Demography
Main article: Demography of Cardiff| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1801 | 6,342 | — |
| 1851 | 26,630 | +319.9% |
| 1861 | 48,965 | +83.9% |
| 1871 | 71,301 | +45.6% |
| 1881 | 93,637 | +31.3% |
| 1891 | 142,114 | +51.8% |
| 1901 | 172,629 | +21.5% |
| 1911 | 209,804 | +21.5% |
| 1921 | 227,753 | +8.6% |
| 1931 | 247,270 | +8.6% |
| 1941 | 257,112 | +4.0% |
| 1951 | 267,356 | +4.0% |
| 1961 | 278,552 | +4.2% |
| 1971 | 290,227 | +4.2% |
| 1981 | 274,500 | −5.4% |
| 1991 | 272,557 | −0.7% |
| 2001 | 292,150 | +7.2% |
| 2011 | 346,100 | +18.5% |
| Source: Vision of Britain except 2011, which is the 2011 census data from the Office for National Statistics. Historical populations are calculated with the modern boundaries | ||
Following a period of decline during the 1970s and 1980s, Cardiff's population is growing. The local authority area had a population of 346,100 at the 2011 census, compared to a 2001 Census figure of 305,353. Between mid-2007 and mid-2008, Cardiff was the fastest-growing local authority in Wales with population growth rate of 1.2%. According to Census 2001 data, Cardiff was the 14th largest settlement in the United Kingdom, and the 21st largest urban area. The Cardiff Larger Urban Zone (a Eurostat definition including the Vale of Glamorgan and a number of local authorities in the Valleys) has 841,600 people, the 10th largest LUZ in the UK. The Cardiff and South Wales Valleys metropolitan area has a population of nearly 1.1 million people.
Official estimates derived from the census regarding the city's total population have been disputed. The city council has published two articles that argue the 2001 census seriously under reports the population of Cardiff and, in particular, the ethnic minority population of some inner city areas.
Cardiff has an ethnically diverse population due to its past trading connections, post-war immigration and the large numbers of foreign students who attend university in the city. The ethnic make-up of Cardiff's population at the time of the 2001 census was: 91.6% white, 2% mixed race, 4% South Asian, 1.3% black, 1.2% other ethnic groups. According to a report published in 2005, over 30,000 people from an ethnic minority live in Cardiff, around 8.4% of the city's total – many of these communities live in Butetown, where ethnic minorities make up around a third of the total population. This diversity, and especially that of the city's long-established African and Arab communities, has been celebrated in a number of cultural exhibitions and events, along with a number of books which have been published on this subject.
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