The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences has unveiled its Maths Manifesto for Wales.
Launched during the inaugural Maths Week Wales/Mathŵyl Cymru, the plan aims to fuel economic growth, improve educational outcomes, and ensure Wales can capitalise on rapidly developing technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and environmental modelling.
Ahead of May’s Senedd election, the manifesto calls on all Welsh parties to adopt the five-point plan:
Fuelling Welsh economic growth and innovation
- Develop a Welsh Strategy for Mathematics to strengthen leadership and drive innovation across the economy
- Ensure maths is defined as a subject of strategic national importance, critical to the development of key industrial sectors
Strengthening Welsh excellence in mathematical R&D
- Reverse the exodus of talent by ensuring that Welsh universities are able to support core mathematical research at UK-competitive levels
- Engage with the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences to implement, as part of the Welsh Strategy for Mathematics, a Welsh Mathematical R&D strategy
Improving mathematical literacy in Wales
- Urgently address the shortage of specialist mathematics teachers
- Realise the potential of the Curriculum for Wales and fully deliver the Mathematics and Numeracy Plan
Transforming attitudes to mathematics across Wales
- Raise public awareness of the benefits of mathematical literacy to the economy
- Support national campaigns for mathematical confidence – including Maths Week Wales
- Promote mathematics through the medium of Welsh to enhance linguistic equity and cultural pride
Sustainable funding for universities to support a thriving mathematics sector across Wales
- Develop funding model that enables both excellent undergraduate teaching and internationally competitive research
- Invest in training of Mathematical Scientists at all levels of the education system
The manifesto launch is supported by new data from the Academy which sets out the enormous contribution mathematical sciences provide to the people of Wales and the economy.
The Academy’s analysis found that 195,000 people (13% of the Welsh workforce) worked in mathematical sciences occupations in 2024. Those workers directly contributed £14 billion to the Welsh economy in 2024 (16% of total UK gross value added) and were 30% more economically productive and 50% better remunerated than workers in other occupations.
Professor Elaine Crooks FLSW, Swansea University, said:
“Wales is already a maths powerhouse, with mathematical sciences contributing £14 billion per year to the Welsh economy. Yet the potential for further growth is enormous. Growing the mathematical science workforce by just 1% could generate an additional £140 million every year for Wales. This is why it is vital that, ahead of May’s Senedd elections, political parties across the nation commit to the five-point plan set out in the Maths Manifesto for Wales.
“The launch of the manifesto could not come at a better time with the inaugural Maths Week Wales providing a unique platform to highlight the value of mathematical sciences to our nation. The manifesto was created in Wales and for the benefit of Wales. I am very grateful to my colleagues across Wales and to the Academy for Mathematical Sciences for their valuable contributions to developing this manifesto.”
Professor Dame Alison Etheridge FRS, President of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences, said:
“Maths is an integral part of everyday life. From the encryption securing the phone in your pocket, to the algorithms that balance the electricity grid, to the imaging technologies used in modern healthcare, the mathematical sciences quietly underpin our economy and society. Mathematics will moreover propel us into the future, powering the AI revolution and the wider technological advances transforming our economy.
“I am very grateful to the team, led by Professor Elaine Crooks, who developed this Maths Manifesto for Wales, and to everyone involved in delivering the inaugural Maths Week Wales. Mathematical literacy for everyone is key to a fair society and a successful economy, which is why this work by the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences to promote the subject is so important.”
Read the Maths Manifesto for Wales in full here. The Manifesto is also available in Welsh here.
