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Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil county borough
Geography
Area: - Total - % Water	Ranked 21st 111 km² ? %
Admin HQ:	Merthyr Tydfil
ISO 3166-2:	GB-MTY
ONS code:	00PH
Demographics
Population: - Total (April 29, 2001) - Density	Ranked 22nd 55,981 504 / km²
Welsh language: - Any skills	Ranked 15th 17.7%
Politics
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council http://www.merthyr.gov.uk
Control:	Labour
MP:	Dai Havard

Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh: Merthyr Tudful) is a town and county borough in south Wales, with a population of about 55,000.

It was a small village until the industrial revolution. It was situated close to reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone and water, making it an ideal site for ironworks. This led to it becoming the largest town in Wales in 1851, with a population of 46,000. It has been in decline since the 1920s.

The current borough boundaries date back to 1974, when the former county borough of Merthyr Tydfil expanded slightly to cover Vaynor in Glamorgan and Bedlinog in Brecon, it becoming a local government district in the county of Mid Glamorgan at the time. The district became a county borough again on April 1, 1996.

Its football club, Merthyr Tydfil F.C. or 'The Martyrs' play in the Southern Football League.