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Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of 381,516 in 2025 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff. The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom. Located in the southeast of Wales, the city sits within the Cardiff Capital Region, which consists of 1.5 million people, accounting for roughly half the nation's total population. Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and from 1974 to 1996 of South Glamorgan. It belongs to the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. 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. The Cardiff urban area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.