County Durham population, 2001–2025
County Durham has an estimated population of 539,146 (mid-2025), up 9.2% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the County Durham local authority area. The newest year is provisional: when ONS published mid-2025 it revised the mid-2024 figure for 348 of the 361 UK authorities, so read the last point on any of these charts as the current best estimate rather than a settled number.
539,146
population, mid-2025
+9.2%
since 2001
+4.9%
last 10 years
2025
peak year (539,146)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 539,146 | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 536,793 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 533,311 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 527,377 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 521,447 | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 519,204 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 518,562 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 516,648 | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 515,911 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 514,431 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 513,924 | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 513,604 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 513,179 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 513,122 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 512,994 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 510,628 | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 507,311 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 505,617 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 502,960 | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 499,348 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 497,218 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 495,147 | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 493,931 | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 493,538 | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 493,678 | — |
High street businesses
County Durham has 365 hairdressers and beauty salons, 255 pubs and bars, 165 licensed restaurants, 410 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 County Durham local authority area (code E06000047), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.
Common questions
What is the population of County Durham?
539,146, on the ONS mid-2025 estimate for the County Durham 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 County Durham growing or shrinking?
Growing: up 9.2% since 2001, from 493,678 to 539,146. The peak year in the series so far is 2025. Year-by-year figures and the chart are on this page.