National Survey for Wales questionnaire responses following consent to link. NSWD superceded Welsh Health Survey in 2015

The Welsh Government's National Survey for Wales covers a random sample of 12,000 adults a year (aged 16+) living in private households across Wales. The survey provides representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level.

The survey began in 2012. In 2015 it was reviewed the decision was taken to amalgamate five large scale social surveys that were carried out in Wales into one. From 2016-17 onwards the National Survey for Wales was expanded to include topics previously covered by the Welsh Health Survey, Active Adults Survey, Arts in Wales Survey, and Welsh Outdoor Recreation Survey.

The aim of the survey is to provide representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level. Prior to March 2020, the survey was carried out face-to-face in respondents’ homes. Since May 2020 onwards, the survey has been carried out by telephone. Topics were updated monthly and results published monthly for May to September 2020; from October, topic updates and publications switched to quarterly.

The survey continued in telephone mode for 2021-22 onwards, with an online element added from July 2021.

Further information is available on the Welsh Government National Survey for Wales webpages.

The National Survey for Wales, 2021/22 and 2022/23: Combined Data study combines two full years of NSW data. Many of the same questions were asked in both years of the survey and this combined dataset only contain these common variables, with an accompanying variable catalogue (see documentation). The two-year combined dataset allows the production of more detailed breakdowns at local authority or health board level and makes it easier to pick up differences between areas. It also allows more in-depth analysis for some smaller subgroups, which would not have been reliable with only one year's worth of survey data.

Information on health-realted lifestyle among adults in Wales by area deprivation.

Information on general health and illness of adults in Wales additional variables.

The National Survey for Wales (NSW) is commissioned by the Welsh Government, Sport Wales, Natural Resources Wales, and the Arts Council of Wales. It is used in decision-making by those organisations and other public-sector bodies across Wales.

The survey covers a broad range of topics including education, exercise, health, social care, use of the internet, community cohesion, wellbeing, employment, and finances. The topics change regularly in order to keep up with changing needs for information. Some topics are only included periodically, where the results are slow-changing; and some topics are only asked of a random subsample of respondents, which allows more topics to be included.

The survey sample is adults aged 16+ living in private households. The survey does not cover people living in communal establishments (e.g. care homes, residential youth offender homes, hostels, and student halls). A range of demographic questions is included, to allow for detailed cross-analysis of the results.

Fieldwork runs continuously, with topics updated each April. Each year’s data (from April to the following March) is deposited around six months later at the UK Data Archive so that the data is widely accessible for research purposes. The data collected is also linked with other datasets via the SAIL Databank (excluding any respondents who have asked for their data to not be linked). Respondents are able to opt out of having their results linked if they wish.

From 2016-17 onwards, the National Survey for Wales replaced the Welsh Health Survey by incorporating questions on health conditions, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking.

The Welsh Government's National Survey for Wales covers a random sample of 12,000 adults a year (aged 16+) living in private households across Wales. The survey provides representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level.

The survey began in 2012. In 2015 it was reviewed the decision was taken to amalgamate five large scale social surveys that were carried out in Wales into one. From 2016-17 onwards the National Survey for Wales was expanded to include topics previously covered by the Welsh Health Survey, Active Adults Survey, Arts in Wales Survey, and Welsh Outdoor Recreation Survey.

The aim of the survey is to provide representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level. Prior to March 2020, the survey was carried out face-to-face in respondents’ homes. Since May 2020 onwards, the survey has been carried out by telephone. Topics were updated monthly and results published monthly for May to September 2020; from October, topic updates and publications switched to quarterly.

The survey continued in telephone mode for 2021-22 onwards, with an online element added from July 2021.

Further information is available on the Welsh Government National Survey for Wales webpages.

The National Survey for Wales, 2012/13 and 2013/14: Combined Data study combines data from the first two full years of the survey. Many of the same questions were asked in both years of the survey and this combined dataset only contain these common variables, with an accompanying variable catalogue (see documentation). The two-year combined dataset allows the production of more detailed breakdowns at local authority or health board level and makes it easier to pick up differences between areas. It also allows more in-depth analysis for some smaller subgroups, which would not have been reliable with only one year's worth of survey data.

Information on health related lifestyle among adults in Wales by age and gender.

Information on reported general health of adults in Wales by area deprivation. Information presented here is collected via the National Survey for Wales.

The Welsh Health Survey informs local government, NHS, and nationwide health strategy.

The Welsh Health Survey (WHS) collects information on the health and health-related lifestyles of people living in Wales. It is a major source of information about the health of people in Wales, the way the NHS is used, and behaviours that can affect health, such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

Data for the WHS is collected via face-to-face-interviews and self-completion questionnaires. The sampling unit for the WHS are households, however all adults within households were asked to take part. Families with children under the age of 16 are eligible, however where the household has 3 or more children, up to two children between the ages of 0 and 15 are randomly selected for inclusion in the study. Interviews are used to collect data at the household level, with questionnaires distributed to household members. Information on the household type and employment status of the household reference person are collected, and the interviewer is asked to comment on the condition of the property. Separate self-completion questionnaires are used to collect data for adults and young people (aged 13-15), whilst adults/guardians are required to complete questionnaires on behalf of children younger than 13 years old.

The WHS data provided to SAIL relates to survey years 2011, 2013 and 2014 covering only adults - aged 16 and older - who have consented to allow their data to be linked, with consent to data link data being included on a trial basis for 2011. As a result WHS data in SAIL can be analysed only at the individual adult level (and with a very limited number of records for 2011). By contrast WHS data in the UK Data Archive allows for adult-child records to be combined for research exploring ‘household’ health or the links between parental and child health, for example.

Derived variables are those which have been created as an additional value based on responses to other variables, primarily for facilitate further analysis.

Please note: From April 2016 health and health-related lifestyles are reported in in SAIL by the National Survey for Wales Dataset.

Information on health related lifestyle among children in Wales. Information presented here is collected via the annual National Survey for Wales.

The Welsh Government's National Survey for Wales covers a random sample of 12,000 adults a year (aged 16+) living in private households across Wales. The survey provides representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level.

The survey began in 2012. In 2015 it was reviewed the decision was taken to amalgamate five large scale social surveys that were carried out in Wales into one. From 2016-17 onwards the National Survey for Wales was expanded to include topics previously covered by the Welsh Health Survey, Active Adults Survey, Arts in Wales Survey, and Welsh Outdoor Recreation Survey.

The aim of the survey is to provide representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level. Prior to March 2020, the survey was carried out face-to-face in respondents’ homes. Since May 2020 onwards, the survey has been carried out by telephone. Topics were updated monthly and results published monthly for May to September 2020; from October, topic updates and publications switched to quarterly.

The survey continued in telephone mode for 2021-22 onwards, with an online element added from July 2021.

Further information is available on the Welsh Government National Survey for Wales webpages.

Information on health related lifestyle among adults in Wales - additional variables.

The Welsh Government's National Survey for Wales covers a random sample of 12,000 adults a year (aged 16+) living in private households across Wales. The survey provides representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level.

The survey began in 2012. In 2015 it was reviewed the decision was taken to amalgamate five large scale social surveys that were carried out in Wales into one. From 2016-17 onwards the National Survey for Wales was expanded to include topics previously covered by the Welsh Health Survey, Active Adults Survey, Arts in Wales Survey, and Welsh Outdoor Recreation Survey.

The aim of the survey is to provide representative, reliable and up-to-date information about the people of Wales down to local authority level. Prior to March 2020, the survey was carried out face-to-face in respondents’ homes. Since May 2020 onwards, the survey has been carried out by telephone. Topics were updated monthly and results published monthly for May to September 2020; from October, topic updates and publications switched to quarterly.

The survey continued in telephone mode for 2021-22 onwards, with an online element added from July 2021.

Further information is available on the Welsh Government National Survey for Wales webpages.

Starting with the National Survey for Wales 2016-17, the survey design covers the topics of five predecessor surveys and has therefore a longer interview than previous years.

The Student Health and Wellbeing (SHW) survey is carried out by the School Health Research Network (SHRN). Established in 2013, SHRN brings together secondary schools and academic researchers, policymakers and practitioners from health, education, and social care to improve young people’s health and wellbeing in the school setting. It is a partnership between the Centre for Development, Evaluation, Complexity, and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer) at Cardiff University, Welsh Government, and Public Health Wales, funded by Welsh Government.

The SHW survey is a biennial cross-sectional survey administered to 11–16-year-olds attending SHRN member schools and was developed from the World Health Organisation’s Health Behaviour in School aged Children (HBSC) survey. The survey is completed alongside a School Environment Questionnaire (SEQ), which all participating schools must complete on their health policies and practices.

The SHW survey provides in-depth understanding of the health and wellbeing of young people. Content includes mental health and wellbeing, substance use and gambling, physical activity and diet, school life, family and social life, and relationships.

2021 & 2023 survey years are available in SAIL

Presents labour market data for local areas in Wales in a rolling four-quarter series and is the primary source for such local area information.

Source agency: Welsh Government

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Annual Population Survey for Wales

Large scale survey of the adult population in Wales using CAPI. Replaced by National Survey for Wales Dataset (NSWD).