Steel wire and wire rod

A steel wire containing, in mass%:

• C:
• 0.35% to 0.48%;
• Si:
• 0.05% to 2.0%;
• Mn:
• 0.20% to 1.0%;
• and
• Al:
• 0.005% to 0.05%,
• a P content being 0.030% or less,
• a S content being 0.030% or less, and
• a balance being composed of Fe and inevitable impurities,
• wherein
• when a C content is represented by (C%), in a case of (C%) being not less than 0.35% nor more than 0.48%, a volume fraction of pearlite is 64×(C%) +52% or more, and a structure of the other portion is composed of one or two of proeutectoid ferrite or bainite,
• in a region up to a depth of 1.0 mm from a surface of the steel wire, a volume fraction of pearlite block having an aspect ratio of 2.0 or more is not less than 70% nor more than 95%, and a volume fraction of pearlite having an angle between an axial direction of the steel wire and a lamellar direction of the pearlite having a layer structure of ferrite and cementite on a cross section parallel to the axial direction of 40° or less is 60% or more with respect to all pearlite, and
• a tensile strength is 1200 MPa or more and less than 1500 MPa.