Wellbeing of Wales: 2019

This report provides an update on wellbeing in Wales, to help us assess whether we are making progress against the 7 national wellbeing goals.

The 7 wellbeing goals are:

a prosperous Wales
a resilient Wales
a healthier Wales
a more equal Wales
a Wales of cohesive communities
a Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
a globally responsible Wales

These goals have been put in place to improve the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales. They are contained in law under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

Main points

Healthy life expectancy continues to stagnate. Our diets continue to be low in fruit and vegetable consumption and too high in salt, sugar and red meat.
We have seen improvements this year in the levels of main pollutants in the air, renewable energy capacity and carbon emissions.
The labour market in Wales continues to be strong in historical terms. However this does not necessarily equate to good quality work for everyone, and the gender pay gap has increased.
The first survey data in a decade showed that house conditions have improved significantly in Wales, which means there are fewer people living in houses that have hazards and are not energy efficient.
There continues to be disparities between the most and least deprived, for example in terms of avoidable deaths and educational attainment. And relative poverty rates remain at a similar level this year.

National indicators

The report considers progress against the 46 national indicators, which were set by Welsh Ministers in 2016, alongside a range of other relevant data. The national indicators pages include data for all of the national indicators, alongside links to the data sources and, where available, statistical publications where the indicators are analysed in more detail.

StatsWales

The data that have been used to measure the national indicators are mostly available on StatsWales. Breakdowns are by geographical area or population group where this has been possible.

Note

Wording on page 78 of the report was updated on 26 November 2019 to make it clearer what the data was measuring.

The data and charts published in the accompanying chart spreadsheet and in the national indicator pages are not affected by this change.

Wellbeing of Wales: uses of the report

We are always looking of ways to improve the report, and make the information we publish more accessible and suitable for a wide ranging audience. Understanding how the report is used is key to this.

How is the Wellbeing of Wales report used?

Reports