Key Data

Mid-2003 estimates suggest a population of 55,300 people, a further decline from a 2001 figure of 55,981.

48.4 per cent of the population were male and 51.6 per cent were female.

There is a slightly higher than national average number of residents of retirement age.

Deprivation levels are very high with most wards in Communities First areas.

There are high levels of sickness and economic inactivity. In 2001, 53.61% of households in Merthyr Tydfil had one or more persons with a limiting long-term illness compared with an average of 42.42% in Wales and 34.05% in England and Wales.

There are high levels of illiteracy, poor literacy and identifiable skills shortages. The number of people aged 16-74 with no qualifications at all in 2001 was 43.90% in Merthyr Tydfil compared with 33.02% in Wales and 29.08% in England and Wales.

There are high levels of unemployment. In the summer of 2004, the employment rate in Merthyr Tydfil was 55.6 per cent compared with a national average for Great Britain of 75 per cent.

Since 2002 there have been increasing levels of migrant workers settling in the area.

Further data can be found online from National Statistics and the Welsh Assembly

ELWA produced a report on Learning Labour Market Intelligence: Area Profile for Merthyr Tydfil in June 2005.

Library membership

Membership percentages in a 2006 sample

Adult   65.22%
Teenage   7.12%
Junior   18.31%
Special Needs   1.06%
Other categories 8.19%

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