Shantou, also known by the romanizations Swatow or Santow, is a prefecture-level city located on the eastern coast of Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city has an administrative area of 2,248.39 square kilometres and a population of 5,502,031.
The city's built-up area is significantly larger than its administrative boundaries, encompassing over 12.5 million inhabitants. This conurbation includes the Rongcheng and Jiedong districts, Jiexi county, Puning city in Jieyang, and the entirety of Chaozhou city. Consequently, it ranks as the fifth largest built-up area in mainland China, following Hangzhou-Shaoxing, Xi'an-Xianyang, and Tianjin.