Swansea (Welsh: Abertawe) is a city and county in south-west Wales, on Swansea Bay at the mouth of the River Tawe. The authority covers 147 square miles (380 km2) and had 238,490 residents at the 2021 census, making it the second most populous local authority in Wales after Cardiff.
The council is based at the Guildhall in Swansea. The county takes in the whole Gower Peninsula, which in 1956 became the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated anywhere in the United Kingdom.
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Welsh name | Abertawe |
| Status | City and county |
| Area | 147 sq mi (380 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 238,490 |
| Density | 628 people per km2 |
| Welsh speakers | 11.2% (2021 census) |
| Council | City and County of Swansea |
| Postcodes | SA1 to SA8 |
Towns and Villages in Swansea
The county has 165 named settlements. They fall into three groups: the districts of the city itself, such as Morriston, Landore, Sketty and St Thomas; the separate towns of the north and west, including Gorseinon, Gowerton, Pontarddulais, Clydach, Loughor and Penclawdd; and the Gower villages, from Llangennith and Rhossili in the west to Bishopston and Murton in the south.
- Bishopston
- Blackpill
- Blue Anchor
- Bon-y-maen
- Brynmill
- Burry
- Burry Green
- Cadle
- Cae-Bricks
- Cae-maes-y-bar
- Cae-mawr
- Caer-eithin
- Caer-graig
- Canisland
- Carnglas
- Caswell
- Cefn-hengoed
- Cheriton
- Clase
- Clydach
- Cnap-Llwyd
- Cockett
- Craig-cefn-parc
- Crofty
- Cwm
- Cwm Dulais
- Cwm Gwyn
- Cwm Ivy
- Cwm-felin-fach
- Cwmbwrla
- Cwmdu
- Cwmrhydyceirw
- Dan-y-graig
- Dunvant
- Faerdre
- Felin Newydd
- Felindre
- Fforest-fach
- Foxhole
- Ganderstreet
- Garnswllt
- Gendros
- Glais
- Gorseinon
- Gorseinon Garden Village
- Gowerton
- Graig Trewyddfa
- Graig-Fawr
- Graigfelen
- Grovesend
- Hafod
- Hanover Square
- Heol Las
- Horton
- Ilston
- Killay
- Kittle
- Knelston
- Landimore
- Landore
- Langland
- Limeslade
- Lisbon
- Llanddewi
- Llangennith
- Llangyfelach
- Llanlleian-wen
- Llanmadoc
- Llanmorlais
- Llanrhidian
- Llansamlet
- Llwynbrwydrau
- Llwyncelyn
- Lon y Felin
- Lon-las
- Loughor
- Lower Sketty
- Lunnon
- Manselfield
- Manselton
- Mayals
- Mayhill
- Middleton
- Morriston
- Mount Pleasant
- Mumbles
- Murton
- Mynydd-bach
- Mynydd-Garn-Lwyd
- Newton
- Nicholaston
- Norton
- Olchfa
- Oldwalls
- Oldway
- Oxwich
- Oystermouth
- Pant-Iasau
- Pant-y-ffynnon
- Parkmill
- Pen-lan
- Pen-rhiw-forgan
- Pen-y-Lan
- Penclawdd
- Penfilia
- Peniel Green
- Penllergaer
- Penmaen
- Pennard
- Penrice
- Pentre Dwr
- Pentre’r-Gaseg
- Pentre-chwyth
- Pentrebach
- Penydre
- Penyrheol
- Perriswood
- Pilton Green
- Pitton
- Plas-Marl
- Pontarddulais
- Pontlliw
- Port Eynon
- Port Mead
- Port Tennant
- Poundffald
- Pwllygrafel
- Pyle
- Raven Hill
- Reynoldston
- Rhossili
- Rhyd-y-gwin
- Scurlage
- Sketty
- Slade
- Southgate
- St Thomas
- Swansea
- Tai’r-ysgol
- The Common
- Thistleboon
- Three Crosses
- Tir-Nest
- Tircoed
- Tirdeunaw
- Townhill
- Trallwn
- Tre-boeth
- Tregof Village
- Ty-côch
- Ty-draw
- Tyn-y-cwm
- Upper Forge
- Upper Killay
- Waun-Gron
- Waunarlwydd
- Waungron
- Wern-olau
- Wernbwll
- Wernffrwd
- West Cross
- West Town
- Winsh-wen
- Ynysforgan
- Ynystawe
Geography
Swansea Bay curves five miles from the docks round to Mumbles Head. West of that headland the Gower Peninsula runs 19 miles out into the Bristol Channel: limestone cliffs and beaches on the south side at Three Cliffs, Oxwich, Port Eynon and Rhossili, salt marsh and cockle beds on the north side along the Loughor estuary.
Carmarthenshire lies north and west across the Loughor, and Neath Port Talbot east across the Tawe. The Tawe valley climbs north through Clydach and Ynystawe towards the Brecon Beacons, and Kilvey Hill and Townhill rise steeply behind the city centre.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 238,490 usual residents, up from 239,023 in 2011, a slight fall. About 20,000 students at Swansea University and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David make the city centre and Uplands unusually young.
11.2% of residents aged three and over could speak Welsh in 2021. The language is strongest in the northern villages around Pontarddulais, Garnswllt and Craig-cefn-parc, where Welsh has been spoken continuously, and weakest in the eastern districts and on south Gower.
Economy and Local Life
Public services, higher education, retail and tourism drive the modern economy. Swansea University’s Bay Campus opened at Fabian Way in 2015, and the health board is one of the largest employers in Wales.
The docks still handle bulk cargo, and the SA1 waterfront has replaced the old South Dock with housing, offices and restaurants. Gower brings visitors year-round to Rhossili, Oxwich and Three Cliffs Bay. Penclawdd cockles have been gathered on the Loughor sands since Roman times and still are, by hand at low tide.
History
The name Abertawe means the mouth of the Tawe; Swansea itself is Norse, probably Sweyn’s island. A Norman castle followed in about 1106, and the town received its first charter soon after.
From the 1700s the lower Tawe valley smelted so much of the world’s copper that Swansea was known as Copperopolis, with works at Landore, Morriston and Hafod drawing ore from Cornwall, Cuba and Chile. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway carried fare-paying passengers from 1807, the first service of its kind anywhere in the world; it closed in 1960.
Over three nights in February 1941 German bombing destroyed the town centre and killed 230 people. The rebuilt centre dates almost entirely from the 1950s. Dylan Thomas was born at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive in the Uplands in 1914 and called the place an ugly, lovely town. Swansea received city status in 1969.
Getting There
The M4 runs along the northern edge at junctions 42 to 47, with the A483 Fabian Way and the A4067 dropping into the city. The A4118 is the Gower road to Parkmill and Port Eynon, the A4067 the Swansea valley road to Pontardawe and Brecon, and the A484 the coast road to Llanelli.
Swansea High Street station is the terminus of a branch off the South Wales Main Line, about three hours from London Paddington and an hour from Cardiff. Gowerton, Llansamlet and Pontarddulais have stations on the West Wales and Heart of Wales lines. Cardiff Airport is about 45 miles east.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Swansea?
238,490 at the 2021 census for the city and county, the second largest authority in Wales.
How many towns and villages are there in Swansea?
165 named settlements are listed above, covering the city districts, the northern towns and the Gower villages.
Is Gower part of Swansea?
Yes. The whole Gower Peninsula lies within the City and County of Swansea and was the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956.
What is Swansea’s Welsh name?
Abertawe, meaning the mouth of the River Tawe.
What are the postcodes for Swansea?
SA1 to SA8. SA1 covers the centre and waterfront, SA2 and SA3 the west and Gower, SA4 Gorseinon, Loughor and Pontarddulais, and SA5 to SA8 the northern and eastern districts.
Where is Swansea?
On Swansea Bay in south-west Wales, 40 miles west of Cardiff, between Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot.