Toggle mobile menu visibility

Key facts

Swansea in figures.

  • Swansea is the second largest city in Wales and the regional commercial centre for South West Wales.
  • Land area: 379.7 sq. kilometres - approximately 69.5% rural and 30.5% urban. 1
  • Population: 237,800 (June 2021) - the second largest unitary authority in Wales - with a population density of 630 people per sq. km. (Wales: 150). 2
  • Population change: The 2021 Census reported that the usually resident population of Swansea was approximately 500 or 0.2 per cent less than the 2011 Census total. 3
  • Births and Deaths: There were 2,067 babies born in Swansea in 2021, and 2,747 deaths registered in the year. 4
  • Life expectancy at birth in Swansea now stands at 77.5 years for males (Wales 78.3) and 81.8 for females (Wales 82.1); with healthy life expectancy 61.9 years for males and 60.5 years for females. 5
  • Housing: Swansea contains around 115,200 council tax chargeable and exempt dwellings (2023-24), with 26,900 in Band B (approx. 25% of all chargeable dwellings). 6
  • Households: There are 105,000 households with at least one usual resident in Swansea (2021 Census), increasing by 1,500 (+1.4%) since the previous Census in 2011.  In terms of tenure, 62.3% (65,400) of households owned their accommodation, with 19.1% of households social rented and 18.0% private rented. 7
  • Swansea Council consists of 32 Electoral Wards, represented by 75 local Councillors. 8
  • Schools: There are 93 local authority maintained schools in Swansea (February 2022) including 77 primary schools and 14 secondary schools.  12 schools are Welsh medium. 9
  • Pupils: Swansea schools contain 35,902 pupils (all ages), with 28,786 aged 5-15 (February 2022). 9
  • Higher and Further Education: Swansea is home to campus centres for Swansea University, University of Wales Trinity St. David and Gower College Swansea, which together support over 29,000 full-time students (2021-22). 10
  • Qualifications: 67.6% of Swansea's residents aged 16-64 are qualified to RQF levels 3 and 4 (2022) - Wales 64.1%. 11
  • Welsh language: In 2021, 11.2% of people in Swansea aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. 12
  • Ethnicity: Swansea had a minority ethnic group (non-White) population of around 20,400 in 2021 - 8.6% of the total population. 12
  • Country of birth: In 2021, 75% of Swansea's population were born in Wales, with 22,500 (9.4%) residents born outside the UK. 12
  • Economic output: GVA (Gross Value Added) per head in Swansea stands at £23,591 (2021); 5.4% above the Wales level but 21.9% below the UK average. 13
  • Economic activity: 79.8% of Swansea's working age (16-64) residents are economically active, with 118,800 in employment (75.9% of working age) (year to March 2023). 14
  • Employment: 108,000 people work in Swansea, mostly (89.8%) in the service sectors, with 29.6% (31,900) employed in the public sector (2021).  An estimated 27,000 people commute into Swansea each day (2022).15
  • Businesses: There were 7,735 active businesses in Swansea in 2021, with 990 recorded business 'births' and 1,025 'deaths' in the year. 16
  • Earnings: Average (median) earnings for full-time employees in Swansea stand at £593.10 per week and £30,262 per year (April 2022). 17
  • Unemployment: 4,800 people in Swansea (3.8% of the economically active population aged 16+) are unemployed (survey period ending March 2023).  The administrative claimant count (August 2023) was 5,155 (3.5% of working age residents). 18
  • Deprivation: The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) 2019 identified 11.5% of Swansea's local areas as falling within the top 10% most deprived in Wales. 19
  • Transport:  Swansea contains 1,128.2 kilometres (km) of roads (2021-2022), of which 15.3km is motorway and 102.3km is 'A' road.  There are 164,600 licensed vehicles in Swansea (June 2022), including 127,500 cars. 20
  • Agriculture: Around 20,900 hectares of land is farmed in the county, with around 380 economically active farms (June 2020). 21
  • Urban Conservation: Swansea currently contains 31 Conservation Areas, 122 Ancient Monuments and over 500 Listed Buildings. 22
  • Waste and recycling: 113,200 tonnes of waste was collected or generated in Swansea in 2021-22, of which 73,600 tonnes (65.1%) was reused, recycled or composted (Wales average 65.2%). 23
  • House Prices: In February 2023, the average house sale price in Swansea was £189,418 - average for Wales £215,343. 24
  • Tourism: Estimates suggest that 4.2 million people visited Swansea Bay in 2022 spending £510 million. 25

 

Sources and links:

  1.  Rural Urban Classification (2011) of Output Areas in England and Wales, Office for National Statistics (ONS).  Further information is available at www.swansea.gov.uk/geography
  2.  2021 mid-year population estimates, ONS.  Further statistics, including population by age, are available at www.swansea.gov.uk/population
  3.  2021 Census, ONS.  Further information at www.swansea.gov.uk/2021census_results
  4.  Birth and death registrations summary tables 2021, ONS.
  5.  Health state life expectancy statistics, 2018-20, ONS.
  6.  Council Tax dwellings: March 2023 - April 2024, WG statistics.
  7.  2021 Census, ONS.
  8.  Further information and statistics about Swansea's wards is available at www.swansea.gov.uk/wardprofiles
  9.  Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC), February 2022.  WG statistics (published August 2022).
  10.  Higher and Further Education Statistics 2021-22, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and WG (published January-February 2023).
  11.  Annual Population Survey (APS) estimates 2022, ONS.  Further information included in the Swansea Economic Profile available at www.swansea.gov.uk/economicprofile 
  12.  2021 Census, ONS.  Census statistics are available at www.swansea.gov.uk/census
  13.  Regional GVA (Gross Value Added) statistics 2021, ONS. 
  14.  APS estimates for survey period ending March 2023, ONS. 
  15.  a) Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) workplace-based estimates 2021, ONS.  b) Commuting tables 2022, published by WG using APS estimates.
  16.  Business demography statistics 2021, ONS.
  17.  Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) April 2022, ONS.
  18.  Labour Market Statistics, ONS.  Note: further information on items 14-19 available at www.swansea.gov.uk/economicprofile
  19.  Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) 2019, WG.  Further information and local data available at www.swansea.gov.uk/wimd2019
  20.  a) Road Lengths and Conditions 2021-22, WG.  b) Vehicle Licensing Statistics 2022 (Table VEH0105), Department for Transport.
  21.  Annual Welsh Agricultural Survey June 2020, WG.
  22.  Further information on individual listed buildings, ancient monuments and conservation areas in Swansea is available via www.swansea.gov.uk/placemakingandheritage
  23.  WasteDataFlow and Local Authority Municipal Waste Management statistics 2021-22, WG.
  24.  Land Registry House Price Index (HPI) February 2023, ONS.  Further statistics on house prices and sales at www.swansea.gov.uk/economicprofile
  25.  STEAM research summary 2022 (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Model).  Further information available at Tourism research and statistics

 

If you are unable to find what you're looking for on these pages, please contact us and we will do our best to provide advice or signpost you to potential sources of information.

Close Choose Language