On 27 November, we’ll publish the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) 2025. This will be a fresh set of ranks of relative deprivation for small areas in Wales, using the new Census 2021 Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs).

Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg

In the spring, we published a summary of your views on what data we should use to update WIMD. Thanks to the 80+ people and organisations who were involved in the survey and seminars. We also set out our plans for the last few months of development work for each of the 8 domains of deprivation included in the index. This blog provides a reminder and an update on those plans, ahead of publication of the results.

New indicators in the housing domain

In the housing domain we are adding two new indicators. We’re adding an indicator on the inability to afford to enter owner occupation or the private rental market, produced by Heriot-Watt University. This is recognised as an increasing area of societal and policy concern, and local authorities have responsibilities to develop plans and programmes to address needs arising from housing affordability constraints, which this data could potentially inform.

To measure housing quality, we’re including the proportion of dwellings with poor energy performance. Homes with poor energy efficiency performance are more difficult and expensive to heat, and there are potential health impacts of living in a cold home (House of Commons Library). This measure captures information about the physical condition of properties that helps to build a picture of housing-related deprivation.

Improvements to the access to services domain

To measure access to services deprivation, for the first time we’ll look at access to childcare services alongside access to a range of other local services. Access to childcare may open up employment opportunities for parents, particularly those with pre-school age children, which are likely to reduce both material and social deprivation of household members.

New data for the physical environment domain

In the physical environment domain, we’re adding in new data on noise pollution. Excess noise has been linked to poorer health outcomes and those in deprivation are likely to be impacted disproportionately (World Health Organization).

What we are publishing

We now have a list of what we plan to publish and when, on our website. This includes advance guidance which is now available, WIMD is a complex product, and we’re keen to ensure that it is used and interpreted correctly by all users.

Our data will be hosted on the new StatsWales open data service, with spatial data and maps on DataMapWales.

Register your interest in an information session

Let us know if you’d like to hear us talk about the new index results after publication, by emailing stats.inclusion@gov.wales with the subject title ‘Register for WIMD info session’. Session dates and times:

Session dates and times

• 2 December 2025, 10am to 11am
• 4 December 2025, 2pm to 3pm

Please state your language (Welsh or English) and session preference. We will send you an invite for an online Microsoft Teams session.