Mid Glamorgan

Mid Glamorgan , former county, S Wales. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization of Wales from portions of Breconshire, Glamorgan, and Monmouthshire, in 1996 it was divided among the unitary authorities of Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and Vale of Glamorgan.

Glamorgan, Mid, South, and West These three counties were created by the Local Government Act of 1972 and came into operation in 1974. They were in being for only 22 years before being replaced in 1996. In April 1996 eight unitary authorities were substituted. They are, with approximate populations in brackets, Swansea (232,000), Neath and Port Talbot (140,000), Bridgend (130,000), Vale of Glamorgan (119,000), Rhondda, Cynon, Taff (238,000), Merthyr Tydfil (60,000), Caerphilly (171,000), Cardiff (302,000).

Mid Glamorgan County on the Bristol Channel in s Wales; the administrative centre is Cardiff, in South Glamorgan. Other towns include Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd and Bridgend. The region is drained by the Taff, Rhymney and Ogmore rivers. The economy was formerly dominated by the coal mines in the n, particularly the Rhondda Valley. Long-term decline in coal production and in the associated iron and steel industries has caused economic and social problems. The s part of the county is a mainly agricultural area. Area: 1,019sq km (393sq mi). Pop. (1991) 526,500.