Photo: Llywelyn2000 · CC BY-SA 4.0A higher share of households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns, at 58%
Half of Aberfan’s residents are under 40.2, younger than in 79% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 2,431, in 1,029 households. Here, one in ten households live in a detached house. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%, above 92% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Aberfan’s people
More with no religion than most
59% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 33% Christian, against 47% and 43% across Wales’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 72% of UK towns, at 19%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 8.3% of residents. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here, more than in 85% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. In Porthcawl, the oldest of Mid Glamorgan’s towns by this measure, it is 33%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Aberfan ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 5.6%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Across Wales’s towns, 8% of adults are full-time students; in Aberfan, 5.9%. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 9.1% across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 72% of UK towns: 2.4 people each on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Mid Glamorgan’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults trails 77% of UK towns: 1.9%. Here, 31% of households are one person living alone.
Aberfan: 26% of households have no car or van, above 89% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
The share of households in flats is 3.9%, against 14% across Wales’s towns. The comparison figure for households without a car or van is 21% across Wales’s towns.
2.7% born outside the UK, fewer than in 94% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 10%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1%). On residents whose main language is English, Aberfan sits higher than 90% of UK towns: 99%. Across Wales’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 7.4%.
Welsh speakers make up 13% of Aberfan
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Against 16% across Welsh towns, 13% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Welsh here (303 people): more than in 57% of Welsh towns. Within Mid Glamorgan, Pontyclun has the largest share, 20%.
Aberfan sits above 99% of UK towns for residents with no religion (59%)
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 96% of Aberfan · Mid Glamorgan’s towns 95% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian trails 98% of UK towns: 33%. Measured more widely, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.2%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Bangladeshi (0.2%).
42% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 93% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Students and young renters account for much of that. Locally, 40% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. On unpaid carers, Aberfan sits higher than 97% of UK towns: 12%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 21% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 21% of Aberfan’s adults, against 31% across Wales’s towns; 28% have no qualification (20%).
5 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Aberfan
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberfan | 2,431 | — | 40.2 | 19% | 27% |
| Bedlinog | 1,098 | 1.6 mi | 46.3 | 21% | 24% |
| Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach | 3,780 | 1.6 mi | 45.7 | 23% | 25% |
| Mountain Ash | 13,002 | 1.7 mi | 41.2 | 19% | 29% |
| Treharris | 5,042 | 2.6 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 26% |
| Abercynon | 6,376 | 2.8 mi | 39.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Trelewis | 2,022 | 2.8 mi | 37.1 | 16% | 37% |
| Nelson | 4,235 | 3.8 mi | 48.6 | 26% | 25% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Mid Glamorgan’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Mid Glamorgan (or Wales), summed the same way as Aberfan’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Aberfan’s residents
What is the population of Aberfan?
The 2021 Census counted 2,431 people in Aberfan’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Aberfan?
The median age was 40.2 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Aberfan?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 95% across Mid Glamorgan’s towns. 2.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Aberfan?
59% said they had no religion and 33% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Aberfan good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Aberfan’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Aberfan?
303 residents aged 3 and over, 13%, said they can speak Welsh at the 2021 Census, against 16% across Welsh towns.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067, TS032). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.