Understanding geographies in InfoBaseCymru Geography is key to all data in InfoBaseCymru. It provides the structure for presenting the data.

InfoBaseCymru shows data in local authority, local area and Wales geographies. Wales is divided into local authorities and local authorities are divided into local areas.

What is a local authority geography? Local authority is an administrative geography referring to the areas relating to local government in Wales.

There are 22 local authorities (LAs) in Wales. These are also known as Unitary authorities (UAs).

Administrative geographies are subject to boundary changes following periodic reviews by the Boundary Commission.

For more information on administrative geography in Wales please see the Office for National Statistics geography pages.

What is a local area geography? Local areas are statistical geographies developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) following the 2001 Census. They are a set of geographies that work in layers to cover the whole of Wales. The layers are:

 Output Area - OA (around 400 people);  Lower Super Output Area - LSOA (around 1,600 people);  Middle Super Output Area - MSOA (around 7,700 people); and  Upper Super Output Area - USOA (around 25,000 people);

InfoBaseCymru shows data at LSOA level which we call local areas.

Following the 2011 Census a small number of LSOAs were changed to allow for population growth. The data in InfoBaseCymru is either shown for 2011 LSOA or 2001 LSOA depending on the most up to date information. For more information on statistical geographies in Wales please see the Office for National Statistics geography pages.

If a geography boundary has changed over time, this will mean you will not be able to make direct comparisons on the data. For more information on the changes to LSOAs please see Changes to statistical geographies in Wales 2001 to 2011.

Each time you choose a subject area in InfoBaseCymru you will be asked to choose whether you want to view the data in a table or a map and which geography you would like to see the data. It is here you need to choose either local authority or local area.

Wales Almost all indicators in InfoBaseCymru, also have a value for Wales to provide context to the data and to act as a comparator.

These Wales values are likely to be a total for all authorities/areas in Wales or the actual representative value for

Wales itself.

What are Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) regions?

In 2006 the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) created Regional Partnership Boards. InfoBaseCymru maps allows you to filter by the following:

 North Wales;  Central & South West Wales; and  South East Wales.

Need more information? For more information on the geographies used in InfoBaseCymru please get in touch.