Reported road casualties: 2023

This bulletin provides more detailed analysis of the police recorded road casualties data originally released as part of the Road collisions 2023 output published on 6 June 2024.

• In 2023 there were 4,348 road casualties reported by police forces in Wales, an increase of 2% compared to 2022 but a decrease of 25% compared to 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). Of these casualties:
• 98 were fatal (2%).
• 1,028 people were seriously injured (24%).
• 1,126 (26%) were killed or seriously injured (KSI).
• 3,222 (74%) had slight injuries.

Figure 1: Proportion of reported Road casualties by severity, 2023

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Description of Figure 1: A doughnut chart showing the proportion of casualties by severity in 2023. In May 2023 Dyfed Powys police force migrated to Crash system for reporting road collisions where casualties are more likely to be reported as serious than in the previous data collection system. Further information is provided in the accompanying quality report

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

• Males were more likely than females to be casualties, accounting for 62% of all casualties and 70% of all people killed or seriously injured in Wales in 2023.
• Young people aged 16 to 24 are disproportionately more likely to be casualties in road accidents. They make up 10% of the population but accounted for 23% of all casualties in 2023.
• When adjusting for distance travelled, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists are more likely to be casualties than car users.

The data presented in this report reflect personal injury road collisions recorded by police forces in Wales. While these data are the most detailed and reliable source of information on road collisions and casualties, they do not provide a complete record of all such incidents – for example, hospital, survey and compensation claims data indicate that many non-fatal collisions are not reported to or recorded by the police. In addition, changes in police recording practices may mean that the statistics are not directly comparable over time.

The UK Department for Transport explores the additional sources in some detail in its release on other sources of information on road casualties. It is well established from other sources (such as England’s national travel survey and hospital episode statistics) that a considerable proportion of non-fatal casualties are not known to the police. Examples of injuries reported in England’s national travel survey (NTS) include whiplash and minor cuts and bruises, but it is not known how many of these would have qualified as recordable injuries had police attended the scene. Analysis of motor insurance claims statistics indicates that a significant proportion of the injuries not reported to police are likely to be whiplash.

Overall, the available sources show that collisions reported to and recorded by police forces represent only a subset of all personal injury road collisions, but that coverage of serious injuries and fatalities is good.

Ahead of this release, we undertook additional validation of the road speed limit data as recorded by police officers at the scene of the collision to ensure that the speed limit data had been correctly recorded due to the change in the default speed limit on unrestricted roads on 17 September 2023. Results indicated inconsistences in reported collisions by speed limit where 30mph were reported by the attending police officer, but information provided by local authorities suggested the road was 20mph at the time of the collision.

As a result of this additional validation, around 120 (25%) of collisions that occurred between 17 September and 31 December 2023 and were recorded as occurring on either a 20mph or 30mph road were found to have an inconsistent speed limit recorded and have manually been corrected following confirmation from local authorities. Casualty numbers have been corrected to reflect the updated information. Historical inconsistencies together with potential reasons for the inconsistencies will not be amended. 

Further information is provided in the accompanying quality report.

There have been two changes that affected STATS19 data relating to both collisions and casualties in 2023. The changes are as follows.

1. Adoption of CRaSH system for reporting of road collisions by severity

On 15 May 2023 Dyfed Powys police force was the first police force in Wales to migrate to the new standardised reporting tool (CRaSH - Collision Recording and Sharing) which is designed to provide a common way for police to collate and submit STATS19 data. CRaSH is an injury-based reporting system (IBRS), and the Department for Transport (DfT) have found that police forces using IBRS are likely to report more severe collisions than in the previous data collection. 

This is further explained in our quality report, and we will continue to review how this impacts our data. Due to this change we cannot make a direct comparison between 2023 serious and slight casualty figures with previous years due to change in severity definitions.

2. Introduction of the 20mph default speed limit

On 17 September 2023, the law changed the default speed limit on restricted roads in Wales from 30mph to 20mph. These are usually residential or busy pedestrian streets with streetlights. The changes will have affected most roads that were 30mph before 17 September, but not all. Hence the distribution of casualties by road speed has been affected compared to previous years. We have published a map on DataMapWales that shows which roads have stayed at 30mph.

This section presents high level summaries for all casualties in Wales, including some breakdowns by age and gender. The later sections in this bulletin focus on motorcyclist casualties, pedal cyclist casualties, pedestrian casualties and young people. More analysis of these casualties can be accessed from the accompanying road collisions dashboard under casualties’ view and from statswales tables.

It is likely that KSI collisions and casualties in 2023 are affected by Dyfed Powys police force migrating to Crash. This is further discussed in our quality report.

In 2023, police forces in Wales recorded a total of 3,262 road collisions involving personal injury, which resulted in 4,348 casualties. Of these casualties:

• 98 were fatal (2%)
• 1,028 people were seriously injured (24%)
• 3,222 casualties were slightly injured (74%)

Figure 2 illustrates the trend in the number of fatal, serious and KSI casualties since 1993. Over this time there was a significant fall in KSI casualties, from 2,190 KSI casualties in 1993 to a low of 820 in 2020. Care should be taken in comparing with 2020 as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impacted collision and casualty figures. 

In 2023, there was a total of 1,126 reported KSI road casualties in Wales. 

Figure 2: KSI casualties by severity, 1993 to 2023

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Description of Figure 2: The line chart shows the trend in KSI casualties by severity, 1993 to 2023. In May 2023 Dyfed Powys police force migrated to Crash system for reporting road collisions. Due to this change we cannot make a direct comparison between 2023 serious and slight casualty figures with previous figures. Further information is provided in the accompanying quality report.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figures 3a and 3b shows casualty trends by different road user types. All categories of road user have seen an overall decrease in road casualties over time.

Figure 3a: Reported road casualties in Wales by car, taxi and minibus road user only, 1993 to 2023

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Description of Figure 3a: Line charts showing the time series in road casualties by ‘car, taxi and minibus road user only’ road user overtime. 

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figure 3b: Reported road casualties in Wales by road user excluding ‘car, taxi and minibus’, 1993 to 2023 [Note 1]

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Description of Figure 3b: Line charts showing the time series in road casualties by road user (excluding car, taxi and minibus) overtime. In 2023 other category of road users reported the highest increase in casualties (7%) whilst pedal cyclist reported the lowest decrease in casualties 6%. 

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

[Note 1] Motorcycle: Includes mopeds, motor scooters, motorcycles and combinations. Other vehicles: Includes buses/coaches, vans and goods vehicles.

There have been large falls in the number of people killed and seriously injured on Welsh roads since the 1970s by all types of road users.

Figure 4a presents the percentage of total and KSI casualties by the type of road user. Each category of road user has a different chance of having a serious injury. Pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists are considered to be vulnerable road users as they are at a higher risk of being involved in a collision (relative to distance travelled) or are more vulnerable in terms of becoming a casualty, if involved in a collision.

Figure 4a: Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) casualties by car, taxi and minibus road user only, 2023

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Description of Figure 4a: Chart showing killed or seriously injured casualties by car, taxi and minibus road user that occurred in year 2023. 

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figure 4b: KSI casualties by road user excluding ‘car, taxi and minibus’, 2023 [Note 1] [Note 2]

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Description of Figure 4b: Charts showing killed or seriously injured casualties by road user (excluding car, taxi and minibus) that occurred in year 2023. 

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

[Note 1] ‘Other’, Includes buses, coaches, goods vehicles, invalid vehicles, motor caravans, other and unknow vehicles.

[Note 2] Motorcyclists and pedal cyclists involved in road traffic accidents are more likely to be killed or seriously injured than car users.

• Car, taxi and minibus users accounted for 60% of total casualties but 45% of KSI casualties in 2023.
• Motorcyclists accounted for 12% of total casualties, however, they accounted for 24% of KSI casualties.
• Pedal cyclists and pedestrians also accounted for a higher proportion of KSI casualties than they did for total casualties, reflecting that they are more likely to be killed or seriously injured if involved in a collision.

Males were more likely than females to be casualties, accounting for 62% of all casualties and 70% of all people killed or seriously injured in Wales in 2023, Figure 5.

Figure 5: Fatal, serious, and slight casualties by sex, 2023

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Description of Figure 5: A column chart that compares the number of male and female casualties by severity in 2023.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figure 6 shows the long-term trend in the number of KSI casualties by age group. Since 1993 the numbers have fallen across all age groups with children (under 16) having the largest relative decrease (75.2%), followed by the 16 to 24 age group (61.1%). For the 45 to 69 age group, the number has decreased by 13.7% since 1993.

COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 generally resulted in reduced traffic volume for all types of motorised vehicles which consequently led to a decrease in road collisions and casualties.

Figure 6: Number of KSI casualties by age group 1993 to 2023

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Description of Figure 6: A line chart showing the trend in killed or seriously injured casualties by age group. Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figure 7 highlights the disproportionately high rate of KSI casualties per 100,000 population among young people (16 to 24) compared with older people (70+) and children (under 16) in 2023. The distribution of KSI casualty by age group is similar to previous years for Wales.

Figure 7: KSI casualties per 100,000 population, by age group, 2023

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Description of Figure 7: A bar chart showing the composition of KSI casualties per 100,000 population in Wales in 2023 by age group. Young people (aged 16 to 24) had the highest rate of casualties at 73 per 100,000 population. 

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

One way to examine which road users are the most vulnerable is by looking at the number of casualties as a proportion of the population. Figures 7a and 7b shows casualties as a rate per 100,000 population, by age group and type of road user. These rates do not necessarily reflect the risk per trip or per kilometre travelled because there may be differences in the number of road users in each category by age.

• Young people (aged 16 to 24) are the most at risk age group overall, with 302 casualties per 100,000 (based on 2022 mid-year population estimates).
• Young people are also the most likely age group to be car user casualties (206 per 100,000) or motorcyclist casualties (46 per 100,000). In 2023, the age group most at risk for pedal cycling accidents was 16 to 24 year olds.
• Children (aged 0 to 15) were the most at risk pedestrians in 2023 with a casualty rate of 32 per 100,000, followed by 16 to 24 (17 per 100,000).

Figure 8a: Casualty rates by age group by car, taxi and minibus user, 2023

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Description of Figure 8a: Column chart showing casualty rates per 100,000 by age group by ‘car, taxi and minibus’ road user in 2023. Young people (aged 16 to 24) reported the highest rate with 206 casualties per 100,000.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figure 8b: Casualty rates by age group by motorcycle, pedal cyclist, and pedestrian road users, 2023 [Note 1]

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Description of Figure 8b: Column chart showing casualty rates per 100,000 by age group for motorcycle, pedal cyclist and pedestrian road users in 2023. For motorcycle users, young people (aged 16 to 24) reported the highest rate with 46 casualties per 100,000 population.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

[Note 1] Motorcycle: includes mopeds, motor scooters, motorcycles and combinations

We can also look at exposure to risk, expressed as the number of casualties per billion vehicle kilometres travelled using 2022 traffic data (Table 1). This shows that for the equivalent distance travelled:

• Although car users account for the vast majority of casualties, the relative risk for motorcyclists and pedal cyclists is much higher.
• In 2023, motorcyclists were 23 times more likely than car and taxi occupants to be casualties and 58 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured.
• Pedal cyclists were 8 times more likely than car and taxi occupants to be casualties and were 14 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured.

Description of Table 1: A table that looks at exposure to risk, expressed as the number of casualties per billion vehicle kilometres travelled in year 2023.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

[Note 1] Likelihoods are calculated by dividing Vehicle occupant casualties per billion vehicle kilometres road use against Car and taxis.

[Note 2] Calculated using 2023 casualty data and 2022 traffic volume estimates.

[Note 3] Total may not add up to individual numbers due to rounding of figures.

When considering the number of casualties by road speed, it’s important to consider both the total length of roads across Wales by each speed limit, as well as the volume of traffic travelling on these roads.

• In 2022, the length of roads with a 20mph speed limit was 870km. On 17 September 2023, this increased to around 13,000km due to a change in default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph. Most roads that were 30mph were changed to 20mph. 
• Road sections with a 30mph speed limit were reduced from 13,100km in 2022 to 980km in 2023.
• There are no official data sources currently available on the volume of traffic on roads with different speed limits. This is something we are continuing to explore.

The reported casualties by speed limit data for 2023 indicate that there were 1,522 casualties on roads with a speed limit of 30mph, the highest number of casualties compared to other roads. This was followed by 60mph road sections with 1,235 casualties (as shown in Figure 9). 

Figure 9: Reported road casualties by road speed limit, 2023

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Description of Figure 9: The bar chart shows the number of casualties from police-recorded road collisions by road speed limit in Wales in 2023.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government 

30mph and 60mph road sections accounted for the majority of roads in Wales prior to the change of the default speed limit in September 2023. Most pedestrian casualties were reported on roads with a speed limit of 30mph and 20mph.

Description of Table 2: A table that reports number of road casualties by road user and speed limit in 2023. The greatest number of casualties were involved in collisions that occurred on a road with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour (a total of 1,522 casualties).

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

The proportion of casualties that are KSI tends to increase with the speed limit of the road. In 2023, 22% of casualties on a 20mph road were KSI, compared to 32% on 60mph roads.

The sections below consider vulnerable road users (motorcyclists, pedal cyclists and pedestrians) as well as looking at young person casualties in more detail.

Other detailed information on police reported road casualties, such as local authority breakdowns, Police force can be accessed from the accompanying Road collision dashboard and StatsWales tables.

Main points

• There were 536 motorcyclist casualties reported by the police in 2023, representing 12% of all casualties in Wales.
• Of these casualties, 268 were killed or seriously injured and 268 were slightly injured.
• The number of motorcyclist casualties increased by 6% compared to 2022. There has generally been a decrease in motorcycle casualties over time in all severity types before a sharp fall in in 2020 (Figure 10).
• The proportion of motorcycle casualties who are killed or seriously injured generally increases with age up to and including the age group 45 to 69.

Figure 10: Motorcyclist casualties by severity, 2002 to 2023

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Description of Figure 10: Line chart showing the time series of motorcycle casualties by severity since 2002. In 2023 there was a 6% increase in casualties compared to the previous year.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Motorcyclist casualties by age

The proportion of motorcycle casualties who are killed or seriously injured generally increases with age up to and including the age group 45 to 69 (Figure 11). For motorcyclists aged 16 to 24, 37% of all casualties were KSI. For those aged 25 to 44, 47% were KSI and 63% for 45 to 69 age group.

Figure 11: Motorcyclist casualties by severity and age group, 2023

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Description of Figure 11: A column chart showing motorcycle casualties grouped by age and severity type. Nearly all casualties were reported within the 16 to 69 age groups in 2023.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

The day of the week with the greatest number of motorcycle casualties was Sunday in 2023 (17% of all motorcycle casualties).

Main points

• Pedal cycle casualties in 2023 fell by 6% compared to the previous year.
• There were 297 pedal cyclist casualties in 2023 (Figure 12), representing 7% of all casualties in Wales.
• Of these casualties, 88 were killed or seriously injured (KSI) and 209 were slightly injured.
• In 2023, the vast majority of pedal cyclist casualties were male, accounting for 89% of the total.
• 63% of all pedal cycle casualties occurred at junctions, with 60% of those casualties occurring at T-junctions.

Figure 12: Pedal cyclist casualties by severity, 2002 to 2023

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Description of Figure 12: A line chart showing pedal cycle casualties in 2023. In 2023 pedal casualties fell by 6% compared to the previous year.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

There was a significant fall in the number of pedal cyclist casualties from the late 1980s onwards, with the lowest total recorded in 2009 before picking up in 2010. For fatalities and serious injuries there was a slight upward trend to 2014 and a slight fall thereafter. The total number of KSIs has remained broadly stable in recent years (Figure 12).

Pedal cyclist casualties by age and sex

The highest number of pedal cyclist casualties occurred in the 45 to 69 age group (105 casualties), (Figure 13). Pedal cyclist casualties for those aged 45 to 69 decreased by 5% compared to previous year. Care should be taken when interpreting percentage changes based on small numbers as these can be more volatile.

Figure 13: Pedal cyclist casualties by age and sex in 2023

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Description of Figure 13: A column chart showing pedal cycle casualties by age group and sex in 2023.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Main points

• In 2023 there were 571 pedestrian casualties, representing 13% of all casualties in Wales.
• Of these casualties, 18 pedestrians were killed, 156 were seriously injured and 397 were slightly injured.
• The total number of pedestrian casualties increased by one compared with 2022. There had been a significant fall in pedestrian casualties since the late 1980s with the figure in 2020 the lowest on record (Figure 16).
• In 2023, the majority of pedestrian casualties were male, accounting for 58%. Male casualty figures exceeded those for females across all severity levels.
• Friday was the day of the week which recorded the highest number of pedestrian casualties.
• On weekdays there are clear spikes in the number of incidences between 07:00 to 09:00 and again from 15:00 until 18:00, that coincides with the beginning and end of school and working days.

Figure 14: Pedestrian casualties by severity, 2002 to 2023

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Description of Figure 14: A line chart showing a time series of pedestrian casualties by severity in Wales since 2002. There has been a decrease in all severities overtime.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figure 15: Pedestrian casualties by age group, 2022 to 2023

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Description of Figure 15: A column chart showing comparison of pedestrian casualties by age group and year in Wales.

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

In 2023 there were more pedestrian casualties aged 0 to 15 (31% of total) than in any other age group. (Figure 17). There were a total of 118 hit and run pedestrian casualties in 2023, a decrease of 5% compared to 2022, further information at this breakdown can be found in our StatsWales tables: Casualties by Police Force, Local authority, Type of vehicle, hit and run, severity.

Main points

• In 2023, there were 986 road casualties aged 16 to 24 in Wales, a 0.3% fall compared with 2022 (a decrease of 16.5% compared to 2019). 239 casualties aged 16 to 24 were KSI.
• Young people are disproportionately more likely to be casualties in road collisions. They make up 10% of the population (based on 2022 population estimates) but 23% of all casualties on the roads in 2023. In particular, young people accounted for 28% of all motorcycle casualties, much higher than the 10% population share.
• In 2023, 65% of young person casualties were male and 35% were female.
• Males aged 16 to 24 are more likely than females to be casualties across all road user categories, but for motorcyclists the difference is stark, with 8 times as many young male casualties as young females (Figure 18).
• The majority of young person casualties (68%) were in the car, taxi and minibus road user category.

Figure 16: Casualties aged 16 to 24 by sex and road user category, 2023

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Description of Figure 16: A column chart showing comparison of young person casualties by sex in Wales, the majority of whom were in the category ‘car, taxi and minibus road user’ (68%).

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Figure 17 shows the long-term quarterly trend of the number of casualties from collisions that occurred on either 20mph or 30mph roads. The quarterly number of casualties in road collisions on roads with lower speed limits (20mph and 30mph), has generally been declining steadily over the last decade, but quarterly figures can be volatile. Care should be taken when interpreting this data over a short time period.

Figure 17: Casualties in collisions on roads with 20mph and 30mph speed limits, 2010 to 2023

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Description of Figure 17: Chart showing quarterly number of casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads in Wales

Source: Road collision statistics, Welsh Government

Detailed quality information is published in the accompanying quality report. Some key points are below.

These statistics only include road collisions which resulted in personal injury and for which information was reported by the police. It is known that there is an element of under-recording of such incidents, particularly for less severe incidents where police officers may not have been in attendance. 

These statistics do not include collisions:

• That were not reported to the police.
• That occurred on private land i.e. car parks or fields.
• Where no personal injury was recorded
• Where the collision was later confirmed by a medical professional or coroner to be a suicide or medical episode

Details of the data collection and validation processes, strengths and limitations of the data, and revisions policy are provided in the quality report.

Accredited official statistics status

These are accredited official statistics. They were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in July 2013. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. 

It is Welsh Government’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of accreditation. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with OSR promptly. Accreditation can be cancelled or suspended at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

All of our statistics are produced and published in accordance with a number of statements and protocols to enhance trustworthiness, quality and value. These are set out in the Welsh Government’s Statement of Compliance.

Trustworthiness, quality and value

These accredited official statistics demonstrate the standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value as outlined in the Road casualties quality report.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)

The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. Under section 10(8) of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, where the Welsh Ministers revise the national indicators, they must as soon as reasonably practicable (a) publish the indicators as revised and (b) lay a copy of them before the Senedd. These national indicators were laid before the Senedd in 2021. The indicators laid on 14 December 2021 replace the set laid on 16 March 2016.

Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the wellbeing goals and associated technical information is available in the Wellbeing of Wales report.

Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.

Statistician: Vanessa Allis
Email: stats.transport@gov.wales

Media: 0300 025 8099

SB 22/2024

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