Breckland population, 2001–2024
Breckland has an estimated population of 146,620 (mid-2024), up 20.6% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Breckland local authority area.
146,620
population, mid-2024
+20.6%
since 2001
+9.3%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (146,620)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 146,620 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 144,934 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 143,422 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 142,160 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 140,408 | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 139,523 | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 139,146 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 138,592 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 137,190 | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 135,667 | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 134,204 | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 132,905 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 131,701 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 131,009 | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 129,932 | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 129,431 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 128,938 | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 127,797 | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 126,551 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 125,493 | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 123,944 | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 123,247 | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 122,222 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 121,585 | — |
Food businesses
Breckland has 65 takeaways, 212 restaurants and cafés and 82 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.31 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 4.4 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Breckland has 60 hairdressers and beauty salons, 70 pubs and bars, 35 licensed restaurants, 55 takeaways on the ONS business register (2025). Compare across the UK.
Rounded to the nearest 5, which is how ONS protects individual businesses from being identified.
Figures are ONS mid-year population estimates for the Breckland local authority area (code E07000143), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Breckland?
146,620, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Breckland local authority area. This page charts the full annual series back to 2001, so the figure sits in its twenty-year context rather than alone.
Is Breckland growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 20.6% since 2001, from 121,585 to 146,620. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.