Gypsy and Traveller caravan count: January 2025 (official statistics in development)
This release details the number of caravans, pitches and sites for Gypsy and Traveller populations by local authority and their trends over time.
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Pause of updates
The Gypsy and Traveller caravan count statistical release has been paused following the January 2025 publication. We have paused updates to this series to review the caravan count data collection process over 2025. As part of this review, we will consider improvements to help ensure that future statistical releases accurately reflect current accommodation for Gypsy and Traveller communities in Wales.
The next data collection will provisionally occur in January 2026 following the completion of this review. If you are a user of the Gypsy and Traveller caravan count and wish to provide feedback on this publication, please contact EqualityEvidenceUnit@gov.wales.
This review of data collection coincides with the public consultation on four Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖGuidance documents, one of which is ‘Undertaking a Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment’, to be published in the summer months. A Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) is a statutory requirement under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 for local authorities to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities, which must be conducted every five years. The revised caravan count guidance can form part of the primary data captured to assist the Cycle 3 GTAA, which is to be submitted to Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖby 24th February 2027.
Main points
On 16 January 2025, there were 1,320 Gypsy and Traveller caravans, and 177 sites reported in Wales.
Between January 2024 and January 2025, the total number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans rose by 9% (1,320 caravans in January 2025 compared to 1,216 in January 2024), and the total number of sites rose by 12% (177 authorised and unauthorised sites in January 2025, compared to 158 in January 2024). Private sites made up 79% of authorised sites across Wales.
Change of data source
The All-Wales Caravan Count online collection tool was used to source caravan count data between January 2021 and July 2023. This tool was discontinued in 2023, and from January 2024 onwards DataMapWales has been the source for collecting the Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Count data from local authorities in Wales. More information on this process is included in the quality report.
Caravans by site authorisation
At the time of the January 2025 count, the total number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in Wales was 1,320. There were 1,147 caravans on authorised sites with planning permission, accounting for 87% of all caravans. Of these, 692 (60%) were on socially rented sites and 455 (40%) were on privately funded sites.
Flintshire had the highest total number of caravans at 231. This is followed by Cardiff with 222 caravans, Pembrokeshire with 178 caravans and Neath Port Talbot with 93 caravans. Together, these 4 local authorities contained more than half (55%) of all caravans recorded in Wales on the 16 January 2025.
Figure 1: Gypsy and Traveller caravans by type of site, January 2025
Description of Figure 1: A pie chart showing the percentage of caravans that are on authorised sites (87%), unauthorised sites on Gypsy owned land (6%) and unauthorised sites on land not owned by Gypsies (7%).
Source: All Wales caravan count, DataMapWales (Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government).
There were 80 caravans on unauthorised sites on land owned by Gypsies and Travellers, accounting for 6% of all caravans. A further 93 caravans (7% of all caravans) were on unauthorised sites on land not owned by Gypsies and Travellers, making a total of 173 caravans on unauthorised sites. This is a 7% increase in caravans on unauthorised sites since January 2024, when there were 161 caravans on unauthorised sites. The number of unauthorised sites increased by 19%, from 43 in January 2024 to 51 in January 2025.
Flintshire had the highest number of caravans on unauthorised sites with 64 caravans. This is followed by Swansea with 25 caravans on unauthorised sites. Together, these 2 local authorities account for just over half (51%) of all caravans on unauthorised sites.
In some cases, caravans are on sites which are unauthorised, but the local authority has decided not to seek removal of the encampment. In January 2025 there were 80 caravans on tolerated unauthorised sites. The largest number of these were seen in Swansea where there were 24 caravans on tolerated unauthorised sites, representing 30% of unauthorised caravans that were tolerated in Wales on 16 January 2025. There were 93 caravans on unauthorised sites that were not tolerated in Wales.
Detailed local authority level tables are provided in the ODS spreadsheet found under the data tab. Further background and quality information can be found in the quality report.
Figure 2: Number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans by site authorisation, January 2018 to January 2025 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 2: A line chart showing the number of caravans on authorised and unauthorised sites. The number of caravans on authorised sites has generally increased over time. The number of caravans on unauthorised sites has remained relatively consistent in comparison.
Source: All Wales caravan count, DataMapWales (Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government).
[Note1] Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government’s biannual caravan census count was not conducted in Wales in July 2020.
[Note 2] From January 2024 onwards, DataMapWales data has been used to produce counts of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in Wales. As such, some caution is advised when considering trends across time. Please see the quality report for more information.
Sites by authorisation and type
On 16 January 2025, there were 177 sites recorded across Wales. Of these, 126 (71%) were authorised sites and 51 (29%) were unauthorised sites.
Of the 126 authorised sites, 27 were classified as socially rented sites and 99 were classified as privately rented sites. Authorised privately rented sites were the most common site type, representing 79% of authorised sites and 56% of all sites in Wales.
Figure 3: Number of Gypsy and Traveller sites by site type and authorisation, January 2025
Description of Figure 3: A pie chart showing the percentage of sites by authorisation and type. On 16 January 2025, 56% were authorised privately rented sites, 15% were authorised socially rented sites, and 29% were unauthorised sites.
Source: All Wales caravan count, DataMapWales (Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government).
Figure 4: Number of Gypsy and Traveller sites by authorisation, January 2011 to January 2025 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of Figure 4: A line chart showing the number of sites by authorisation. The number of authorised sites has shown a steady increase over time, having almost tripled since January 2011. The number of unauthorised sites has fluctuated throughout but has been generally higher in recent years. There was an increase in such sites between January 2024 and January 2025, following a similar increase between January 2023 and January 2024.
Source: All Wales caravan count, DataMapWales (Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government).
[Note 1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Government’s biannual caravan census count was not conducted in Wales in July 2020.
[Note 2] From January 2024 onwards, DataMapWales data has been used to produce counts of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in Wales. As such, some caution is advised when considering trends across time. Please see the quality report for more information.
Pembrokeshire contained the largest number of authorised privately rented sites at 24. This was followed by Flintshire (13 sites), Carmarthenshire (11 sites) and Bridgend (10 sites). These local authorities contained 59% of authorised privately rented sites across Wales. Pembrokeshire also contained the largest number of authorised socially rented sites at 5. This was followed by Neath Port Talbot and Powys with 3 sites each.
Ceredigion and Isle of Anglesey were the only local authorities that contained no authorised sites.
Flintshire contained the largest number of unauthorised sites at 16 sites, which represents 31% of all unauthorised sites across Wales. This is followed by Swansea which contained 6 unauthorised sites. 7 local authorities contained no unauthorised sites.
Pitches on local authority sites
There were 472 pitches on Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities in Wales on 16 January 2025, comparable to the number on local authority sites in January 2024 (465 pitches). Of these, 470 were residential pitches and 2 were transit pitches.
Pembrokeshire, Cardiff and Neath Port Talbot had the highest number of pitches provided by local authorities (83, 80 and 67 pitches respectively). This accounts for almost half (49%) of the total number of pitches provided by local authorities in Wales. There were 4 local authorities that reported having no pitches on 16 January 2025. At the time of the count, 454 (97%) of the residential pitches were occupied.
Torfaen is the only local authority to report any transit pitches at the time of the count, both of which were recorded as vacant.
Quality and methodology information
These are ‘official statistics in development’ as the method employed is still in development, and there are some known data quality issues. The QMI report provides further detail of key quality and methodology information. Our statement of compliance with the produced by the is included in the QMI report, providing details of how we comply with standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the .
Detailed information on data quality and methodology can be found in the Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Count quality report.