Key facts

• 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: 246,700 (June 2023) - the second largest unitary authority in Wales - with a population density of 653 people per sq. km. (Wales: 153). ²
• Population change: Between 2013 and 2023, the estimated population of Swansea increased by 7,500 or 3.1%. ³
• Births and Deaths: There were 2,100 babies born in Swansea in 2023, and 2,739 deaths registered in the year. ⁴
• Life expectancy at birth in Swansea now stands at 76.9 years for males (Wales 77.9) and 81.5 for females (Wales 81.8). ⁵
• Housing: In March 2023, Swansea contained an estimated 115,000 dwellings, with 77,400 owner-occupied (approx. 67% of all dwelling stock). ⁶
• Households: There are 109,000 households in Swansea (mid 2023), increasing by 4,000 (+3.8%) since 2018. ⁷
• Swansea Council consists of 32 Electoral Wards, represented by 75 local Councillors. ⁸
• Schools: There are 93 local authority maintained schools in Swansea (January 2024) including 77 primary schools and 14 secondary schools.  12 schools are Welsh medium. ⁹
• Pupils: Swansea schools contain 34,825 pupils (all ages), with 29,535 aged 5-15 (January 2024). 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 almost 30,000 full-time students (2022-23). ¹⁰
• Qualifications: 68.2% of Swansea's residents aged 16-64 are qualified to RQF levels 3 and 4 (2023) - Wales 64.6%. 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 residents (9.4%) born outside the UK. ¹²
• Economic output: GVA (Gross Value Added) per head in Swansea stands at £23,929 (2022); 0.5% above the Wales level but 27.5% below the UK average. ¹³
• Economic activity: 74.0% of Swansea's working age (16-64) residents are economically active, with 115,800 in employment (71.0% of working age) (year to June 2024). ¹⁴
• Employment: 108,000 employees work in Swansea, mostly (88.9%) in the service sectors, with 30.4% (32,800) employed in the public sector (2023).  An estimated 23,200 people commute into Swansea each day (2023).¹⁵
• Businesses: There were 7,290 active businesses in Swansea in 2023, with 830 recorded business 'births' and 780 'deaths' in the year. ¹⁶
• Earnings: Average (median) earnings for full-time employees in Swansea stand at £670.60 per week and £34,682 per year (April 2024). ¹⁷
• Unemployment: 4,100 people in Swansea (3.4% of the economically active population aged 16+) are unemployed (survey period ending June 2024).  The administrative claimant count (September 2024) was 5,650 (3.8% 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 1,148.7 kilometres (km) of roads (2023-2024), of which 15.3km is motorway.  There are 173,300 licensed vehicles in Swansea (June 2024), including 132,900 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: 104,939 tonnes of waste was collected or generated in Swansea in 2023-24, of which 73,925 tonnes (70.4%) was reused, recycled or composted (Wales average 66.6%). ²³
• House Prices: In August 2024, the average house sale price in Swansea was £204,463 - average for Wales £222,925. ²⁴
• Tourism: Estimates suggest that 4.7 million people visited Swansea Bay in 2023, with a total local economic impact of £609million. 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.  Mid-year population estimates 2023, ONS.  Further statistics, including population by age, are available at www.swansea.gov.uk/population
3.  Mid-year population estimates 2013-23, ONS.  Further information at www.swansea.gov.uk/population
4.  Birth and death registrations summary tables 2023, ONS.
5.  Life expectancy for local areas, 2020 to 2022, ONS.
6.  Dwelling stock estimates for Wales, as at 31 March 2023, WG statistics.
7.  WG statistics (published December 2024).
8.  Further information and statistics about Swansea's wards is available at www.swansea.gov.uk/wardprofiles
9.  Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC), January 2024.  WG statistics (published July 2024).
10.  Higher and Further Education Statistics 2022-23, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and WG (published January and August 2024).
11.  Annual Population Survey (APS) estimates 2023, 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 2022, ONS. 
14.  APS estimates for survey period ending June 2024, ONS. 
15.  a) Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) workplace-based estimates 2023, ONS.  b) Commuting tables 2023, published by WG using APS estimates.
16.  Business demography statistics 2023, ONS.
17.  Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) April 2024, ONS.
18.  Labour Market Statistics, ONS.  Note: further information on items 13-18 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 2023-24, WG.  b) Vehicle Licensing Statistics 2024 (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 2022-23, WG.
24.  Land Registry House Price Index (HPI) August 2024, ONS.  Further statistics on house prices and sales at www.swansea.gov.uk/economicprofile
25.  STEAM research summary 2023 (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.