Cardiff
§ This page gives an overview of the Cardiff local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Cardiff, the capital and largest city of Wales, is a vibrant political, cultural, and economic hub. It boasts attractions like Cardiff Bay, the Principality Stadium, and the National Museum, with a diverse economy centred on government, finance, media, and tourism.
The administrative boundary of Cardiff can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Cardiff.
Key Facts about Cardiff
What region is Cardiff in? Cardiff is in Wales, a statistical region and also a country in United Kingdom.
Is Cardiff a city? Yes, Cardiff is a city. Cardiff holds official city status as one of the 76 designated cities in the UK.
Who governs Cardiff? The local government for this district is: Cardiff Council (Wales City Council).
▶ Official website of Cardiff Council 🔗 cardiff.gov.uk
Which police force covers Cardiff? Policing in Cardiff is provided by South Wales Police 🔗 south-wales.police.uk, which serves 7 local authority districts: Bridgend ⁞ Cardiff ⁞ Merthyr Tydfil ⁞ Neath Port Talbot ⁞ Rhondda Cynon Taf ⁞ Swansea ⁞ Vale of Glamorgan.
Cardiff in International Geographies
In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Cardiff is within an ITLs Level 3 area:
- (ITL 1) Wales
- (ITL 2) ⇒ South East Wales
- (ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.
Constituencies in Cardiff
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 32 of them are in Wales. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Cardiff
Cardiff is divided into 28 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Adamsdown
- Butetown
- Caerau
- Canton
- Cathays
- Cyncoed
- Ely
- Fairwater
- Gabalfa
- Grangetown
- Heath
- Lisvane and Thornhill
- Llandaff
- Llandaff North
- Llanishen
- Llanrumney
- Pentwyn
- Pentyrch and St Fagans
- Penylan
- Plasnewydd
- Pontprennau and Old St Mellons
- Radyr
- Rhiwbina
- Riverside
- Rumney
- Splott
- Trowbridge
- Whitchurch and Tongwynlais
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Communities in Cardiff
Cardiff has 36 communities, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Adamsdown
- Butetown
- Caerau
- Canton
- Castle
- Cathays
- Cyncoed
- Ely
- Fairwater
- Gabalfa
- Grangetown
- Heath
- Lisvane
- Llandaff
- Llandaff North
- Llanedeyrn
- Llanishen
- Llanrumney
- Old St. Mellons
- Pentwyn
- Pentyrch
- Penylan
- Pontcanna
- Pontprennau
- Radyr and Morganstown
- Rhiwbina
- Riverside
- Roath
- Rumney
- Splott
- St. Fagans
- Thornhill
- Tongwynlais
- Tremorfa
- Trowbridge
- Whitchurch
In Wales, communities are the Welsh equivalent of civil parishes—the lowest tier of local government. Every part of Wales lies within a community, though only some have an elected community or town council. Where they exist, these councils handle very local matters and speak for residents to the county or county borough council. Like English civil parishes, communities are purely civil/administrative and are distinct from church parishes.
Built-up Areas in Cardiff
Cardiff covers 11 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Broadstreet Common *
- Caerphilly *
- Cardiff *
- Creigiau
- Groes-faen *
- Penarth *
- Pentyrch
- St Fagans *
- St Fagans *
- Taff's Well *
- Tongwynlais
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Cardiff.)
Cardiff compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Cardiff compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Cardiff has 28 electoral wards.
Cardiff has a population of 383,919 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Cardiff can be found on the ONS statistics for Cardiff.