Title

Population for small areas in Wales (2011 onwards), by broad age bands and sex

Last update

September 2021 September 2021

Next update

December 2022 (provisional)

Publishing organisation

Welsh Government

Source 1

Small area population estimates (SAPE), Office for National Statistics

Contact email

stats.popcensus@gov.wales

Designation

National Statistics

Lowest level of geographical disaggregation

Lower-layer super output areas

Geographical coverage

Wales

Languages covered

English and Welsh

General description

This dataset provides population estimates for the lower layer super output areas (LSOAs), middle layer super output areas (MSOAs), upper layer super output areas (USOAs) and local authorities in Wales. These estimates are consistent with the results of the 2011 Census and are available for the 2011 LSOA, MSOA and USOA geographic boundaries published in October 2012.

Super output areas (SOAs) were introduced in 2004 to improve the reporting of small area statistics. They are built from groups of census output areas, are of a consistent size and are not subject to boundary changes between censuses. Where possible they are formed from groups of socially similar households and align with local features such as roads and railway lines. The comparability and stability of the geography is a key benefit to users of statistics which cannot be provided by other small area administrative geographies such as wards or parishes.

Following the 2011 Census, some boundary changes to SOAs were required and the new set of SOA boundaries was published in October 2012, although the stability of the geography has been largely maintained.

Three hierarchical levels of SOAs are available in Wales. LSOAs were designed to have a population of between 1,000 and 3,000 in 2011, and there are 1,909 of them in Wales. MSOAs were designed as aggregations of LSOAs, had a population of between 5,000 and 15,000 in 2011, and there are 410 of them in Wales. USOAs are aggregations of MSOAs and were defined in conjunction with local authorities in Wales. There are 94 of them in Wales and they are only defined in Wales.

This data does not differ from that published in the separate table (POPU1015), but it is presented using a different hierarchy to allow the user to more easily select the data from a single layer of the geography (for example, selecting only the lower super output areas, without the other area types).

Further information on SOAs, can be obtained from the geography section of the ONS website (see weblinks).

This material is Crown Copyright and may be re-used (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

Data collection and calculation

See weblinks

Frequency of publication

Annual

Data reference periods

Data are produced and reported annually and relate to the 30 June of each year.

Users, uses and context

Population estimates for LSOAs, MSOAs and USOAs are often used for research and analysis as, unlike other small area geographies such as wards, they are specifically designed for statistical purposes. In particular, they are used by both central government departments and local authorities for a range of purposes including planning and monitoring of services, and as denominators for the calculation of various rates and indicators.

Rounding applied

Data are provided on an unrounded basis although the Office for National Statistics advises that any results presented from these data are rounded to the nearest 100 where practical.

Revisions information

The small area data (at super output area level) presented here have been revised so that they are consistent with the population estimates produced at national and local authority level for the same period.

The ONS published revised mid-2012 to mid-2016 estimates of the population on 22 March 2018 due to methodological improvements. Therefore the figures for mid-2012 to mid-2016 within the StatsWales cube have been revised.

Keywords

Population; small areas; LSOA; MSOA; USOA; super output area

Weblinks

https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/geography/ukgeographies/censusgeography
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/methodologies/smallareapopulationestimatesqmi
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/lowersuperoutputareamidyearpopulationestimatesnationalstatistics

Statistical quality

See weblinks

Name

POPU1016