Dorset population, 2001–2024
Dorset has an estimated population of 389,947 (mid-2024), up 12.5% since 2001. Official ONS mid-year estimates for the Dorset local authority area.
389,947
population, mid-2024
+12.5%
since 2001
+5.8%
last 10 years
2024
peak year (389,947)
Year by year
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 389,947 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 386,151 | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 383,509 | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 381,245 | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 377,670 | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 377,699 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 375,604 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 374,675 | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 372,416 | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 370,728 | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 368,694 | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 367,651 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 366,572 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 365,897 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 364,317 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 363,567 | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 364,085 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 363,069 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 359,806 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 357,679 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 355,305 | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 353,367 | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 350,487 | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 346,596 | — |
Food businesses
Dorset has 311 takeaways, 942 restaurants and cafés and 424 pubs and bars on the FSA's statutory register (as of July 2026) — 0.33 takeaways per restaurant against an English average of 0.49, and 8.0 takeaways per 10,000 residents. How that compares across England.
Figures are ONS mid-year population estimates for the Dorset local authority area (code E06000059), which can differ from the population of a town of the same name. Sources & method.