Cardiff

Cardiff Caerdydd (Welsh)
Capital city and county
Senedd building Wales Millennium Centre Llandaff Cathedral Cardiff Castle City Hall The National Museum The Central Library Principality Stadium
Flag Coat of arms
Mottoes:  Welsh: Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn, lit. 'the red dragon will lead the way' Welsh: Deffro mae'n ddydd!, lit. 'awake, it is day!'
Cardiff shown within Wales
Coordinates: 51°29′N 03°11′W / 51.483°N 3.183°W / 51.483; -3.183
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Wales
Preserved county	South Glamorgan
City status	1905
Capital city	1955
Administrative HQ	City Hall
Government [1]
• Type	Principal council
• Body	Cardiff Council
• Control	Labour
• MPs	4 MPs Cardiff West (L) Cardiff South and Penarth (L) Cardiff North (L) Cardiff Central (L)
• MSs	4 MSs Cardiff West (L) Cardiff South and Penarth (L) Cardiff North (L) Cardiff Central (L)
Area [2]
• Total	54 sq mi (141 km2)
• Rank	19th
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	372,089
• Rank	1st
• Density	6,840/sq mi (2,641/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [3]
• Ethnic groups	List 79.2% White 9.7% Asian 4.0% Mixed 3.8% Black 3.3% other
Religion (2021) [3]
• Religion	List 42.9% no religion 38.3% Christianity 9.3% Islam 1.5% Hinduism 0.4% Buddhism 0.4% Sikhism 0.2% Judaism 0.6% other 6.3% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	CF
Dialling codes	029
ISO 3166 code	GB-CRF
GSS code	W06000015
Website	cardiff.gov.uk

Cardiff (/ˈkɑːrdɪf/; Welsh: Caerdydd [kairˈdiːð, kaːɨrˈdɨːð] ^ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of 362,310 in 2021 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff (Welsh: Dinas a Sir Caerdydd). The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom. Located in the southeast of Wales and in the Cardiff Capital Region, Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and in 1974–1996 of South Glamorgan. It belongs to the Eurocities network of the largest European cities.^[4] A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales. Cardiff Built-up Area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.

Cardiff is the main commercial centre of Wales as well as the base for the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament. At the 2021 census, the unitary authority area population was put at 362,400.^[5] The population of the wider urban area in 2011 was 479,000.^[6] In 2011, it ranked sixth in the world in a National Geographic magazine list of alternative tourist destinations.^[7] It is the most popular destination in Wales with 21.3 million visitors in 2017.^[8]

Cardiff is a major centre for television and film production (such as the 2005 revival of Doctor Who,^[9] Torchwood and Sherlock) and is the Welsh base for the main national broadcasters.

Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. Work continues at Cardiff Bay and in the centre on projects such as Cardiff International Sports Village, BBC drama village,^[10] and a new business district.^[11]