Swansea
§ This page gives an overview of the Swansea 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 ⁞ Swansea is Wales’s second-largest city and a principal area on the south coast, known for its maritime heritage, Swansea Bay, and proximity to the Gower Peninsula. It has a diverse economy covering retail, higher education, manufacturing, and tourism.
The administrative boundary of Swansea can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Swansea.
Key Facts about Swansea
What region is Swansea in? Swansea is in Wales, a statistical region and also a country in United Kingdom.
Is Swansea a city? Yes, Swansea is a city. Swansea holds official city status as one of the 76 designated cities in the UK.
Who governs Swansea? The local government for this district is: City and County of Swansea Council (Wales City Council).
▶ Official website of City and County of Swansea Council 🔗 swansea.gov.uk
Which police force covers Swansea? Policing in Swansea 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.
Swansea in International Geographies
In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Swansea is an ITLs Level 3 area:
- (ITL 1) Wales
- (ITL 2) ⇒ Mid and South West Wales
- (ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Swansea
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 Swansea
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 Swansea
Swansea is divided into 32 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bishopston
- Bôn-y-maen
- Castle
- Clydach
- Cockett
- Cwmbwrla
- Dunvant and Killay
- Fairwood
- Gorseinon and Penyrheol
- Gower
- Gowerton
- Landore
- Llangyfelach
- Llansamlet
- Llwchwr
- Mayals
- Morriston
- Mumbles
- Mynydd-bach
- Pen-clawdd
- Penderry
- Penllergaer
- Pennard
- Pontarddulais
- Pontlliw and Tircoed
- Sketty
- St Thomas
- Townhill
- Uplands
- Waterfront
- Waunarlwydd
- West Cross
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 Swansea
Swansea has 41 communities, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Birchgrove
- Bishopston
- Bonymaen
- Castle
- Clydach
- Cockett
- Cwmbwrla
- Dunvant
- Gorseinon
- Gowerton
- Grovesend and Waungron
- Ilston
- Killay
- Landore
- Llangennith, Llanmadoc and Cheriton
- Llangyfelach
- Llanrhidian Higher
- Llanrhidian Lower
- Llansamlet
- Llwchwr
- Mawr
- Morriston
- Mumbles
- Mynyddbach
- Penderry
- Penllergaer
- Pennard
- Penrice
- Pontarddulais
- Pontlliw and Tircoed
- Port Eynon
- Reynoldston
- Rhossili
- Sketty
- St Thomas
- Three Crosses
- Townhill
- Uplands
- Upper Killay
- Waterfront
- Waunarlwydd
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 Swansea
Swansea covers 26 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bishopston
- Canisland
- Clydach (Swansea) *
- Craig-cefn-parc
- Crofty
- Dunvant
- Glais
- Gorseinon
- Gowerton
- Grovesend
- Hendy and Fforest *
- Loughor
- Neath *
- Pen-clawdd
- Penllergaer
- Pontarddulais *
- Pontlliw
- Port-Eynon
- Reynoldston
- Rhossili
- Southgate
- Swansea *
- Three Crosses
- Tircoed
- Upper Killay
- Wernffrwd
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 Swansea.)
Swansea compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Swansea compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Swansea has 32 electoral wards.
Swansea has a population of 251,304 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Swansea can be found on the ONS statistics for Swansea.