Cornwall population, 2001–2024
Cornwall has an estimated population of 583,289 (mid-2024), up 16.7% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Cornwall local authority area.
583,289
population, mid-2024
+16.7%
since 2001
+7.3%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (583,289)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 583,289 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 579,381 | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 575,591 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 571,948 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 565,045 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 563,695 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 559,961 | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 556,921 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 551,203 | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 547,334 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 543,778 | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 540,061 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 537,411 | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 533,760 | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 529,794 | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 526,365 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 524,973 | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 521,957 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 517,984 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 515,098 | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 511,810 | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 508,579 | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 504,644 | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 499,937 | — |
Food businesses
Cornwall has 445 takeaways, 1,677 restaurants and cafés and 544 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.27 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 7.6 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
High street businesses
Cornwall has 285 hairdressers and beauty salons, 445 pubs and bars, 435 licensed restaurants, 370 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 Cornwall local authority area (code E06000052), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of Cornwall?
583,289, on the ONS mid-2024 estimate for the Cornwall 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 Cornwall growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 16.7% since 2001, from 499,937 to 583,289. The peak year in the series so far is 2024. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.