Illawarra

Illawarra New South Wales
Sunset over Lake Illawarra
Illawarra
Coordinates	34°30′S 150°54′E / 34.5°S 150.9°E / -34.5; 150.9
Population	313,842 (2021)[1]
• Density	288.19/km2 (746.4/sq mi)
Area	1,089 km2 (420.5 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Location	85 km (53 mi) S of Sydney
LGA(s)	Municipality of Kiama City of Shellharbour City of Wollongong
State electorate(s)	Wollongong Keira Shellharbour Heathcote Kiama
Federal division(s)	Cunningham Whitlam Gilmore
Localities around Illawarra: Macarthur (Greater Sydney) Southern Sydney (Greater Sydney) Tasman Sea Southern Highlands Illawarra Tasman Sea Southern Tablelands South Coast Tasman Sea

The Illawarra is a coastal region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour and the coastal town of Kiama. Wollongong is the largest city of the Illawarra with a population of 240,000, then Shellharbour with a population of 70,000 and Kiama with a population of 10,000. These three cities have their own suburbs. Wollongong stretches from Otford in the north to Windang in the south, with Maddens Plains and Cordeaux in the west.

The Illawarra region is characterised by three distinct districts: the north-central district, which is a contiguous urban sprawl centred on Lake Illawarra, the western district defined by the Illawarra escarpment, which leads up to the fringe of Greater Metropolitan Sydney including the Macarthur in the northwest, and to the Southern Highlands region in the southwest, which is historically semi-rural, but now defined by increasing urbanisation.