Ceredigion is a principal area in mid Wales. It is a coastal county, bordered by Cardigan Bay to the west, Gwynedd to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire to the south, and Pembrokeshire to the south-west. The name Ceredigion means 'Land of Ceredig', who was a son of Cunedda, a chieftain who reconquered much of Wales from the Irish around the fifth century AD. Its area is 440,630 acres (1783 km²). The population of the county is 64,000.
For a county of such a small population, it may be considered unusual that two universities are within the county boundaries: the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Wales, Lampeter. The National Library of Wales, which was founded in 1907, is also located in the county.