Merthyr Tydfil
§ This page gives an overview of the Merthyr Tydfil local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Merthyr Tydfil is a small county borough in the South Wales Valleys, historically one of the world’s largest iron-producing towns during the Industrial Revolution. Today, it focuses on services, retail, and tourism, with nearby Brecon Beacons National Park adding outdoor appeal.
The administrative boundary of Merthyr Tydfil can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Merthyr Tydfil.
Key Facts about Merthyr Tydfil
What region is Merthyr Tydfil in? Merthyr Tydfil is in Wales, a statistical region and also a country in United Kingdom.
Is Merthyr Tydfil a city? No, Merthyr Tydfil is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Merthyr Tydfil? The local government for this district is: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (Wales County Borough Council).
▶ Official website of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council 🔗 merthyr.gov.uk
Which police force covers Merthyr Tydfil? Policing in Merthyr Tydfil is provided by South Wales Police 🔗 south-wales.police.uk, which serves 7 local authority districts: Bridgend ⁞ Cardiff ⁞ Merthyr Tydfil ⁞ Neath Port Talbot ⁞ Rhondda Cynon Taf ⁞ Swansea ⁞ Vale of Glamorgan.
Constituencies in Merthyr Tydfil
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 32 of them are in Wales. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is divided into 11 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bedlinog and Trelewis
- Cyfarthfa
- Dowlais and Pant
- Gurnos
- Merthyr Vale
- Park
- Penydarren
- Plymouth
- Town
- Treharris
- Vaynor
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Communities in Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil has 12 communities, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Bedlinog
- Cyfarthfa
- Dowlais
- Gurnos
- Merthyr Vale
- Pant
- Park
- Penydarren
- Town
- Treharris
- Troed-y-rhiw
- Vaynor
In Wales, communities are the Welsh equivalent of civil parishes—the lowest tier of local government. Every part of Wales lies within a community, though only some have an elected community or town council. Where they exist, these councils handle very local matters and speak for residents to the county or county borough council. Like English civil parishes, communities are purely civil/administrative and are distinct from church parishes.
Built-up Areas in Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil covers 6 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Aberfan
- Bedlinog
- Merthyr Tydfil *
- Treharris *
- Trelewis *
- Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Merthyr Tydfil.)
Merthyr Tydfil compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Merthyr Tydfil compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Merthyr Tydfil has 11 electoral wards.
Merthyr Tydfil has a population of 58,972 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Merthyr Tydfil can be found on the ONS statistics for Merthyr Tydfil.