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What we do

Facts and figures about the sector

  • Almost 150,000 people receive some form of social care in Wales every day.
  • Around £1.3bn of public spending goes on social care services every year.
  • Meeting the needs of an ageing population is probably the biggest challenge for social care services.
  • In 2006, the proportion of people aged 65 or over was 16%. By 2031, it will have risen to 22%.
  • In 2006, there were 3.3 people of working age for every person of state pensionable age. By 2031, it is likely that there will be fewer than three people of working age for every person of state pensionable age.
  • There are around 9,000 people aged 100 or over in Wales and England today. This is a 90-fold increase since 1911 and a 7% plus increase since 2005.
  • At the current rate of expansion, the UK's centenarian population could reach over 40,000 by 2031.
  • People over 90 are the fastest growing segment of the population in the UK.
    In Wales, the number of 65 to 84-year-olds will increase by 24% by 2018.
  • The number of people aged 85 or over in Wales will increase by 29% by 2018. Of these, 33% are likely to need 24-hour care.
  • The total value of the social care sector to the economy in Wales is almost £1bn.
  • If you add to that the effect of workers spending their earnings in local communities, the overall contribution by social care to the economy of Wales is £1.4bn.