Births
Headlines Each year there are around 3,800-4,000 births to Wakefield mums, in 2022 there were 3,646 births. The birth rate in Wakefield for 2022 is 54.7 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44, this is slightly higher than the England average of 51.9 births per 1,000. Birth rates have been decreasing slightly over the last 5...
Deaths
Headlines There were 3,806 deaths (all ages, all causes) across Wakefield District in 2022, including 184 deaths involving COVID-19. With the exception of colorectal cancer, the three-year premature mortality rates are higher than the England averages for most leading disease types. There were 48 infant deaths in the period 2020-2022, and the infant mortality rate...
Ethnicity
Headlines In the 2021 Census 88.2% of Wakefield District residents identified as 'White: British, English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish' ethnicity. The proportion of the population from an ethnic minority background has increased over time in Wakefield, from 7.2% in the 2011 Census to 11.8% in the 2021 Census. The most commonly reported ethnic minority...
Life expectancy
Headlines Male life expectancy at birth is 77.0 years and female life expectancy at birth is 80.9 years (2020-22). The long-term small year-on-year increases in life expectancy came to a stop around 2012-14. They then stayed fairly constant for a few years and have declined more recently, reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on numbers of...
Resident population
Last updated: December 2025. The ONS mid-2024 population estimate for Wakefield was 367,666 people. This represents a 1.3% increase in the size of the population compared to mid-2023. This meant that Wakefield's rate of population change places the district about average among local authorities in England and Wales. Create your own population calculator Use the...