South Wales (De Cymru) is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west.
The exact extent of South Wales is loosely defined, but it is generally considered to be the area surrounding the M4 motorway, including the counties of Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire and sometimes extending westwards to include south Carmarthenshire and south Pembrokeshire. In the western extent local people would probably recognise that they lived in both South Wales and in West Wales - there is considerable overlap in these somewhat artificial boundaries. The northern border is particularly ill-defined, but the A40 may be a good approximation whilst others would use the more southerly Heads of the Valleys Road as the clearly identifiable boundary.
About 1.9 million people live in South Wales.
South Wales incorporates the capital Cardiff and Newport and Swansea. The area also includes Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, the South Wales Valleys and the more rural settings of the Brecon Beacons National Park, Vale of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.
