About Gwynedd

The following points provide a brief overview of Gwynedd, drawn from detailed statistics in the main body of the paper. Technical terms have been avoided, and in general the reference periods of the statistics are not mentioned as these vary. Details on reference periods can be found in the tables or notes at the end of the paper.

• Around 118,300 people live in Gwynedd, which with 47 people per square kilometre is less densely populated than Wales as a whole.
• Between 1996 and 2006, the local authority's population increased by 0.7%, compared to a 2.6% rise in Wales overall.
• 70% of Gwynedd residents were born in Wales and 69% of people aged three or more can speak Welsh. Across Wales, 75% of all Welsh residents were born in Wales and 21% of people aged three or more can speak Welsh.
• Compared to the Welsh average, life expectancy in Gwynedd is similar for males and slightly higher for females.
• Around 75% of the working age population of Gwynedd are economically active, and 2.2% claim Job Seekers' Allowance. This compares to an economically active population of 75% for Wales, and 2.2% claiming Job Seekers' Allowance.
• At £422, the median(i) weekly pay for full-time workers in Gwynedd is around £6 more than the Welsh median.
• Proportionally, slightly fewer people in Gwynedd than in Wales reported having a limiting long term illness (20.6% and 23.3% respectively).
• A higher percentage of adults than in Wales met guidelines for undertaking physical activity, and a slightly higher percentage than in Wales met guidelines for the consumption of fruit and vegetables.
• The rate of people waiting for their first outpatient appointment in Gwynedd is 457.9 per 10,000 people. The equivalent rate for Wales is 560.6 per 10,000 people.
• A higher proportion of pupils in their final year of compulsory education achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, compared to the figure for Wales.
• There are around 49,200 households in Gwynedd, 66.6% of which are owner occupied. This compares to 71.3% for Wales.
• The median(i) house price in 2006 was around £140,000. This was £7,500 more than the Welsh median.
• The rate of accidents per length of road is noticeably lower in the area than the rate for Wales (11.9 per 100 km and 25.5 per 100 km respectively).
• Around 26% of municipal waste was recycled or composted in 2006-07. The percentage for Wales over the same period was 30%.
• The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2005 ranks specific small areas in Wales in terms of deprivation: 3% of Gwynedd’s areas fall in the 10% most deprived areas in Wales, and the majority of its areas are less deprived than the Wales average

The following table has been taken from Gwynedd Council