their highest qualification at level 4 or above on census day 2021 (for example Higher National Certificate, Higher National Diploma, Bachelor’s degree and postgraduate qualifications) was below the national average. For North Wales this was 31.1% or 176,740 people, whilst Wales was 31.5% and England and Wales was 33.8%. The proportion was highest in Gwynedd at 34.5% and lowest in Wrexham at 29.1%.
- Part of the difference compared to the Welsh average is explained by the proportion of apprenticeships as highest level of qualification in North Wales. This was greater than national averages at 6.3% or 35,791 people compared to 5.6% across Wales and 5.3% for England and Wales.
- Flintshire and the Isle of Anglesey had the greatest proportion of people in Wales who gave their highest qualification as apprenticeship (6.6%).
- 18.7% (106,341) of usual residents aged 16 or over had no qualifications. This was lower than the Welsh average. (Wales = 19.9% and England and Wales = 18.2%). The proportion was highest in Wrexham at 20.9% and lowest in Gwynedd at 16.3%.
- In 2021, there were 121,157 schoolchildren and students in full-time education (aged 5 years and over) in North Wales. This represents 18.5% of usual residents aged 5 and over. The proportion was 19.9% for Wales and 20.4% for England and Wales as a whole.
- Across North Wales the proportion of schoolchildren and students was highest in Gwynedd (21.4%) and lowest in Conwy County Borough (16.6%). The proportion of schoolchildren and students in the population will be affected by the location of higher education establishments and the overall age structure of the area (an older age structure/fewer young people in the population is likely to mean fewer students).
Download the 2021 Census education topic summary for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published Education: Census 2021 in England and Wales which includes some data down to output area.
Download the 2021 Census sexual orientation and gender identity topic summary for North Wales
This bulletin looks at the topic summary data from the 2021 Census for England and Wales about sexual orientation and gender identity that was published on 6 January 2023 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides unrounded population estimates at North Wales and unitary authority level.
Voluntary questions on sexual orientation and gender identity were asked for the first time in the 2021 Census.
Main points
Sexual orientation
- On Census Day, 21 March 2021, responses to the voluntary sexual orientation question were provided for 522,025 usual residents in North Wales (91.9% of the population aged 16 years and over).
- 507,769 people (89.4% of the population aged 16 years and over) described themselves as “Straight/Heterosexual” (Wales, and England and Wales = 89.4%).
- 7,282 (1.3%) described themselves as “Gay or Lesbian”.
- 5,725 (1.0%) described themselves as “Bisexual”.
- A further 1,249 (0.2%) wrote in a different sexual orientation, among whom the most common responses included “Pansexual” (0.1%), “Asexual” (0.05%) and “Queer” (0.02%).
- In total, 14,256 usual residents (2.5% of the population aged 16 or over) selected an LGB+ sexual orientation (“Gay or Lesbian”, “Bisexual” or another minority sexual orientation). Wales = 3.0% and England and Wales = 3.2%.
- The remaining 46,215 people aged 16 years and over (8.1%) did not answer the question on sexual orientation.
- In North Wales, Gwynedd had the highest proportion of usual residents aged 16 and over identifying with LGB+ orientations in 2021 (3.3%).
Gender identity
- There were responses from 528,983 people to the voluntary gender identity question in North Wales (93.1% of the population aged 16 years and over). 6.9% did not answer the question.
- 92.8% of usual residents aged 16 years and over answered “Yes”, indicating that their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth.
- 1,826 people (0.3%) answered “No”, indicating that their gender identity was different to their sex registered at birth (Wales = 0.4% and England and Wales = 0.5%).
- 343 people identified as a trans man, 358 people identified as a trans woman, and 254 people identified as non-binary. 705 people answered “No” but did not provide a write-in response.
- In North Wales the local authorities with the largest proportions of the usual resident population aged 16 and over identifying with a gender different to their sex registered at birth were Gwynedd and Wrexham (0.4% each).
Download the 2021 Census sexual orientation and gender identity topic summary for North Wales
The Office for National Statistics has also published Sexual orientation and gender identity: Census 2021 in England and Wales.
Other Census data
Welsh Government have also provided Wales-wide analysis of the 2021 Census results.
More information about the Census, including access to UK wide data can be found on the Office for National Statistics Census website.
Related pages
Statistical profiles for North Wales
Equality and diversity statistics
Contact us
North Wales Regional Innovation Coordination Hub
Email: nwrich@denbighshire.gov.uk
Phone: 01824 712432