Statistics

Wellbeing of Wales, 2024 - A more equal Wales

The report helps us assess whether we are making progress against the 7 national wellbeing goals.

First published: 26 September 2024

Last updated: 26 September 2024

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The goal for a more equal Wales

Author: Scott Clifford

A more equal Wales: a society that enables people to fulfil their potential no matter what their background or circumstances (including their socio-economic background and circumstances).

This chapter is organised by protected characteristic and brings together equality breakdowns for indicators where these are available. However, not all equality breakdowns are covered in this chapter and the extent and quality of available data varies by protected characteristic.

This chapter previously included a section which focused on data relating to socio-economic disadvantage. However, it included limited information on socio-economic background and the impact of this on people fulfilling their potential. We will continue to review the content of this chapter as more data on socio-economic background becomes available.

There is a national milestone to reduce the poverty gap between people in Wales with certain key and protected characteristics (which mean they are most likely to be in poverty) and those without those characteristics by 2035. Where data sources on income poverty and material deprivation are available by protected characteristics they have been included throughout this chapter. For more general information on socio-economic disadvantage see a more prosperous Wales chapter.

What have we learnt from the data in the last year?

Some of the indicators that have breakdowns for protected characteristics are not updated annually. There is also no new National Survey for Wales data this year, so there are fewer areas where the data has been updated.

Girls continue to achieve better educational outcomes at GCSE. In summer 2023, 69.7% of entries for girls were awarded grades A* to C. This was 7.3 percentage points higher than boys. The gap has narrowed slightly in recent years.

Children from some ethnic groups continue to achieve better on average in school compared to others, with 72.3% of GCSE entries by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic pupils awarded A* to C grades in summer 2023 compared to 65.5% for White British pupils. This gap has widened since 2018/19 when it was 3.3 percentage points (6.8 percentage points in 2022/23).

There continue to be wide disparities seen between pupils from different ethnic groups with Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, and Caribbean pupils achieving a lower percentage of results at A* to C than White British pupils in 2022/23.

The proportion of disabled adults of working age with no qualifications decreased by 2.4 percentage points between 2022 and 2023. Although disabled people remained more likely to have no qualifications (13.9%) than non-disabled people (5.6%).

Employment rates in Wales remain lower for women than for men (70.2% and 76.8% respectively in the year ending March 2024). The gap has grown to 6.6 percentage points from 4.8 percentage points the previous year.

Employment rates (year ending March 2024) among the Welsh population aged 16 to 64 are higher among individuals from a White ethnic background (74.0%) than for individuals from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background (66.2%). This gap in employment rates has grown from the previous year.

The employment rate gap for disabled people in 2024, of 30.9 percentage points, has reduced from 35.4 percentage points in 2016.

In April 2023, the (full-time) gender pay gap was 5.6%, unchanged from the previous year.

The pay difference for disabled people in Wales was £1.75 (12.2%) in 2023. This means that disabled people in Wales earned, on average, £1.75 less per hour than non-disabled people. This is an increase on the previous year when the pay gap was £1.32 (9.7%).

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic employees earned, on average £1.93 (13.8%) less per hour than White employees in 2023. This compares to an ethnicity pay difference of £2.23 (or 16.8%) in 2022.

Children continue to be the population group most likely to be in relative income poverty after housing costs. Latest data (2020-21 to 2022-23) shows that this was the case for 29% of children in Wales compared to 16% of pensioners.

Being part of a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic group is linked with a greater likelihood of relative income poverty. For the period 2018-19 to 2022-23 there was a 50% likelihood for people whose head of household identifies as Black, Asian or part of a Minority Ethnic group to be living in relative income poverty, compared to a 22% likelihood for those whose head of household identifies as White.

What is the longer term progress towards the goal?

There has been mixed progress towards achieving the goal. Some of the national indicators show improvement in recent years, in particular, the decreases in the employment gap for disabled people and the proportion of disabled people with no qualifications. However, some of the indicators and related contextual data show little sign of improvement or have deteriorated such as the gap in material deprivation between men and women and the ethnicity pay gap.

The cost of living crisis and longer term impacts from the pandemic are both likely to have exacerbated inequality for people who were already disadvantaged. However, the ongoing impacts of these events may not yet be fully reflected in recent data trends.

There is a national milestone to eliminate the pay gap for gender, disability and ethnicity by 2050. The gender pay gap has generally been narrowing over the last two decades, although has been relatively stable in the last 5 years at around 5%. Both the ethnicity and disability pay gap have shown less progress. The ethnicity pay gap data is more volatile although has generally been increasing since 2019. The disability pay gap had been declining from a peak in 2019 although it did increase to 12.2% between 2022 and 2023.

The gap between the employment rate for different groups has generally decreased over the last decade. Between March 2014 and March 2024, the gap between the employment rate of disabled and non-disabled individuals has decreased by 4.3 percentage points and the gap between White individuals and those from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background has decreased by 5.0 percentage points.

Material deprivation had been decreasing between 2017-18 and 2021-22, but in 2022-23 it increased back to similar levels seen in 2017-18. Over that time the gap between men and women got larger. The difference between age groups and by disability remained similar with older adults and non-disabled individuals generally less likely to live in households in material deprivation.

The percentage of people reporting feeling lonely has been stable between 2020-21 and 2022-23 at 13% which is 4 percentage points lower than in 2016-17. Age groups below 65 have generally seen a fall in loneliness over this time with older age groups remaining stable although maintaining lower levels of self-reported loneliness than younger age groups. While loneliness has decreased for most groups between 2016-17 and 2022-23, the differences between sexes, ethnic groups and disabled/non-disabled people have remained similar.

Between 2016-17 and 2021-22 the percentage of men reporting feeling safe at home, walking in the local area and travelling remained broadly the same at just over 80%. For women the percentage reporting feeling safe decreased from 56% to 51%.

Sex

The indicators show differences in education, employment, deprivation, health, and wellbeing between men and women.

This section and chapter uses a range of data sources on sex. Each data source will have an approach to collecting data on sex or gender that is aligned to its user needs, which means there will be limited consistency between the definitions of sex and gender across the sources. The later section on gender identity includes data on those whose gender identity differs from their sex registered at birth.

Girls continue to achieve better educational outcomes at GCSE and are more likely to continue in full time education beyond age 16. The percentage of girls’ GCSE entries achieving A* to C in 2022/23 was 69.7%. This was 7.3 percentage points higher than for boys (62.4%).

In 2022/23 girls scored 370.5 and boys scored 346.4 points on average in the GCSE Capped 9 indicator (interim measure version). This means that women score higher than men by 24.0 points. This narrowed from a gap of 32.9 points in 2018/19, the last time that the Capped 9 indicator (interim measure version) was reported on.

In terms of the working age population, an estimated 8.7% of men held no qualifications in 2023 compared with 7.1% of women. There were higher proportions of men than women with no qualifications in all age groups apart from 50 to 59 year olds. Women were more likely to hold qualifications at or above NQF level 4.

In 2022, a higher proportion of women aged 16 to 24 were in full-time education compared with men. Participation in training was higher for men. In 2022, 11.2% of men aged 16 to 18 were not in education, employment or training (NEET), compared to 15.5% for women. For those aged 19 to 24, 11.2% of women were NEET, a decrease of 5.9 percentage points compared to 2021. This is driven by an increase in the proportion of those in employment and a decrease in the proportion of those who were economically inactive. For men aged 19 to 24, 17.6% were NEET in 2022, an increase from 17.4% in 2021.

Employment rates in Wales are lower for women than for men (70.2% and 76.8% respectively in the year ending March 2024). This relates to the higher economic inactivity rates (excluding students) for women (24.5%) than men (16.2%) over this period. This difference is to some extent driven by caring responsibilities (looking after family/home) which represents a higher proportion of women who were economically inactive than men.

Figure 4.1: Employment rate (percentage of population aged 16 to 64) by sex and year, 2005-06 to 2023-24 (rates for year ending March)

Description of Figure 4.1: A line chart showing employment rates for those aged between 16 and 64 by sex between 2005-06 and 2023-24. The employment rate gap widened in 2023-24 as the employment rate for men increased by 1.4 percentage points to 76.8%, while the employment rate for women decreased slightly to 70.2%.

Source: Welsh Government analysis of the Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics (ONS)

The gender pay gap, based on median hourly full-time earnings (excluding overtime), stood at 5.6% in 2023, unchanged from the previous year. However, for part-time employees in Wales, women were paid 5.4% more than men on average (an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous year).

When considering both full time and part time employees, the gender pay gap remains considerably higher at 11.8% in 2023. This is higher than for each of full-time employees and part-time employees, because women fill more part-time jobs, which in comparison with full-time jobs have lower hourly median pay. Of the 11 UK countries and regions where women are paid less than men, Wales had the second smallest (full-time employees) gender pay gap.

The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate based on the cost of living. In 2023, the proportion of women earning at least the real Living Wage (58.5%) is much lower than for men (68.3%), again largely reflecting the fact that women are more likely to work part-time and part-time jobs tend to be lower paid.

In 2022-23, a higher percentage of women (19%) relative to men (12%) were classed as materially deprived.

Life expectancy is longer for women than for men, but the proportion of life spent in good health is higher for men. For more in-depth information on life expectancy by sex see a healthier Wales chapter.

In 2022-23, self-reported mental wellbeing (as measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale for adults) was slightly higher for men than women, with men having a mean score of 48.4 and women having a mean score of 48.1. Self-reported levels of loneliness were similar for men and women in 2022-23. Suicide rates, however, remain more than three times higher for men than women.

In 2021-22, women were less likely to report feeling safe at home, in their local area and travelling (51%) compared to men (81%). Although, there was no significant difference between men and woman agreeing that they belong to an area or that people treat each other with respect.

Age

The population of Wales is ageing. The estimated proportion of the population aged 65 or older in 2023 was 21.6%, up from 19.5% in 2013. The population aged over 65 is larger than the population aged under 16 (17.3% in 2023). The indicators show differences in wellbeing, sense of community and deprivation across different age groups.

Self-reported wellbeing tends to be higher in older age groups with loneliness also being lower in older adults. In 2022-23, 16% of people aged 16 to 24 reported feeling lonely compared to 9% for those aged 65 to 74 and those aged 75 and over.

Older people are more likely to agree with all three measures of community cohesion (belonging, people of different backgrounds get on, treated with respect). The proportion agreeing with all three statements in 2021-22 was 57% for 16 to 24 year olds and 77% for those aged 75 and above.

Children are the population group most likely to be in relative income poverty. The most recent figures show that 29% of children in Wales were in relative poverty compared to 16% of pensioners. Since the early 2000s a higher proportion of the working-age population has been in relative income poverty than pensioners.

When looking at the proportion of the adult population living in material deprivation in 2022-23, there is a similar picture with those aged 25 to 44 most likely to live in material deprivation (23%) and those aged 75 and over being least likely (4%).

Figure 4.2: Material Deprivation by age group and year, 2016-17 to 2022-23 (year ending March) [Note 1]

[Note 1] The year 2020-21 has no data.

Description of Figure 4.2: A line chart showing the percentage of different age groups in material deprivation between 2016-17 and 2022-23. Material deprivation has been highest for the 25 to 44 age group and lowest for the 65 to 74 and 75 and over age groups over this time period. Due to uncertainty in the estimates the changes within age groups are generally not significant, however the differences between age groups are.

Source: National Survey for Wales, Welsh Government

Ethnicity

In June 2022 the Welsh Government published its Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan (ARWAP) which includes guidance on anti-racist language. This section and chapter uses a range of data sources with different categorisations of ethnic group. In general, we reflect the language of the source data collection which may not align with the ARWAP guidance. However, we have used anti-racist language in this chapter where possible.

93.8% of the Welsh population (2.9 million usual residents) identified within the high-level ethnic group category “White” on Census day 2021. This compares with 95.6% in 2011. Age distributions vary a lot between different ethnic groups. Those who identify in the “White” high level ethnic group are generally older than other ethnic groups, which may explain some of the differences seen between ethnic groups.

The second largest high-level category identified with was “Asian, Asian Welsh or Asian British”, with 2.9% of the population. Followed by “Mixed or multiple ethnic groups” with 1.6% of the population, “Black, Black Welsh, Black British, Caribbean or African” with 0.9% of the population and “Other ethnic group” with 0.9% of the population.

The indicators show differences in education, employment, poverty and wellbeing across ethnic groups although there is limited evidence of differences in community cohesion.

GCSE results for 2022/23 show that 72.3% of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic pupils achieved A* to C grades compared to 65.5% of White British pupils, a gap of 6.8 percentage points. This gap has widened since 2018/19 when it was 3.3 percentage points. On average, children from ethnic groups other than White British achieved a higher percentage of results at A* to C than all pupils in 2022/23, apart from Caribbean, White and Black Caribbean, Gypsy, Traveller and Roma pupils.

Figure 4.3: Percentage of GCSE entries achieving A* to C by ethnic group, academic year 2022/23

Description of Figure 4.3: A bar chart showing the percentage of GCSE entries achieving A* to C by ethnic group in the 2022/23 academic year. Those who identify as Gypsy, Traveller, and Roma are the only ethnic groups below 35%, other ethnic groups range from 57% to 92%.

Source: Examination Results, Welsh Government

Working age adults from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background (excluding those from a Gypsy, Traveller or Roma background) were more likely to hold qualifications at levels 4 and above than White (including those from a Gypsy, Irish Traveller or Roma background) working age adults in 2023.

Figure 4.4: Employment rate (percentage of population aged 16 to 64) by ethnicity and year, 2011-12 to 2023-24 (rates for year ending March)

Description of Figure 4.4: A line chart showing employment rates for those aged between 16 and 64 by ethnicity between 2011-12 and 2023-24. The employment rate gap has generally decreased over time, although those from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background continue to have a lower employment rate than white individuals.

Source: Welsh Government analysis of the APS, ONS

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic employees earned, on average £1.93 (13.8%) less per hour than White employees in 2023. This compares to an ethnicity pay difference of £2.23 (or 16.8%) in 2022. However, there is particularly high volatility in the ethnicity pay difference data in Wales and therefore short-term changes should be considered alongside longer-term trends where possible. The ethnicity pay gap has generally widened since 2019 when it was £0.16 (or 1.4%), but in the years prior to that, the data showed volatility.

Being part of a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic group is linked with a greater likelihood of relative income poverty. For the period 2018-19 to 2022-23 there was a 50% likelihood of people whose head of household identifies as Black, Asian or part of a Minority Ethnic group to be living in relative income poverty. This compares to a 22% likelihood for those whose head of household identifies as White.

Those who identify as Black, Asian, or part of a Minority Ethnic group had higher levels of self-reported loneliness in 2022-23 at 24% compared to 12% for those who identify as White.

Across various indicators related to community cohesion there was generally no significant difference between ethnic groups in the most recent National Survey data. This included satisfaction with the local area, agreeing with all three measures of community cohesion (belonging, people of different backgrounds get on, treated with respect), participating in arts or culture, and volunteering.

Religion

On Census day 2021, 1.4 million usual residents in Wales reported that they had no religion (46.5% of the population, up from 32.1% in 2011). For the first time, more people reported no religion than any single religious affiliation.

43.6% of usual residents described their religion as Christian in 2021. This religious affiliation had previously been selected by over half of residents in Wales (57.6%) in the 2011 Census.

The next largest religious affiliation in Wales was Muslim, with 2.2% of the population (67,000 usual residents) identifying as Muslim in 2021. This was an increase from 1.5% in 2011.

The indicators show differences in loneliness, sense of community and feelings of safety across religious groups.

Those who identified as Christian or with no religion had similar levels of self-reported loneliness in 2022-23 at 10% and 13% respectively. This compared to 29% for those who identified with another religious affiliation.

Christians are more likely to agree with all three measures of community cohesion (belonging, people of different backgrounds get on, treated with respect) than those with no religion. The proportion agreeing with all three statements in 2021-22 was 69% for Christians and 61% for those with no religion.

In 2021-22, those with no religious affiliation were more likely to report feeling safe at home, in their local area and travelling (68%) compared to Christians (64%).

Sexual orientation

On Census day 2021, 2.3 million people (89.4% of the population aged 16 years and over) described themselves as Straight/Heterosexual. Whereas 38,000 (1.5%) described themselves as Gay or Lesbian and 32,000 (1.2%) described themselves as Bisexual. A further 7,000 (0.3%) indicated that they had a different sexual orientation and 194,000 (7.6%) did not answer the question.

There was a higher proportion of people who identified as Gay or Lesbian, Bisexual or a different sexual orientation (LGB+) in younger age groups, which may explain some of the differences seen between sexual orientations.
The available data show differences in education, Welsh language use, health, and wellbeing between sexual orientations.

In the 2021 Census, 8.4% of LGB+ people reported having no formal qualifications, compared to 19.5% of people who identified as Straight/Heterosexual. The percentage of people with no qualifications was lower for LGB+ people across all age groups.

Adults who identified as LGB+ in the 2021 Census were more likely to be Welsh speakers than those who identified as Straight/Heterosexual across all age groups, except for people aged 16 to 24 years old and 75 years and over.

Combining data from the National Survey for 2016-17 to 2019-20 showed adults identifying as bisexual were more likely to report having two or more healthy lifestyle behaviours compared with those in other sexual orientation groups. This analysis adjusted for the different age profiles of groups. Healthy lifestyle behaviours are: not currently smoking, drinking within weekly guidelines, eating five or more portions of fruit or vegetables the previous day, being active for 150 minutes or more the previous week, and being a healthy weight.

One third (33.8%) of people who identified as LGB+ in the 2021 Census reported being disabled (as defined by the Equality Act 2010), compared to a quarter (24.0%) of people who identified as Straight/Heterosexual.

The 2022-23 National Survey for Wales indicated that people who identify as Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual are about twice as likely to report feeling lonely than others.

Gender identity

A voluntary question on gender identity was asked for the first time in Census 2021. Respondents aged 16 and over were asked “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?” and had the option of selecting either “Yes” or selecting “No” and writing in their gender identity. The ONS has said that the census estimates for gender identity are subject to a higher level of uncertainty than some other topics. There are some patterns in the data that are consistent with some respondents not interpreting the question as intended.

93.3% of respondents answered “Yes”, indicating that their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth. More than 10,000 people (0.4%) answered “No”, indicating that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth.

The percentage of people who reported that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth decreased with age. Most of the information on gender identity comes from the 2021 Census and shows differences in education, employment, and health.

In 2021, a quarter (24.6%) of people whose gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth reported having no formal qualifications, compared to a fifth (19.2%) of people whose gender identity was the same as their registered sex.

The 2021 Census also found that 51.4% of people aged 16 and over whose gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth reported being economically inactive, compared to 42.4% of people whose gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth.

In 2021, people whose gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth were more likely to be disabled (38.9%) than those whose gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth (24.4%). This is despite those whose gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth tending to be younger than average and younger people being less likely to be disabled. Trans women were the most likely to report being in bad or very bad general health (14.5%).

The School Health Research Network’s Student Health and Wellbeing survey collects data on mental wellbeing for 11 to 16 year olds. In 2021 those whose gender identity was different from the sex registered at birth reported lower life satisfaction and higher levels of loneliness than those with the same gender identity as their sex registered at birth.

Disability

In 2002 the Welsh Government adopted the social model of disability. Rather than defining people as disabled by their impairment (i.e. the medical model of disability), people with impairments or long-term health conditions are considered to be disabled by physical, attitudinal and organisational barriers created by society. Many of the data sources in this chapter use medical model definitions of disability in line with the Equality Act 2010 definition. In the Equality Act a “disability” means a physical or a mental condition which has a substantial and long-term impact on your ability to do normal day to day activities. However, we have used social model language in this section and chapter where possible.

The 2021 Census asked usual residents to report if they had a long-term physical or mental health condition or illness, lasting or expected to last 12 months or more. The question was worded slightly differently to 2011, to align more closely with the Equality Act (2010) definition of disability.

In 2021, the proportion of disabled people in Wales was 21.1% (670,000 people). This proportion has decreased (by 2.3 percentage points) from 2011, when it was 23.4% (696,000 people). The indicators show differences in education, employment, deprivation, wellbeing, and community cohesion between disabled and non-disabled individuals.

The educational outcomes of pupils with special educational needs or additional learning needs have fluctuated over the past 8 years but broadly mirror the pattern seen in all pupils. In 2022/23, 37.3% of GCSE entries by pupils in year 11 with a special educational need were awarded a grade at A* to C, up from 35.5% in 2018/19.

Of the working-age population in 2023, disabled people were more likely to have no qualifications (13.9%) than non-disabled people (5.6%) and were less likely to hold qualifications above level 2. Compared to 2022 the proportion of disabled adults of working age with no qualifications decreased by 2.4 percentage points.

For the year ending 31 March 2024, the employment rate among disabled people aged 16 to 64 in Wales was 51.0% whilst the rate for people who are not disabled was 81.9%. The employment rate gap for disabled people in 2023-24, of 30.9 percentage points, has reduced from 35.4 percentage points in 2015-16.

Figure 4.5: Employment rates (percentage of population aged 16 to 64) of disabled and non-disabled people by year, 2013-14 to 2023-24 (rates for year ending March)

Description of Figure 4.5: A line chart showing employment rates for disabled and non-disabled individuals aged between 16 and 64 between 2013-14 and 2023-24. The employment rate gap has generally decreased over time, although disabled people continue to have an employment rate that is 30.9 percentage points lower than non-disabled people in 2023-24.

Source: Welsh Government analysis of the APS, ONS

The pay difference between disabled and non-disabled people in Wales was £1.75 (12.2%) in 2023. This means that disabled people in Wales earned, on average, £1.75 less per hour than non-disabled people. This is an increase on the previous year when the pay gap was £1.32 (9.7%).

In the latest period (2020-21 to 2022-23), for working-age adults, 25% of individuals who lived in a family where someone was disabled were in relative income poverty compared with 18% of those in families where no-one was disabled. There was no difference in the percentage of children in relative income poverty by whether there was someone who was disabled in the household (29%).

In 2022-23, one in four disabled people or people with a limiting long-standing illness (25%) lived in a household in material deprivation compared with 11% of people who were not disabled.

Figure 4.6: Percentage of disabled and non-disabled people in material deprivation by year, 2016-17 to 2022-23 (year ending March) [Note 1]

[Note 1] The year 2020-21 has no data.

Description of Figure 4.6: A line chart showing the percentage of disabled and non-disabled individuals in material deprivation between 2016-17 and 2022-23. Material deprivation has been around 10 percentage points higher for disabled individuals over this time period with the general trend being similar for both groups.

Source: National Survey for Wales, Welsh Government

In 2022-23, disabled adults or those with a limiting long-standing illness had lower mental wellbeing and were more likely to report feeling lonely (22%) than those without such illnesses or impairments (7%).

In the latest period of available data from the National Survey for Wales (2021-22) disabled adults or those with a limiting long-standing illness were less likely to report having access to good services and facilities (80%) compared to those without such illness or disabilities (89%). In the same survey disabled adults were less likely to report feeling safe at home, in their local area and travelling (56%) than non-disabled people (70%).

Marital status

The proportion of adults in Wales who were married or in a registered civil partnership in 2021 was 43.8%, while 37.2% had never married or registered a civil partnership. The indicators show differences in deprivation and wellbeing across different marital statuses.

In 2022-23, 22% of divorced adults and 36% of adults who are separated (but still legally married) were in material deprivation compared with 10% of adults who were married and 10% who were widowed.

In 2022-23, married people had better mental wellbeing than those who were single. Married people had an average mental wellbeing score of 49.6, compared with 46.8 for single people.

In 2022-23, people who were married were least likely to report being lonely (8%), while people who were separated but legally married were the most likely (21%). People who were single, divorced, or widowed were also more likely to report loneliness than people who were married (17%, 17% and 14% respectively).