Why do population trends matter? Because the starting point for any school funding calculation is the number of pupils at a school. A local authority with a falling population will find itself dealing with surplus places. One with an increasing population will need to look at increasing provision. 

The map shows the level of occupancy in schools—that is the number of actual pupils as a percentage of the number of pupils a school can admit. 

Scroll down for illustrations of overall population trends for Carmarthenshire.

Population by year 1991–2018

Left scale/blue: Carmarthenshire

Right scale/black: Wales


Population by age group and year

Note that the school age population has not risen at the rate of the overall population increase since 1991. The Carmarthenshire population is ageing—the proportion of the population aged over 65 now outnumbers the 0-15 age group.