Christian Party of Wales

The State of Our Nation

Click on the links below to read more:

Family Life

• The rate of the population getting married has decreased over the years.
• There were 22,424 marriages in 1971; 19,760 in 1981; and 14,125 in 2000.
• Civil Registration ceremonies have increased, with 58% of Welsh couples choosing a non-religious ceremony.
• In 1981 there were 9,070 divorces; the most recent peak was in 1992 with 10,750. In 2001 there were 8,358 divorces.
• Welsh Woman’s Aid statistics show that 90% of children in a domestic violence situation are in the same or adjacent room during attacks on their mothers.

• Children in Wales make up 21% of the population.
• 37% of children are said to be living in poverty, which is defined as living in a household with below 50% of the average income.
• 3,574 children in Wales are looked after by their Local Authority, and 2,126 are on the child protection register.
• 22.9% of children in England and Wales live in lone-parent families.
• There are 45 conceptions for every 1000 girls aged 15-17 (In England the equivalent figure is 42 per 1000).
• Everyday, 2 children in Wales are admitted to hospital after drinking too much alcohol.
• 92.3% of Wales’ children have no church backgrounds whatsoever.
• The rate of birth defects in Wales is three times as much as in England
• Wales was the first country in the UK to establish the role of a Childrens Commissioner, an independent human rights institution for children.

• Wales has only 80% of the UK average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head, but in some areas in Wales (Objective 1 areas), this figure drops below 70%.
• The rate of economic activity amongst people of working age rose over the year 2002-03 from 74.1% to 76.6%. The UK average stood at 78.7%.
• Average gross weekly earnings in Wales stood at £400, 14% below both the UK and GB averages (£462 and £464 respectively).
• The pay gap between men and women has increased more in Wales than the rest of the UK.
• Total exports from Wales rose by 8.6% in the third quarter of 2003 compared to the same period a year ago. The UK as a whole, meanwhile, only saw a 3.9% rise for the same period.

• Farming in Wales has suffered greatly over the years, with recent tragedies such as BSE and the foot and mouth disease.
• In 1992, there were 64,900 people working in agriculture in some way. This figure decreased to 55,700 by 2000 but rose again to 56,300 by 2002.
• There are many challenges and difficulties facing farmers in Wales. For example:

1. Dairy farmers are being forced to sell their milk (which contributes 25% of Wales’ agricultural output) for less than the production costs, resulting in much financial pressure.
2. The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) which provides significant money to farmers is currently under review, which is causing great financial uncertainty.
3. The spread of TB is affecting more and more farmers – it is estimated that in the UK, a bovine animal is slaughtered every 22 minutes.

• Farming is more than just a job. It is a way of life, vocation, family business, home and identity.

• In Wales, there are 1,625 primary schools, 227 secondary schools, 44 special schools, 31 Pupil Referral Units, and 57 independent schools (as at 2002).
• In January 2001, there was 28,687 teaching staff in LEA maintained schools.
• A greater proportion of fifteen year olds in church schools achieved five or more GCSEs grade A*-C or vocational equivalents than in other schools in 1999- 2000. Also, absenteeism in Church schools was lower than in other secondary schools.
• There are 9 universities and 23 further education colleges in Wales.
• 77% of sixth form leavers in Wales entered a higher education institution (including those taking a gap year) in 2003.
• Whilst at University, there are many opportunities for Christian students to learn about God and the bible and to be involved in evangelism, through the Christian Union.
• Many students come to study in Wales from countries where they would not normally be allowed to hear the gospel.

• In 2001, 12.5 % of the population in Wales (361,500 people) reported that their health was 'not good'. In England, the figure was 9.0 %.
• The same source reported that 23.3% of the population have a limiting long-term illness. This is higher than in England where it was 17.9%. Within Wales, Merthyr Tydfil had the highest, at 30%, and Cardiff the lowest, at 18.8%.
• In 2001, 139,000 people in Wales were employed in Health and Social Work.
• The Welsh Ambulance service has 2,300 staff providing ambulance and related services in Wales.

• In 2002, 7355 abortions were carried out for residents of Wales; a decrease of about 2.5% on 2001 (7,500).
• 89% of these terminations were performed before 13 weeks, a similar percentage to that of the previous year. 41% were performed before the 9th week of gestation.
• Wales has a lower abortion rate than England – the abortion rate for women living in Wales in 2002 was 13 terminations per 1,000 women aged 15-44. The rate for England and Wales was 16 terminations per 1,000 women aged 15-44.
• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of abortions in 2001 were to women aged between 20 and 34, and 219 abortions were to girls aged under 16.
• 97% of abortions carried out in 2001 were performed on the grounds of “risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the woman”
• About 45% of abortions to Welsh residents were performed in England.

• In the Wales and Chester Circuit, there are 14 Crown Courts, 23 County Courts, and 31 Magistrates Courts.
• There are 4 police and probation areas in Wales; North Wales, Dyfed- Powys, South Wales and Gwent.
• There are 7316 police officers in Wales.
• Victimisation in general and burglary within a dwelling are lower in Wales than the rest of the UK.
• The level of violent crime is higher in Wales than the UK average (195 per 10,000 population compared with 190 across the UK). Gwent, with 287 reported incidents per 10,000, has the highest rate of violent crime in all police force areas in England and Wales outside the London region.

• There are 4 prisons in Wales; - Cardiff, Parc, Swansea, and Usk, which between them have a total Operational Capacity of 2,305.
• There is one Young Offenders Institution in Wales, - Prescoed.
• There are no woman prisons in Wales, so female offenders face imprisonment in England, far away from their friends and families.

• Communities First is the Welsh Assembly Governments flagship community regeneration project, which seeks to impact the 100 poorest wards in Wales.
• Since May 2003, the Welsh Assembly Government has included a Social Justice and Regeneration Department.

• The Welsh voluntary sector has 1.12 million volunteers, an annual income of £630 million, 22,900 paid staff and assets of £1.6 billion.
• The Government invests £220.1 million in the voluntary sector in Wales per annum.
• 1 in 3 of the population are said to be involved in one of the estimated 30,000 voluntary organisations in Wales.
• It is estimated (by Kathleen Heaseman) that in the second half of the 19th century, 75% of voluntary organisations had an evangelical ethos.
• Today, however, the WCVA says that only 8.7% of voluntary organisations are religious, let alone Christian or evangelical.
• Giving in Wales has fallen in real terms by 34% since 1994/5.

• Seizures of controlled drugs have increased from 2,234 (all classes) in 1990, to 7,673 in 2000. Similarly, the number of persons found guilty, cautioned or dealt with by compounding (agreed not to prosecute in return for payment), for drug offences has risen from 1,687 in 1990, to 7,551 in 2000. There are many people addicted to drugs
• Heroin and alcohol are the most commonly misused substances which lead people to treatment. Just under a quarter of people who accessed treatment made their first appearance at a treatment service before the age of twenty.
• Two thirds of people presenting at treatment services in 2001-02 were male.
• In 1998, 41% of girls and 42% of boys reported ever having used an illegal drug, with 22% and 23% reporting that they had used at least one illegal drug in the last month.
• 50% of girls and 58% of boys aged 15-16 years reported that they drank at least once a week in 2000. 44% of girls and 45% of boys of this age reported being drunk on 4 or more occasions. In 1998, 13.8% of the adult population reported levels of harmful alcohol consumption.

• Shelter Cymru has estimated that over 41,000 people applied to Welsh Councils as homeless during 2002, and of these, 16,000 were accepted. However, they believe that their figures underestimate the problem, because they do not include those people who have not sought help, are in substandard accommodation, or are staying with a friend or relative.
• National Assembly statistics show that: 26 % of homelessness occurred as a result of a relationship breakdown, 31 % occurred as a result of the loss of accommodation, and 8% occurred as a direct result of leaving institutional care.

• There are 205,600 military personnel in the UK.
• Wales supplies almost 8% of new recruits to the Armed Forces each year. This is a higher level of recruits per head of the population compared to other parts of the UK.
• Wales has 14 voluntary reserve forces units, involving some 2,100 personnel.
• As well as carrying out military operations, the armed forces also provide other services, eg. they supported the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs during the Foot and Mouth Crisis. Also, the RAF Search and Rescue squad are regularly called to help people who get into difficulties whilst at sea, or on a mountain, in and around Wales.

• 72% of the population claimed to be Christian in the 2001 census. Proportions of these people differ widely across the nation; 64% in Blaenau Gwent, and 79% in Anglesey, as does the proportion of those saying they had no religion; over 25% in Rhondda Cynon Taff and Blaenau Gwent, but just 13% in Flintshire.
• 8% of the population did not state a religion, and 19% stated ‘no religion’.
• The majority of those who were of non-Christian faiths live in Cardiff and Newport.
• The largest non-Christian faith group is Muslim, which accounts for 0.8% of the population, (21,739 people).

• In Wales there are at least 32 Church denominations/associations of churches and many independent churches.
• There are a number of umbrella organisations representing churches in Wales; Cytun: Churches Together, Evangelical Alliance, Evangelical Movement of Wales, and the Free Church Council.
• The percentage of the population attending church is steadily decreasing. It was 14.1% in 1980; 12.9% in 1985; 10.5% in 1990; 7.4% in 2000, and is predicted to be at 6.2% in 2005.

• 2.1% - or some 62,000 people in Wales - have nonwhite,ethnic-minority backgrounds, and 40% of these are of Asian origin.
• The main concentration of the ethnic minority population is in South Wales.
• There are several ethnic churches within Wales (see list of denominations).
• The BNP are keen to get a foothold in Wales and it might fight for a seat in the next Assembly elections.

• 72% of people living in Wales declared they had no knowledge of the Welsh language.
• 21% said they could speak at least some Welsh.
• 16% have the full range of skills (reading, writing, understanding) in Welsh.

• Eisteddfods are an integral part of the Welsh culture, and provide opportunities for expression of all the arts.
• The Church has traditionally been a major seat of cultural expression, in writing oratory, music, poetry etc. Creative initiatives open doors into communities.

• There are 16 independent radio stations in Wales.
• There are 6 local daily papers, and 59 local newspapers based in Wales.
• A number of religious radio and TV programs are broadcast each week, by the secular media.