Cardiff population: 383,536 residents in 2023, with density at 2,734 per km²
Cardiff’s population reached 383,536 in 2023, with density at 2,734 residents per km². Discover the dated figures, the city area context, and how to compare fairly.
Cardiff’s population was 383,536 in 2023, according to the dated population entry for Cardiff. The year matters: this is a historical figure, not a live count of people living in the city today.
Population of Cardiff, Wales: the dated figures
The population records for Cardiff give the following totals. Entries carrying the same year and population are shown once, rather than treated as separate observations.
Explore Cardiff’s Population Change Since 2021 · Official ONS data visualising Cardiff’s population growth, density and demographic changes from Census 2021.
| Reference year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 361,469 |
| 2023 | 383,536 |
These figures establish two points in time. They do not, on their own, explain changes through births, deaths or migration.
Cardiff population density and area
The Cardiff record lists a population density of 2,734 residents per km² for 2023. Its area entry is 140.3 km², dated 9 October 2026. That date belongs to the area record, not the population total.
Density is an area-wide average. It should not be read as the number of residents living within every individual square kilometre.
Population of Cardiff, UK: compare like with like
Use the headline total as a springboard for comparison, not a substitute for checking boundaries. Before comparing Cardiff with another place, match the reference year and geographic coverage: a city figure and a metropolitan total answer different questions.
The figures above are presented for Cardiff. They should not be relabelled as the population of the Cardiff Capital Region or the Cardiff–Newport metropolitan area.
