Census: Deprivation falls in Wales and rise in foreign-born people

Deprivation across Wales has fallen over 10 years, according to latest Census 2021 analysis.

Figures show 54.1% of households were deprived according to one of four indicators used to measure deprivation, which are jobs, education, health or housing.

The figure was 61% in 2011, although Wales remains below England.

Over the same period there were more deaths than births, but net migration increased by around 55,000 people.

Poland is still the most common country of birth outside the UK in Wales.

The Census looked at four dimensions of deprivation in households - on whether people said they had poor health, their education attainment, housing conditions and also employment status.

Overall, Wales as a whole seems to be less deprived that it was in 2011.

The number of residents in Wales who were born outside the UK has increased by 28.3% (48,000) in the 10 years to Census 2021.

This is a little fewer than in England, where the number of residents born outside the UK has risen by 33.6%.

While deaths outnumbered births over this period, it is estimated positive net migration into Wales created around 55,000 additional residents.

The percentage of residents born outside of Wales has risen from 27.3% of the population (837,000) in 2011 to 29.1% (905,000) in 2021, which includes a rise of 23,000 of English-born residents.

Wales has one of these lowest proportions of people born outside of the UK - 6.9%.

Wales (4.0%) and north east England (3.7%) also had the lowest proportions of the population with non-UK passports.

Newport and Cardiff had seen the biggest rises in Wales in people born outside the UK in the last 10 years - 3.7% and 3.2% increases respectively. The lowest rises were in Pembrokeshire and Powys, while Anglesey had seen a slight reduction.

Cardiff has the highest proportion of people in Wales born outside the UK - 16.5%. This ranks 101st across England and Wales.

It includes 7% of its population born in Asia or the Middle East and 4.7% from across the European Union.

Caerphilly (2.9%) has the lowest proportion in Wales of people born outside the UK - and third lowest across England and Wales - and Anglesey and Blaenau Gwent are also in the lowest 10.

The Census records 16,335 people - 0.5% - had moved from outside the UK to Wales in the previous year, while 8.2% had moved addresses.

In Wales, Poland was still the most common country of birth outside the UK in 2021, with 24,832 people or 0.8% of residents born there.

There was a nearly fivefold increase in the number of people with Romania as a country of birth between 2011 and 2021, rising by 7,025.

Working restrictions for Romanian citizens were lifted in 2014.

Four per cent of the population in Wales (124,557), held a non-UK passport in 2021, the most common of which was Polish.

The number of Irish-born residents in Wales fell by 2,177.

Of those it applies to, 37% are single or in an non-registered partnership, 43.3% are married, 0.39% - more than 10,000 - are in a same sex marriage or civil partnership.

There are also more than 250,000 divorced people (9.8%) and 7% are widowed.

The details the Census provides are used to help policy-makers and organisations make decisions on how to provide a whole range of services in the future.

The Census has already told us that the population of Wales had risen to record levels. and given us figures on density and some details on age.

Future Census releases in the coming weeks will include updated data on religion, ethnicity and the Welsh language.