The municipality covers an area of 3,707 square kilometres (1,431 sq mi), stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Berg River in the east.

[5] The principal town and seat of the council is Malmesbury, which is situated in the south-east of the municipality and has a population (according to the 2011 census) of 25,176.

Malmesbury is the administrative centre of the Municipality and fulfils an important urban niche in the region and the province.

Its high development potential can be attributed to factors such as its relative accessibility along the N7 road/rail corridor; closeness to Cape Town; diversified economic base, which not only accommodates agriculture but also well-developed industrial and commercial sectors; and supportive infrastructure.

Malmesbury is home to a number of large companies, as well as regional offices of provincial and national government departments.

The transitional councils were initially made up of members nominated by the various parties to the negotiations, until May 1996 when elections were held.

Transitional representative councils (TRCs) were also elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the District Council; the area that was to become Swartland Municipality included much of the Malmesbury TRC and a small part of the Paarl TRC.

In the election of 1 November 2021 the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of fourteen seats on the council.