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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: 241,300 (June 2022) - the second largest unitary authority in Wales - with a population density of 639 people per sq. km. (Wales: 151). 2
  • Population change: Between 2012 and 2022, the estimated population of Swansea increased by 2,100 or 0.9%. 3
  • Births and Deaths: There were 2,035 babies born in Swansea in 2022, and 2,789 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 2022, Swansea contained an estimated 114,800 dwellings, with 77,000 owner-occupied (approx. 67% of all dwelling stock). 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. 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 2023) including 77 primary schools and 14 secondary schools.  12 schools are Welsh medium. 9
  • Pupils: Swansea schools contain 36,158 pupils (all ages), with 29,279 aged 5-15 (January 2023). 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: 77.8% of Swansea's working age (16-64) residents are economically active, with 120,500 in employment (74.1% of working age) (year to September 2023). 14
  • Employment: 110,000 people work in Swansea, mostly (89.1%) in the service sectors, with 29.5% (32,400) employed in the public sector (2022).  An estimated 27,000 people commute into Swansea each day (2022).15
  • Businesses: There were 7,395 active businesses in Swansea in 2022, with 855 recorded business 'births' and 850 'deaths' in the year. 16
  • Earnings: Average (median) earnings for full-time employees in Swansea stand at £631.20 per week and £32,734 per year (April 2023). 17
  • Unemployment: 5,200 people in Swansea (4.2% of the economically active population aged 16+) are unemployed (survey period ending September 2023).  The administrative claimant count (December 2023) was 4,995 (3.4% 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 1,128.6 kilometres (km) of roads (2022-2023), of which 15.3km is motorway.  There are 168,800 licensed vehicles in Swansea (June 2023), including 129,800 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: 106,900 tonnes of waste was collected or generated in Swansea in 2022-23, of which 76,700 tonnes (71.8%) was reused, recycled or composted (Wales average 65.7%). 23
  • House Prices: In November 2023, the average house sale price in Swansea was £194,705 - average for Wales £212,866. 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.  Mid-year population estimates 2022, ONS.  Further statistics, including population by age, are available at www.swansea.gov.uk/population
  3.  Mid-year population estimates 2012-22, ONS.  Further information at www.swansea.gov.uk/population
  4.  Birth and death registrations summary tables 2022, ONS.
  5.  Life expectancy for local areas, 2020 to 2022, ONS.
  6.  Dwelling stock estimates for Wales, as at 31 March 2022, 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), January 2023.  WG statistics (published September 2023).
  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 September 2023, ONS. 
  15.  a) Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) workplace-based estimates 2022, ONS.  b) Commuting tables 2022, published by WG using APS estimates.
  16.  Business demography statistics 2022, ONS.
  17.  Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) April 2023, 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 2022-23, WG.  b) Vehicle Licensing Statistics 2023 (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) November 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

 

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