This is a list of the 22 principal areas of Wales[1][2] giving their most recent date of creation and the style by which they are known.
Population in Wales is concentrated in the South Wales Valleys and the northeast; the remainder of the country is sparsely populated
The population and density are from the first results of the 2021 census from the Office for National Statistics.[3]
| District | Created | Population | Population
density/km2 |
Area km2 | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 1996 a | 362,400 | 2,572 | 140 | County (also a city) |
| Swansea | 1996 a | 238,500 | 632 | 378 | County (also a city) |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 1996 | 237,700 | 560 | 424 | County borough |
| Carmarthenshire | 1996 a | 187,900 | 79 | 2,370[4] | County |
| Caerphilly | 1996 | 175,900 | 634 | 278 | County borough |
| Newport | 1996 a | 159,600 | 838 | 190 | County borough (also a city) |
| Flintshire | 1996 ab | 155,000 | 352 | 438 | County |
| Bridgend | 1996 | 145,500 | 580 | 246 | County borough |
| Neath Port Talbot † | 1996 | 142,300 | 322 | 442 | County borough |
| Wrexham | 1996 | 135,100 | 268 | 498 | County borough |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 1996 | 131,800 | 398 | 335 | County borough |
| Powys | 1974 | 133,200 | 26 | 5,180[5] | County |
| Pembrokeshire | 1996 a | 123,400 | 76 | 1,590 | County |
| Gwynedd * | 1974 b | 117,400 | 46 | 2,535[6] | County |
| Conwy ‡ | 1996 | 114,800 | 102 | 1,126 | County borough |
| Denbighshire | 1996 ab | 95,800 | 114 | 844 | County |
| Monmouthshire | 1996 ab | 93,000 | 110 | 850 | County |
| Torfaen | 1996 | 92,300 | 734 | 126 | County borough |
| Ceredigion § | 1996 | 71,500 | 40 | 1,795 | County |
| Isle of Anglesey | 1996 a | 68,900 | 97 | 711 | County |
| Blaenau Gwent | 1996 | 66,900 | 615 | 109 | County borough |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 1996 a | 58,800 | 528 | 111 | County borough |
* = Named as 'Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire' in legislation. Named changed by the council.
† = Named as 'Neath and Port Talbot' in legislation. Named changed by the council.
‡ = Named as 'Aberconwy and Colwyn' in legislation. Named changed by the council.
§ = Named as 'Cardiganshire' in legislation. Named changed by the council.
a = re-instated as a principal administrative authority after a gap
b = boundaries significantly altered in 1996 from its previous incarnation
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "Welsh Local Authority Links - WLGA". www.wlga.wales. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 - Schedule 1: The New Principal Areas". Legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 5 July 1994. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ "Population and household estimates, Wales: Census 2021 - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ^ "Carmarthenshire - Population Density (QS102EW)". UKCensusdata.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ^ "Powys - Population Density (QS102EW)". UKCensusdata.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ^ "Gwynedd - Population Density (QS102EW)". UKCensusdata.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.