After 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 of 1.2%. According to 2001 census data, Cardiff was 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.