Torfaen
§ This page gives an overview of the Torfaen 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 ⁞ Torfaen is a small county borough in southeast Wales, centred on the towns of Cwmbran, Pontypool, and Blaenavon, the latter a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its industrial history. Modern industries and services now dominate its economy.
The administrative boundary of Torfaen can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Torfaen.
Key Facts about Torfaen
What region is Torfaen in? Torfaen is in Wales, a statistical region and also a country in United Kingdom.
Is Torfaen a city? No, Torfaen is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Torfaen? The local government for this district is: Torfaen County Borough Council (Wales County Borough Council).
▶ Official website of Torfaen County Borough Council 🔗 torfaen.gov.uk
Which police force covers Torfaen? Policing in Torfaen is provided by Gwent Police 🔗 gwent.police.uk, which serves 5 local authority districts: Blaenau Gwent ⁞ Caerphilly ⁞ Monmouthshire ⁞ Newport ⁞ Torfaen.
Constituencies in Torfaen
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 Torfaen
Torfaen is divided into 18 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Abersychan
- Blaenavon
- Coed Eva
- Croesyceiliog
- Fairwater
- Greenmeadow
- Llanfrechfa and Ponthir
- Llantarnam
- Llanyrafon
- New Inn
- Panteg
- Pontnewydd
- Pontnewynydd and Snatchwood
- Pontypool Fawr
- St. Dials
- Trevethin and Penygarn
- Two Locks
- Upper Cwmbran
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 Torfaen
Torfaen has 16 communities, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Abersychan
- Blaenavon
- Croesyceiliog
- Cwmbran Central
- Fairwater
- Henllys
- Llantarnam
- Llanyrafon
- New Inn
- Panteg
- Pen Tranch
- Ponthir
- Pontnewydd
- Pontymoile
- Trevethin
- Upper Cwmbran
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 Torfaen
Torfaen covers 7 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Abersychan
- Blaenavon
- Cwmbrân
- Mamhilad *
- Newport (Newport) *
- Ponthir *
- Pontypool *
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 Torfaen.)
Torfaen compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Torfaen compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Torfaen has 18 electoral wards.
Torfaen has a population of 94,119 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Torfaen can be found on the ONS statistics for Torfaen.